"شخصيات، شبه الجزيرة العربية" [‎١‎٤‎٩] (٣٧٤/١٥٣)

SEDENTARY TRIBES OF THE NORTH-WEST
(A) BELQA
The Belqa is a district east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, which extends
roughly from Zerqa, north-east of 'Amman (Ammon), to the Wadi Zerqa,
south of the ancient Christian village of Madeba, and eastward nearly
to Qasr el-Azraq. The Jebel Hauran and the Jebel 'Ajlun bound it on
the north. The BENI SAKHR are the predominant tribe in its southern
reaches, the RUWEILAH penetrate into the eastern pasturages near
Azraq, the 'ADWAN are paramount over the Jordan valley (the Ghor),
the Beq'a (i.e. the hills between the Ghor and the Heshban), and the
lands round Heshban. The smaller tribes of the Belqa acknowledge the
authority of the principal 'Adwan Sheikh, Sultan ibn 'Ali Dhi'ab, whose
head-quarters are at Heshban ; and it will therefore be convenient to
treat the whole of the BELQAWlYAH, including the 'Adwan, under
one head.
They are a half-settled people, scattered pretty thickly over a com
paratively small area; for though the Belqa is not in extent consider
able, it is a country rich in pasturage, with plentiful rains in winter, and
supports a much larger population than any corresponding area of the
Hamad. At a moderate reckoning there must be at least 4,500 tents
within its confines, in addition to the big villages of Salt, 'Amman, and
Madeba, which hold permanently settled inhabitants. 1 It contains
much cultivated land and still more which would repay husbandry.
The valleys leading down to J ordan are full of timber, oak, terebinth, and
smaller trees, and even the uplands might be well wooded, but for the
depredations of the goats and charcoal-burners. Round Salt the hill
sides are terraced for vineyards, and the gardens of the sturdy Christian
and Moslem population are planted with fruit-trees. The pasture grounds
of Heshban are famous, and Madeba, which is still largely Christian,
is set in cornfields. At 'Amman an industrious Circassian colony has
filled the valley with gardens and poplar groves, constructed roads
along which they can drive their two-wheeled carts, and covered the
slopes of the hills with corn. Innumerable ruin-fields, remains of villages
of the Christian period before the Mohammedan invasion, testify to
the fertility of the soil, and its capacity for carrying a larger population.
In the winter the warm Jordan valley is favourable for early crops, and
forms an ideal refuge for flocks and herds.
Unhappily the edges of the desert suffer notoriously from the short
comings of the Turkish administration. Since 1895 the Ottoman Govern
ment has occupied Kerak and Ma'an, placing a mutesarrif at the former
and a kaimmakam at the latter; there are mudirs at Walah, Tafilah,
1 The villagers themselves are grouped into tribal confederations.