‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎273r] (552/722)

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The total number of tufangehis, were we to add together various esti
mates of the number of fighting men in the districts and among the tribes,
would be very large ; but it is to be remembered that tribal levies, as a rule,
are local, move with great reluctance from their own districts, and return
almost at will. Those over whom the government has some species of control
have been variously estimated at between 80,000 and 150,000. Taking
the measure of the strength of the present government, and gauging its
popularity with the people, it is believed that not more than 20,000
tufangchis would be available to strengthen the regular army; although
special causes of excitement might raise it considerably for imperial pur
poses, and very considerably in the distributed total for local requirements.
Khushuni sawari, irregular cavalry.—These are the same class of men as
the ghulam-i-rikabi, except that they are less under the control of the
Shah, and are not throughout composed of such well-born men or such
good horses ; but still many are little inferior. At Daraghaz we find
the men of the border cavalry short, light, handy, and excellent riders.
The horses are all good, serviceable animals. At Bujnurd 100 men, out of
a total force of 800 horse, were well mounted and well armed; but at
Naidia near Shahrud, on a suddenly ordered inspection, the khan had to
mount whomsoever he could get on his own private horses to complete
the muster.
Throughout the country the irregular cavalry preserve much of the
Effect of the policy fighting qualities of their forefathers ; but it has been
of recent sovereigns to the policy of recent sovereigns to break up the tribes,
break up the tribes. Many of the great khans of the Unit have disappeared,
and with them their studs, and in consequence the breed of horses has degen
erated. On the Turkoman border, from want of pasturage or mares
for breeding, the whole of the horses have to be bought or stolen from the
Turkumans, and the available Persian horsemen cannot be mounted. In
this instance also numbers are very difficult to estimate. A summing-up
of all the alleged tribal cavalry would reach a very high figure ; but much
of this is again local, and not available for national purposes. But even
these have been reckoned as high as 200,000, and by General Upton—under
favourable political circumstances at 80,000, under un-
Gcneral Upton’s esti- favourable a f 20,000. With these figures we coincide ;
inateo icn nmn eis. ] u qq that Persia is at present not likely to bring
into the field more than the lesser number, i.e., 17,000 cavalry, in addition
to the 3,000 cavalry already described. But here again, under exciting con
ditions, the national force would be considerably, and the tribal force locally,
distributed very considerably in excess of that number; and the figure to
which a Persian light cavalry, equal to the Cossack and Turkish cavalry,
might be raised, were money and officers supplied by some locally popular
European power, would probably not fall far short of the higher esti
mate.
Artillery.—This force was formerly organised on the English system,
and became a soldierly, active, and workmanlike body, who would take
their guns anywhere. All the artillerymen were mounted. I he materials
must still exist. Colonel MacGregor speaks in praise of detachments of
artillery which he encountered in 1875; but the force has degenerated.
There are at present no organised batteries or trains ; the men and horses
are not permanently embodied ; and cannot, therefore, be properly trained