"الشخصيات. العراق (باستثناء بغداد والكاظمين)، ١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎٢‎٥] (٣١٨/٥٥)

22
ASAD, SAIYID. unassuming and courtly old gentleman. Was
Shaikh of Daur above Sa ™ . till more „i a( i to see the end of the war with a win
genuinely glad to see ^ing to his credit that he managed to stay on in Daur
to the stronger side, it is sometnmg iu ii
desnite its unfortunate position between the two fore .
ASAD IBN ‘ALL
Of Nahr al Shaikh, Ba'qubah division,
dates.
Gave some difficulty in the matter of getting
‘ASAIMI, ‘ABDUL RAHMAN. i , r .
Brother of Muhammad, q.v. An Arab Diogenes, desires to be left m peace under any
conditions. Lives in a “ house of hair " with people like Humud ibn Suwait if by this
means he can get out of the road of tumults. Comes into towns like Zubair and
Khamisiyah for a short period every year. Great crony of Hamad ibn Khamis and now
domiciled in Khamisiyah (October, 1916). Was all for our persevering m trying to get
Ibn Rashid on our side because, with our backing, the Amir would have been able to
recover the allegiance of his tribesmen and regain his old name in the Jazirah. In a
quiet way did much to guide the minds of the Shaikhs of Zubair and Khamisiyah to us
at the beginning. Mocked the Mujahidin who went to Shu aibah as choosing the wrong
side. He 3 ^aps a good deal. Cannot read or write.
‘ASAIMI, MUHAMMAD AL BARRAK.
One of the worst rogues in Basrah, ‘ Ajaimi’s agent, an enemy of Saiyid Talib. Cunning
and treacherous ; he is said to have been the only man Saiyid Falib feared. He was
formerly engaged in intrigue with ‘Ajaimi against the lurks, and probably they had an
arrangement with the Germans for the landing of arms at Babyan for Ajaimi. He joined
the Turks at Nasiriyah in January, 1915. In the middle of 1915 he went to Najaf with
Saiyid Hadi to conciliate the people after the troubles there and was for a time acting
Qaimmaqam of Hillah. With Muhammad Pasha Daghistani he was engaged in distribut
ing Turkish bribes among the tribes. In May, 1916, he visited Ibn Rashid, near Zubair,
to use his influence with him, but the mission was reported to have been unsuccessful.
He began his career as a very poor man, entered the service of Makki Abu ‘Abadah, a
sheep merchant of Basrah, but left him and went to Muhammad al Shu'aibi—both he and
al Shu'aibi came originally from ‘Anaizah in the Qasim. He bought sheep for al Shu'aibi
in Zubair, made a little mone}^ and set up as a sheepskin dealer under Qasim al Khudhairi,
by whom he was also employed to bring in corn from the Muntafiq district. When he had
saved a little capital he set up for himself. One of his brothers, Yusuf, he placed at
‘Amarah, the other ‘Abdul Rahman in Muntafiq—both like rogues with himself. In his
dealings with the Muntafiq country he made the acquaintance of Sa'dun Pasha. He was
at the root of the quarrel between Sa'dun and Mizyad Pasha, egging on Sa'dun to seize
Mizyad’s estates. He made bad blood between ‘Ajaimi and ‘Abdullah Falih. ‘Ajaimi
looted and captured Mizyad when the latter was camping in the desert, but Mizyad escaped
and brought in a complaint to Basrah. It was ‘Asaimi who brought ‘Ajaimi into the
C.U.P.
In 1918 ‘Ajaimi sent him to Hijaz and Egypt, to plead his cause.
‘asfAr al saiyid sAfi, saiyid.
Wealthy cultivator in Shafa'iyah, Diwaniyah district.
‘ASIF effendi mallAk.
Of Mansuriyat al Shatt, Daltawah district. Baghdadi of Turkish descent. Sometimes
suspected of unfortunate tendencies. A charming man, however.
‘ASIM IBN SALIH AL SA'ADI.
Daltawah district. Son of the Mallak Salih of Hibhib, q.v. Reads and writes.
‘ATA EFFENDI.
Of Hillah. A kind of professional Wakil. He is quiet, and from reports not obtensibly
dishonest.
ATI AL HARBIYAH, SHAIKH.
Rais of huhaili (Muntafiq, Bani Malik, Bani Khaiqan). Pro-British, was largely
influenced by Captain Cowley, of Lynch Brothers, who often stayed with him. Was
backward in coming in when we advanced on ‘Akaikah, but has given no trouble since we
established ourselves in the Euphrates. Lame in the left leg from a bullet wound;
pleasant manners.