Page 9 - Gulf Precis (VII)_Neat

PREFACE.

rpiiis Prdois abstracts our records of political affairs of the plains of
JL Arabistnn, tlio anciontElam and Anzan, watered by the Kerkha, Karun
and .Tornhi rivers. Once tlio garden of tlio world and as modern discoveries
would go to show tlio indigenous homo of wheat and wine, it is still ono of the
most, fertilo provincos of Porsia—though capable of producing a hundred fold of
itsprosont crops with a propor systom of irrigation and much moroa good Gov­
ernment. It is curious that this magnificently fertilo region was until recently
closed to the commorco of tlio world. Tho piratical tendencies inter-tribal feuds
of the Arab settlers on tho mouths of its rivers and the jealousy of tho Persians,
wero the spirits and tho M flaming sword ” placed before the paradiso of the
earth to keep it from tho approach of mankind outsido its limits.
It is only tho enterprise and diplomacy of tho British tjiat has succeeded
only recently in opening its largest river, the Karun, to tho commerce of the
world. Yet much remains to bo done to revive its pristine prosperity.
Many a schomo has been put forward to rostoro its ancient irrigation works
or to start new ones, but only to be shelved in the archives of Teheran.
In this Prdcis an attempt will be made to draw out as much as possible
out of tho correspondence in our rocords relative to those matters, especially
the Arab settlements, tho Karun river navigation, and the irrigation sohemes.
Such passages, as are intended to lay stress on, liavo been italicized.

let December 1903. J. A. SALDANA.

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