Page 261 - Journal of Asian History_Neat

Journal of flu Anuriran Oriental Society, ,00.A (1970)
49S
difTori'iit figuron. shows th:it the prices h:id grimage route was directed toward unsettled
changed only a little with the new administration: local conditions and possible income to be gained.
rire was forty <ik{c for civilians and thirty-two The concern of the central government was di­
akp for the troops, dates were eighty-four rected toward the imperial question of Shi’a
aJkce and barley sixty-two ciAfe. Thirty-two uAfe pilgrims and in particular toward the danger of '
of the price of dates is here specifically stated to Safavid political agents infiltrating the eastern !
be tax 14 While there is not sufficient information frontier provinces.n !
in the documents to evaluate the real effect and Despite repeated complaints from the people j
fairness of the set prices, the documents do tes- and governor general of Lafosa and also of Basra, 3
tify to the continual discontent caused by them.34 the route probably remained officially closed j
Another point of continual contention between until the Treaty of Istanbul in 1591. Anyone-!
the government and the people was the pilgrimage who wished to go on pilgrimage during this 1
route. In this matter it was central government period from Lafesa was obliged t-o go via Iraq.,
policy rather than the acts of the governor general and Syria. For most, it was too far;M in any case
j
which created the trouble. Soon after the con- the governor general of Lafisfi was given the au-.'
quest of Laljsfi it was decided by Istanbul that the thority to imprison anyone attempting the route;
traditional pilgrimage route south from Basra and this seems to have been sufficient dissua-?
to Lahsi and then directly across the Arabian sion.” f
Peninsula to the liijaz was to be closed. A document dated late in 1643 shows that by|
The decision for this closure may have been then the route had been re-opened, although.':
taken even before the conquest, with the reduction harassment of Shi’a pilgrims with the active*?
of Basra in 15-16. One of the earliest documents I encouragement of the government was con-J
have found referring to the pilgrimge route and tinued.*0
summarized below gives no date for it but does One final point must be made before passing’
give some indication of the reasons. It was sent to on to the revolts led by the Ban! Halid. The’3
the governor general of Lahsa in 1570. lack of references to Shi’a families indigenous]
to Lahsa has been noted. There is one document, \
You have reported that the pilgrimage route between
Lahai and Mekke, which takes twenty days to cross, has however, which is suggestive in this regard, and
in the past been closed, but now that the province of may also indicate a non-Ottoman element in the
LahsA is pacified you see only benefit to the imperial revolts. The document was sent to the governor,
treasury (miri) from re-opening it. In any case, its general of Lahsa and was dated in November of i
closure is a hardship for the good Muslims of Lahs&.
1560. Among its points of discussion was the]
[reply! This route had long been usual between Bagdad following;
and Mekke, but then it was opened to Shi’a pilgrims
(fcbittxlf larafindan ’a^ilub) and the caravans became - • - The ajalar of the people of Ka^If have been modV
disorganized and confused (’ihlxlAt). The road was there- of them 'acem (Persian? foreign?) and there is no end tor
fore closed. Is this not still likely? Would Shi'a pilgrims
use the road?41 1
17 For this general concern see Kiitukofciu, Osmanli*
Iran MunascbclUri, p. 11, and as it applied to Shi’a!
The governor general’s concern for the pil-
pilgrims in Syria, Heyd, Ottornan Documents, p. 134:
(doc. no. 84). c
M M 43:566, n.d. (9SS/15S0). The quantity of dates is u M 27:271, 25 $a'biLn 983/29 November 1575; M,
stated in baskets (£ix jd/); the other quantities are not 43:211, n.d. (98S/1579-80); M 42:S6S, 10 CE 989/13
stated.
June 1581. a
11 For other references to high or illegal taxes and the •• M 6:671-2, 5 Ramazan 973/28 March 1568.
fixed prices, see M35:721, n.d. (986/1577-73); M 39:535, "M 89:233, eve of $a’b4n 1053/15 October, 1643;
n.d. Gate 987/late 1579); M 40:296, 4 CA 987/29 July 1579. Orders to the judge, fcyh’Hlislam and commander of tha
M 14:542, written (yaslldl) n.d. (second half 978/ garrison at Medina to cease harrassment of the pilgrima
ate 1570, early 1571). For an earlier reference see below, from LaJ^si, excepting the Shi’a (fclzltods frixccdcinda*
n. 90.
(jayri). \