"ملخص لعلاقات الحكومة البريطانية مع قبائل وشيوخ عربستان. بقلم الملازم أ. ت. ويلسون، القائم بأعمال القنصل في عربستان" [و‎‎١‎٨] (١٤٣/٤٠)

21
afhb-* ■f! 1 H 1 si lna if- hld an ‘ J Zair ’ Ali wt;re entrusted with the charge of tribal
allairs, and Sharhan given as a hostage to the Shaikh. It was given out that
and^W n^lhi a - d Pa f K Jt UP p 0 ’° 0 ? I lor ? aDS out of the 80,000 dfe from them,
and that Ghadhban of the Bam Lam had gone security for the remainder
of rha a l P h- re f tha ^ shou ' d k events necessitate itf there was no means
ot torcmg Ghadhban to make good his undertaking.
In March 1906 Haji Sabhan reappeared from his retirement and
treacherously fell on the handful of Persian soldiers left in Hawizah of whom
3 were killed and 8 wounded. Hanzal, Khaz’aFs nephew, and Deputy Gover
nor of Nasiri was deputed to the command of a levy of the Bawiyeh which had
already been despatched by the Sardar Arfa’. A skirmish took place,
and at the beginning of April Hanzal fought a small action (in which the
mght C of U stbhL amOUnted t0 ab ° Ut 20) Which resulted in the discomfiture and
y e ^ r > too, a long standing dispute reached a crisis between
tiie Shaikh and the Bakhtiari m regard to the Raghaiweh land on the Ahwaz-
spahan road on the border between Bakhtiari and Arab territory. Raghai-
weh was originally accounted the property of the Shaikh, but his represent-
?> i ? . aJl llmn ; ln whose charge it was seems to have neglected it. The
Bakhtians assumed the grazing rights of the locality and gradually a small
settlement came into existence. Refugees from the Shaikhs jurisdiction
lound it a convenient place of sanctuary and demands for their surrender
were consistently refused by the Khans. In April 1905, Haji Rais almost
succeeded m obtaining the consent of the Samsam-es-Saltaneh and his party
or the lease of the land to the Shaikh, but at the last moment died off. In
J uly the matter was again brought into prominence by the flight of a rebel
Shaikh and his adherents into Raghaiweh. This Shaikh, named Masikh,
a ege oppression on the part of Zair Farhan of Wais who was also respon-
smie tor most of the previous desertions. Permission was finally received
from lehran for the repatriation of the refugees of Raghaiweh by force and
in November Zair Farhan of Wais and the Zargham-ul-Mamalik, the Salar-i-
Mu azzam s Military Commander, left together to put this into practice,
nstead however of inducing the refugee Arabs to return this estimable couple
contenting themselves with permitted the abuse of their womankind by their
followers. It is stated that in certain cases they cut the breasts off Arab
women.
-p. was greatly incensed and Farhan was arrested and sent to
I allahiyeh.
The question w*as finally settled by the Shaikh leaving the disputed land
and it may be hoped that the question has thus been finally settled.
The crops both in 1905 and 1906 were scanty.
The relations of the Salar-i-Mu’azzam, who was given the title of Sardar
Mukarram during 1905, 2 with the Shaikh of Mohammerah were cordial on
the whole, and at no time was there any important conflict of opinion on oil
interests between them. On his arrival in ’Arabistan with a small force he
quickly asserted for himself (thanks to the consistent support of the Shaikh)
a power and authority which have not been known in any ruler of the Pro
vince since Sulaiman Khan.
In Shushtar he began with the destruction of Kazim Khan Kalantar, a
man who had been the cause of many disturbances and a thorn in the side of
the late Governor ’Azim-es-Saltaneh He was beaten to death, and his pro
perty seized.
The religious house of Shaikh Muhammad ’Ali in Shushtar also attracted
his ill-will, and on the death of the old man himself his sons had to leave the
town : in the spring of 1906 a reconciliation was effected. The rival house of
Saiyid ’Abdul Samad received favourable treatment at his hands.
Captain Lorimer, who as Consul at Ahw r az had good opportunities of
judging, described the Sardar Mukarram as “ a man of force and ability, but
J After the Bani Turuf expedition of 1908 these two men were exiled,
lie received the title of Nizam-es-Saltaneh in 1908 soon after the death of his father who bore this title.