his resettlement at Bibaydi, 411
Mar Shimun (Polus) his election to the Patriarchate, 381;
his death, 396-7
Mawana, siege and relief, 192-3.
Massacres, of the Armenians at Urfa, 17 _n._;
at Diarbekr, 34-6;
in Van _Vilayet_, 231-2, 244-5, 250, 254;
of the East Syrian Christians by Bedr Khan Beg, 37, 279;
of the Yezidis, 99-100, 102;
by Kobad at Amida, 32-3;
by Timour in Mesopotamia, 4-5, 265;
in the Great War, 360-4, 368, 372, 383-91
Medical treatment, as suggested by a Yedizi _hakim_, 146;
as practised by a Syrian _hakim_, 174;
and by the Archbishop's Mission, 146-7, 173-4, 327-30, 332-3
Mejid-es-Sultaneh, Governor of Urmi, 215;
administration of his estate, 221-3;
conduct during the war, 361, 385
Melek Taüs, Satan, the Yezidi deity, 90-106
Mergawar, 188, 360
Mesopotamia, 16, 42, 61-4, 341-9;
irrigation scheme, 357-8;
British administration of, 373, 392-3, 396-9, 405-8, 412-15
Mindan, refugee camp at, 398, 400, 406, 408-10
Mohammed the Prophet, his reputed _Firman_ to
the Church of Mar Zeia, Jilu, 172-3;
and to the Patriarchal Church at Qudshanis, 279
Mohammedans, mission work among, 204
Mohurram, at Urmi, 215
Money, in Turkey, 14-5
Mosul, 69-83, 85-6, 340-1;
description of city, 69-72;
incidents of life in it, 72-83
Murderous attempts upon Europeans, upon the author
and the British Consul in Gawar, 179-82;
upon the author between Urmi and Van, 223-6;
upon the Rev. Benjamin Labaree (American),
murdered in 1905, 191 _n._, 224 _n._;
upon an Englishman in Hakkiari, 277 _n._;
upon Capt. Maunsell, R.A., British Consul at Van in 1902, 329
Mush, Armenian outbreak, 247-50;
exploits of the Fedai parties, 247-9
N
Nabopolassar, Allied with Cyaxares against Nineveh, 83;
begins to rebuild Babylon, 352
Nahum the Prophet, his tomb at Alkosh, 116-7
Nazim Pasha, _Vali_ of Baghdad, at Mosul, 70;
makes peace with the Sheikh of Barzan, 140
Nebuchadnezzar, his victory at Carchemish, 13;
his rebuilding of Babylon, 352-4;
claimed as an ancestor by some Mountain Syrians, 112
Neri, the Sheikh of, 163-7;
Sheikh Obeid Allah, 163;
Sheikh Saddik, his tobacco smuggling, 163;
his banking account in London, 163-4;
his oppression of Christians, 164;
his judgment concerning the inspired cock, 164-5;
Sheikh Taha, 165;
his dispute with his uncle Abd-l-Kadr, 166-7;
his brother's (Sheikh Musa's) affront to the British Consul, 165-6
Nestorians, _see_ East Syrian Christians
Nimrud Dagh, 25, 235;
Fedai stronghold in crater, 249
Nineveh, site of the city, 83-5, 114-5;
its size, 114;
its fall, 83-4;
battles upon the site, 115
Niphates mountains, the modern Hakkiari, 135, 235
Nisibin, anciently Nisibis, 56-61;
captured by Lucellus, 56;
besieged by Sapor II, 57;
ceded to Persia by Jovian, 57-8;
Bar Soma's University, 58;
Church of St. James, 59-61
Noah, building of the Ark, 90;
voyage of the Ark, 335;
the Ark rests on Judi Dagh, Noah's Altar, tomb, and vineyard, 335-6;
the Ark represented as a _Ghufa_, 347-8
O
Old manuscripts, rumours of their existence, 154, 228
Omar, second khalif, supposed to have granted
toleration to the Nestorians, 172, 279
Omayyedes, Khalifs at Damascus, 103 _n._, 115-6 _n._
Oramar, 148-57;
Agha of, joins coalition against Assyrians, 366;
betrays Cossack re-inforcement, 369;
his stronghold sacked, 377
Osman Bey, _Vali_ of Mosul, his massacre of the Yezidis, 99-100
Osroëne, _see_ Abgarus
P
Persian officials at Urmi, their impotence, 194, 208, 214-8;
their attempts to put down the Seyyids, 214-5;
and to remedy disorder by assassination, 215-6, 217-8, 378, 380;
conduct during the war, 360-2, 375-6, 379-80, 410
