Page 452 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

42 ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF TOE PERSIAN TIULF POLITICAL RESIDENCY FOR 1009.

The Shaikh replied that there was no objection to their doing so as long ns
they did not create a disturbance by fighting others, or by fighting the Turks.
He discouraged them from the latter course and Fdlah settled down at
Bisaitin near Ilawizck forthwith. ’Abdul Karim with the bulk of the tribe,
however, was believed, at the end of the year, to be in Turkish territory.
In June 1909, a few days after the Shaikh’s arrival at Nasiri on his
annual visit, Shaikh Hanzal, his
Shaikh Khazal’s Internal Administration. nephew, was arrested on a charge of con­
spiring to murder, Shaikh Knazal in
order to usurp his place. There is a good deal of doubt as to the genuineness
of the evidence upon which the charge was based, and it is widely believed
that the accusation was made by Haji Seyyid Huscin of Nasiri (an agent
of Shaikh Khazal) in order to enable the last named to replace Hanzal by
his eldest son Chasib. Haji Seyyid Husein is in fear of his life in conse­
quence and has made frequent attempts to get into the good graces of British
Consular authorities, though, until recently, he has consistently been hostile
to British interests.
The attempts, mentioned elsewhere in this report, to undermine Shaikh
Khazal’s position as overlord of all Arab tribes in Arabistan have been un­
successful1, and his skilful diplomacy has enabled him to retain his paramount
position and even strengthen it. His attitude to the Constitutional party
has been irreproachable. He lent the Sardar Assad £2,000 to enable the latter
to march on Tehran, and has always been profuse in his expression of loyalty
to the Constitution. Nor has he hesitated to arrange for a ‘ Medjliss ’ in
Lfohammerah, in accordance with the orders received by him, but he has taken
steps to ensure that all the members of the * Medjliss * are docile and subser­
vient to his orders. At the same time, however, he has avoided identifying him­
self with any party in the State, thus preserving unimpaired his position as
ruler of a nation within a nation, the Snaikh of the Arab tribes of Arabistan.
It is typical of his semi-independent attitude of aloofness from Persia and
Persian affairs that he has made no attempt to cement alliances with neigh­
bouring tribes by carriages with other families, such as those of the Bakhtiari
Khans, the V/ali of Pusht-i-Kuh, etc.
His wives are selected from the chief families of the various tribes under
him. His late Persian wife, Jamil-es-Sultaneh, who was obtained through
the mediation of Eaji Rais in 1903, bore him children, but none of them lived,
and tho experiment is not likely to be repeated.