Page 382 - Gulf Precis (VI)_Neat

350
It is well known to nil that tho influential people of Kcrbcla, as well as I he Ycramng
dofonded the pluco to the last, imd now they do not deny the fact and finding the town was
in position of tho troops hid lliorasclvos in the Mosques having flung down their arms (this
accounts for tho number of arms found in the Courts of tho Mosques), they now accuse tho
Ycramos, whom they upheld, of occasioning all tho mischief, most of tlicso men are of Persian
origin and havo a deadly hatred against (ho Soonios and their Government. The Mollahs
also excited tho religious feelings of the people making thorn belicvo it was a common cause
a religious war. A Persian Scyd who was present stated to mo that many of the Persians
fought or gave assistance, that ho amongst many did not leave tin place thinking it would
not be taken and rumours were spread that tho Shah was sending a larg* force to assist them.
Iio also stated that thoso Persians who were unfitted or refused to bear arms, were obliged to
give money and supply anything necessary for tho fighting men, likewise they considered
themselves safe ns their Consul did not come to order them away, llajeo Seyd Kan«cm
Keshtec Chief Priest they all agree to tho very last entreated them to listen to the Pasha,
but without aviil. Ho shewed great courage on the occasion, as ho had all the Chiefs
Ycramas and Mollahs against him.
Tbo amount of killed has been greatly exaggerated. I have taken the greatest pains to
arrive at a just calculation but without success. The Persians at first during the excited stato
of their feelings stated the loss of life from twenty to thirty thousand. Thoy counted every
soul killed as u Persian subject, many no doubt were originally of Persian origin, but on the
other hand they will not allow that the Persians who fought such as Meerza Saulch, Mahomed
Ali Khan Boloooh as Fovrral others with their followers who are mostly horn Persians to bo
reckoned as Persian subjects having fled from Pcisia. Sinoe my arrival I have found their
feelings calmer on the subject of the numbers killed. At Kerbellah I strictly inspected the
places, and made many inquiries where the slaughter took place, tho streets are so narrow that
a few bodies would at a short distance easily deceive tho eye, and appear a largo number. I
have collected information from Persians and questioned others who were on the spot, ami who
buried the dead, ono Persian account gave six hundred bodies altogether in the Court of the
Mosque of Abbass and the Bazaar leading to the Chief Priest's house, tho other account from
n person of Kerbeha who superintended burying the dead in the Court of Mosque of Abbas
only, gave one hundred aud seventy. Most of the bodies wero stripped naked, many also
burnt. 1 feel perfectly convinced that taking everything into consideration the loss of life in
the town itself from the fire of the soldiers, suffocation and murdered did not exceed llueo
thousand, many of these were Arabs. From what I have learnt making a wide calculation the
total number killed, both inside and outside the town did not exceed five thousand, which is a
fearful number ; in making this statement to Your Excellency I do not assert it as the true
number, for I have not been fortunate enough in my enquiries to find a Peisian or any person
who was present capable of furnishing me with a true account and how many of tho killed
were Parsiaos ? In questioning Persians who pretend to have great information on the
subject, on asking them how many bodies they saw, and if they had counted theuythey
invariably answered I saw Arabs Persians Kerbcllas of all sexes lying in heaps together. 1
have repeatedly asked them, have you lost any of your friends, relations, acquaintances or
people you knew only by sight. With few exceptions they answered in the negative. I have
also applied to the Persian Consul, if lie can furnish me with any information regarding tho
number of Persians killed, but lie was unable. 1 asked him how he could state to his Govern­
ment that twenty-two thousand had been killed; he said he had heaid so from different
people who had arrived from Kcrbella. 1 was most particular in my inquiries regarding tho
number of Indians killed. No subjects of Great Britain but threo Indians (Seyds) natives
of Lucknow were slain in the Court of Abbas. They also reported that twenty or thirty
people of the Punjab and Cashmere had been at Kcrbolla, but lIvy could not suy
if they lnd left or had been killed. It has also been stated that a number of
Russian subjects from Erivan, Sliirwan. etc., had suffered, only two subjects of Russia
wen* < i*1 Kerliella when I visited it, and although I pressed them to come aud sec me, they
declined, saying they had no information to give. On the departure of His Excellency
Namik Pacha for Kcrbolla 1 gave him a list of tho names of people said lo have been killed,
as sent to rao by Court Medem from Tehran, some of the pcoolc in that list had settled
at Kcrbolla for yea*s but they could not say if they had left or had been killed except a Mollah
Ali who had beer killed. Some of the name* wero totally unknown to them. It mu^t also
be recollected that thousands of Persians had left and had been leaving Iverbolla before the
Pacha's intentions were publicly known and it has been stated to me by the inhabitants of
Kerbclla, that at the time of the siege the whole population of the place (including eight
thousand Arab Mardans) did not exceed thirty thousand. Scid Waliab, the Governor, told mo
he thought about twenty thousand and of which not more than six thousand wero
Persians.
On iny late vi.-it to Kcrbella I was surprised aftor the accounts that had boon spread
abroad to find the town in such good order. Tho Minarets of the Tombs of the Saints are
slightly damaged in a few places, which convinced me as they stand so cxnoscd, that tho
artillery had orders to avoid them expressly. I was very anxious to visit the inside of the
temples lining lie.ird that ono of them was damaged, but the people who had charge would
not permit mo, and even at first objected to allow mo to enter the Courts. I could have got
permission from the Governor of the town, but seeing their feelings on the subject, L did
not press it.