Page 673 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

71 ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF
latter gives his advice, but in matters dealing with foreigners or in general
policy and trade he has the greater 6ay and usually determines the issue.
The Shaikh is accepted and his influence strong throughout his district,
but it is said that, with regard to the Beni Turuf and such outlying frontier
tribes, his power has been greatly increased owing to the belief that, having
received the K.C.I.E., he is now under British protection. This belief is
very coinmon and indeed the recent troubled state of Persia has hardly affected
the Arab mind for they say “since the Shaikh is under British protection
and we under the Shaikh’s it makes but little difference to us whether there
is a Shah in Persia or not or whether the Russians take it or leave it, we
shall be safe.”
At times the old question of the Bakhtiari rivalry has been dangerous.
The Shaikh informs me that he has tried
Shaikh and Bakhti&ru.
the policy of friendliness with that im­
portant tribal confederacy, but that, owing to the various factions which
exist amongst them and the absence of a single powerful head, friendliness
with any one section only results in increased enmity with another and that,
as the friendship made does not bear any strain, any such attempts do but
make the situation worse.
In consequence his attitude is one of watchful suspicion. On the other
hand it is I think doubtful if the Bakhtiari Chiefs are aware of the provoca­
tive acts of their henchmen whose highly coloured reports convince them that
the Shailch and his followers are guilty of aggressions on their rights and on
their subjects.
The triple alliance of the Shaikh, the V/ali of Pusht-i-Kuh and Sowlet-
ed-Dowleh, made as a buffer against the
Disturbances at Shushtar.
Bakhtiaris, continued since no demands
were made upon it. The only thing which could, I think, make it ever mate­
rialise into actual reality would be Bakhtiari' aggression against two of its
members at the same time. Y7ere only one attacked the others would give
their moral support and assistance, but beyond that they would not go.
The troubles which so constantly break out at Shushtar, the supposed
centre of Government, owe much to the fact that that town is the headquar­
ters of the borderland where the Shaikh and Bakhtiari meet. Each Mohalla
possesses a feudal lordling whose condition, when at peace, is not one of
plenty while, on the other hand, when disturbances arise, he levies a contribu­
tion for the defence of his quarter which provides him with a living, thus the
conditions are perfect for trouble, the Bakhtiari party accuse the Shaikh of
stirring up strife, the Shaikh suspects the Bakhtiaris, while between the two
the Aghawat of the Mohallas eke out an honest existence.
The situation has parallels in the medieval history of Italian towns.
I propose in the coming year as soon as a Governor appears, if that
desirable condition should ever be attained, to spend part of my time in
Shoshtar and trust I may be able to arrive at some solution for this difficulty
or at any rate to determine the facts clearly, which is the first step to that
end, if the end is attainable.
In May disturbances broke out in Shushtar and, from the 17th to the
S^th May. shops were closed and no business could be done, and the ;
a Shushan,” Messrs. Lynch's steamer, was unable to run.
Shaikh Murteza, a protegd of the Bakhtiaris, and a lay member of the :
chief priestly family of Shusntar, had been expelled from Shushtar by the :
............. previous year. One of the chiefs of a Mohalla, Agha Shakrullah
Shaikh the
by name, w rho had also been expelled, was soon allowed to return and, in -
March, Saiyid Murteza was permitted to follow his example. Soon after,
instigated, it is said, by the Bakhtiaris, he stirred up feeling once more and, I
assisted by the son of Moin-ut^Tuijar, started a disturbance against Agha i
Muhammad Zeman, one of the Shaikh’s adherents.
Since there was no Governor, the Central Government asked the Shaikh
to take steps to put an end to the disturbances. The Shaikh agreed to do so,
but asked that his expenditure should be guaranteed and his actions indemni- \ :