‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎331r] (668/722)

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SHfRWAN— Lat. 37° 24 ft", Long. 57° 55' 4S"; Elev. 3,511' (Zemm),
A large and important town, lying on the Atrak, in northern Khurasan,
containing about 300 houses and a population of 1,000 families, all Turks of
the (xeraili tribe. It is built as an oblong, with sides of 600 by 300
yards, and is surrounded by a strong, high wall, which isloopholed, but with a
very dilapidated banquette and without a proper communication all round.
There are two gates,—the Kuchan and Bujnurd darwazas; and there is one
good street, which leads from the first-named gate to the west to the
Khan’s house : the rest are all irregular and narrow. At the south-west
corner there is a mound, about 100 feet high and with a diameter of about
300 yards at the base, in which is built the citadel, which completely
commands the town, but which is itself also under the command of the
hills on the south. About half the space enclosed in the walls is a mass
of ruins, and a large part of the remainder is taken up by gardens and
open spaces covered with filth. The streets are, however, wide, well-paved,
and tolerably clean. The water-supply is good and ample; and the climate
is considered the best in Khurasan, and therefore in Persia. There are,
however, occasional visitations of cholera,—sometimes of extreme severity.
During the famine of 1871-72 the people did not suffer; but many hun
dreds of those who collected from other parts died in the town. At that
time grain was selling at 4 krans per maund (71bs.) ; in 1875 the price was
5 maunds or 35 lbs. per kran (10<7.). A considerable quantity of wheat is
exported to Mashhad. Two or three hundred of the townsmen,—40 or
50 mounted and armed with the ‘ shamkhal/ a long, heavy rifle, the
rest with the ‘ khirli/ a lighter piece, carrying a very small ball about
30 to the pound up to 300 yards with great accuracy,—are in the pay of the
Khan, and serve on the border when required. They receive 6 tumans
and 2 kharwars of grain per annum. The regular horsemen armed by
the Khan receive from 10 to 30 tumans and the same quantity of grain.
The name of “ Shirwan ” is derived from a very good representation of a
tiger given by a sheet of bare rock on the hillside to the south of the
town. The plain is one of the most fertile in Khurasan; and there are
from 10 to 12 villages within a circle of 5 miles of Shirwan. A high
mound in the. centre of the town is visible from 10 miles. Ihe town lies
on the right bank of the stream, 30 miles from the southern mountains.
Khanikoff says that the people spoke Persian up to the middle of the
seventeenth century, and since then Turki.— {Khanikoff, PelrusevUc/i, Thom
son, MacGregor, Napier.)
SHISTERAI— Lat. , Long. ; Elev.
The Nishapur river in northern Khurasan, so called by Clerk, from the
name it bore on the south road.— {MacGregor.)
SHITAK— Lat. , Long. ; Eeev.
A village of Sistan, inhabited by the Shahnki tribe. {Bellew.)
SHORAB *— Lat. 33° 35' O'', Long. 56° 14' 0"; Elev. ' {St. John).
A stage in Khurasan, on the road from Yazd to labas. Theie is a caia-
vansarai here in bad repair; and water from a riverbed, this is salt,
but 2 miles west there is a ‘ hauz ’ with^ sweet water. The stream, which
is generally dry, flows out into a kavir to the east. A scanty supply of
provisions is obtainable.— {MacGregor, Stewart.)
SHORAB— Lat. , Long. ; Elev. T 4 .
A salt stream m Khurasan rising in the eastern slopes of the Jagatai
* “ Salt water.”