Pennington, Capt., R.A.F., his flight from Miani to Urmi, 384
Petros Ello of Baz, his youthful rogueries, 218;
his leadership of the Assyrian armies, 381-6;
his impracticable pretensions since the armistice, 394, 397-8, 407-8, 411;
his futile irruption into Hakkiari, 401-5
Prester John, legend of, 262, 265
Prisons in Turkey, 151, 331-2;
easy-going confinement of prisoners, 75, 243-4;
rumours of the employment of torture, 256;
escape of Qasha Tuma and his deacon, 301-2
Q
Qashas (priests), married men, 113;
usually non-combatants in fights, 190
Qudshanis, 264-80;
site of village, 264, _see also_ Mar Shimun;
deserted by Patriarch, 364;
burned by Kurds, 366;
"Waters of Qudshanis," 374
Qurbana (the Eucharist), among the East Syrian Christians, 275-6, 338;
a Jacobite monk's query respecting it, 46
R
Rabat, building of the church, 302-3
Rabban Ephrem of Urfa, legend of, 21-2
Rabban Hormizd, legend of, 117-8
Rabban Hormizd, the Cave Monastery, 117-20
Rabbans and Rabbantas, 113, 270-1
Rabban Werda, 113;
at Sheikh Adi, 97-8;
at Rabban Hormizd, 118-9;
at Bavian, 123;
his journey to Bohtan, 337-8
Raids, general theory and practice, 39-40, 167-9, 291, 323;
women not molested formerly, 168, 292;
raids by the Kurds on Urmi plain, 216-8, 223;
at Shwawutha, 263-4;
by Mira Reshid on Lizan, 314-6;
by the Tkhuma men on Châl, 297-8;
by the Diz men, 291-2;
by the Tyari men on Berwar, 304;
by the Kurds on the Yezidis, 99-100, 102;
_see also_ Bedr Khan Beg, Heriki Kurds, etc.
Reshid Agha, of Ghara, his fifteen murders, and his
wish to become a British subject, 323-4
Reshid Beg, Mira of Berwar, his brigandage, 311-3;
his profits as a tax-gatherer, 313;
his _Jehad_ against Lizan, 314-5;
his evasion of punishment, 316;
joins coalition against Assyrians, 366;
recognized as representative of British authority, 404
Revolution in Turkey, general results, 38, 130-1, 257-61
Ritual murder, charged against Jews and Yezidis, 88 _n._
Roads, 16-7, 41-2, 47, 231
Roman remains, near Aleppo, 7-8;
at Urfa, 17-8;
at Diarbekr, 26-9;
at Deir el Za'aferan, 44;
near Mardin, 48;
at Dara, 48-51, 54-6;
at Nisibin, 56-61;
between Urmi and Van, 227-8
Rowandiz, Beg of, massacres the Yezidis, 102
Russia, her support courted by Kurdish intriguers, 37, 139;
intervenes in the Tergawar frontier dispute, 195;
occupies Urmi, 208, 220;
the asylum of the Armenian revolutionists, 245-6;
evacuates Urmi, 360-1;
returns, 362, 375;
relieves Van, 365, 390;
invites the Assyrians to join in the war, 365;
accords them slight support, 366, 368-9, 371, 376-7;
collapses, 377-80
S
Sabonji Pasha, the "Tammany Boss" of Mosul, 73, 85;
foments the war with the Sheikh of Barzan, 139, 140 _n._
Sakkiyehs, on the Tigris banks, 343
Saladin, 21;
builds the citadel at Aleppo, 3;
owner of Khoshab Kala, 232-3
Salmas, 371-2, 374, 376
Samarra, 348-9
Sapna, eastern portion, _see_ Barzan, 135-8;
anarchy in western portion, 311-3;
the Chaldaean bishop and his intrigues, 321-3;
during the war, 366;
re-settlement schemes, 395-6, 411
Sapor I, king of the Sassanid Persians, defeats the Emperor Valerian, 16
Sapor II, king of the Sassanid Persians, captures Amida, 30-1;
repulsed at Nisibis, 57;
defeats the Emperor Julian, 57-8, 348
Sargon, king of Assyria, leads the ten tribes of Israel captive, 81-2, 304
Sassanian Empire, _see_ Chosroës, Kobad, and Sapor;
_also_ Bar Soma
Sassanian remains, at Urfa, 18;
at Seleucia Ctesiphon, 354
Sat, tale of the woman of Sat, 160-1;
the forgotten _Mudir_, 161-2;
the Heriki Valley, 162-3
Savage and Scott-Ollson, Capts., 14th Hussars.
Rescue of Assyrian refugees, 386
Second sight, instances of, 304-6, 326-7
Seleucid Empire, 343
Seljuk sultans, 21, 132
Seljukian remains, 232
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, his destruction of Babylon, 121, 352-3;
his palace at Nineveh (Koyunjik), 83-4;
his quarries at Bavian, 121-4
Serpent worship, traces of, 101
Seyyid Ullah, of Mosul, his burglaries and smuggling, 74-5
Seyyids, at Urmi, their insolence, 208-9;
attempts to deal with them by Governors of Urmi, 208-15;
and by Bedr Khan Beg, 190-1;
_see also_ Khoja Nazr-ed-din, and Haji Kas
Shamashas, deacons, in the East Syrian Church, 112, 190, 192-4
Shamsdin, _see_ Neri
Sheikh Adi, the Yezidi Prophet, 104-5
Sheikh Adi, Yezidi Temple, 90-101
Sheikh Mattai, monastery, 117-8
Shwawutha, raided by Kurds during author's stay there, 263-4;
church, 274 _n._
Simko, Agha of the Shekak Kurds, 216, 370;
allies himself with the Assyrians and Armenians, 378-9;
turns traitor and assassinates Mar Shimun, 380-2;
his present predominance at Urmi, 412
Sindiguli Kurds, 311-2
Sinsariskun (Sardanapalus), king of Assyria, his death, 83;
his temple at Assur, 344
Sipan Dagh, 25, 335 _n._
Stones, set up as votive monuments, 15, 233;
as sepulchral cairns, 15-6
Sun worship, traces of, 101;
_see also_ High Places
Superstitions, of Jann, goblins, etc. 183-4, 277, 333-5;
of the _Hiblabashi_ or vampire, 333-4;
of the _Khwarha_, 306;
of unquiet spirits, 319;
_see also_ Second sight, Evil eye, and Yezidis
Surma, sister of Mar Shimun, 270-1;
installed in charge of magazine, 376-7;
her mission to England, 400-1
Suryi, 142-7
T
Tahir Pasha, _Vali_ of Mosul, 76-8;
on the frontier commission at Urmi, 218-20;
_Vali_ at Van during Armenian outbreak, 251;
death, 368
Tal, the rebuilding of Rabat Church, 302-3;
proposal for eliminating Chaldaean intruders, 303-4;
shrine of Mar Abd' Ishu, 306-7;
during the war, 371-4
Talaat Pasha, his massacres of Armenians, 387-91
Taxes, 14-5;
corrupt assessments, 38-9
Tax-gathering, by the _Malmudir_ at Akra, 129-31;
in the mountain districts, 161-3, 175 _n._;
by the sheikh of Barzan, 150-1;
by Mira Reshid of Berwar, 313-4
Tekrit, 347
Tendurek Dagh, 235;
Fedai stronghold, 249-50
Tenure of land, in Turkey, 14;
in Persia, 221-2
Tergawar, 188-95;
turbulence of the Christian tribesmen, 189-90, 192;
their chief, Bajan, 189;
their bishop, Mar Dinkha, 191;
their defence and relief of Mawana, 192-3;
driven from their homes by the Ottoman occupation, 194;
enlisted as garrisons by the villages near Urmi, 218, 223;
installed in Mejid-es-Sultaneh's villages, 220-3;
return to their homes, 194-5;
driven out in Great War, 360
Tettu Agha, suppressed by the Sheikh of Barzan, 143-4
Thaddeus, Saint (Mar Adai), the Apostle of the East, 18-9, 104
Thomas, Bishop of Amida, 34;
builder of Daras, 49
Thomas, Saint, the Apostle of India, 18-9;
legend of his walking across Lake Urmi, 201
"Three Children," the, their burial-place, 343
Tigris River, at Diarbekr, 26-7;
at Mosul, 69-70, 82-3, 114;
Mosul to Baghdad, 340-9
Timour the Tartar, his ravages in Mesopotamia, 4-5, 265;
his repulse from the citadel of Mardin, 44
Tiridates, king of Armenia, his palace at Amida, 29;
his conversion to Christianity, 238-9
Tkhuma, 143, 284;
fighting reputation of the clansmen, 293;
their views on frog-eating, 289;
their raid on the Kurds of Châl, 297-8;
their readiness to resent a slight, 298;
their treatment of a tackless teetotaler, 298-9;
and of an intrusive ethnologist, 300-1;
the Rev. W.H. Browne in a dangerous predicament among them, 299-300;
during the war, 366, 369-71, 404-6
Travelling, on the plains, 6-7, 41-2, 47-8;
across the Chôl, 61-4, 339-40;
in the mountain districts, 111, 113-4, 124-5,
134-6, 138, 147-9, 155-9, 287-8;
by _keleg_ down the rivers, 341-2
Tree worship, traces of, 100, 127 _n._, 205
True Cross, a Legend of the, 188
Tuma, Qasha of Tyari, volunteers to kill the Rev. W. H. Browne's enemies, 273;
imprisoned at Amadia, and breaks out, 301-2
Turkish officials, their courtesy, 161, 179, 243;
their corruption and laziness, 38-9, 73-6, 130-1,
178-9, 180-2, 239-40, 313, 315-6;
their occasional outbursts of ferocity, 34-6, 244-5;
individuals under the thumb of local chiefs, 163, 312;
or forgotten in remote corners, 161-2;
the prospect under the new _régime_, 38, 130-1, 259-61, 357-8;
_see also_ Tahir Pasha, a Sabonji Pasha, and Amadia, _Kaimakam_ of
Turkish soldiers, their ill-treatment by Government, 38, 229-31;
their good behaviour, 229-31, 253
Tyari, 284-8;
prejudices of the clansmen, 288-90;
their _amour propre_, 290;
their fighting reputation, 293;
their feuds and raids, 273, 290-4;
their representatives volunteer to aid the
British Army in South Africa, 272;
their primitive habits, 294-5;
their chivalry, 295-7;
their skill in prison breaking, 301-2;
their devotional raids on the Jews of Berwar, 304;
their reputation of being "all mad together," 308, 309 _n._;
their treatment of lunacy, 308;
their former method of dealing with old age, 308-9;
their exploits in the Great War, 366, 370, 385, 403-6
U
Urfa, formerly Edessa, 17-23, 27, 389
Ur of the Chaldees, site of, 22
Urartian remains, at Firek Gol., 123 _n._;
at Khoshab, 233;
at Van, 236-7, 253
Urartu, ancient empire of, 236-7
Urmi, 196-7, 205-20;
vicissitudes during the Great War, 360-2, 369, 371-2, 375-6, 379, 381-5;
conditions since the war, 412-3;
difficulties with the Urmi Christians, 394, 397, 403-4, 407, 412-3
Urmi, Lake, 200-1
V
Valerian, Emperor, defeated by Sapor I, 16
Vampires, belief in, 333-4
Van, anciently Dhuspas, 245-61;
capital of the Empire of Urartu, 236-7;
Armenian outbreak at, 250-7;
its fate during the war, 365, 383, 389-90
Van Lake, 235-6;
curative properties of its waters, 236
Volcanic districts in Kurdistan, 24-6, 41-2, 235, 249-50, 340
W
War song of the Assyrians, 365-6
Wild animals, 63-4, 126, 155, 280-3
Wilson, Sir Arnold, Acting Chief Commissioner, Mesopotamia, 396 _n._, 398-9
Wise men of the East, legend of the, 202, 413
X
Xenophon, his fording of the Euphrates, 12;
his march up the banks of the Tigris, 342 _n._, 347;
and across the site of Nineveh, 114;
his encounters with the Carduchi, 39 _n._
Xerxes, trilingual inscription at Van, 236-7
Y
Yailas, defence and evacuation of, 370-4
Yezidis, 87-100;
their belief, 88, 98-9, 100-6;
their temple at Sheikh Adi, 91-100;
their stronghold on Jebel Sinjar, 89-90, 102, 154 _n._;
their Mira, 106-9;
their ill-repute among their neighbours, 88-9;
oppressed, proscribed, and massacred, 99-100, 102, 109;
the Yezidi _hakim_ at Barzan, 146;
immunity from massacre during the war, 391;
proposal to enrol in a contingent, 408 _n._
Z
Zab, River, in eastern Sapna, 135-7, 142;
at the "Bridge of Rocks," near Suryi, 149;
its sources, 177;
identified with the Pison, 264;
its gorges in Tyari, 284-9;
at Lizan bridge, 315;
scene of operations in the Great War, 368, 372, 374, 400, 403-4
Zab River, Lesser, 343
Zanghi the Atabek captures Edessa, 21
Zaptiehs, as escort to European travellers, 46-7, 61, 67;
their opinion of Yezidis, 89;
considered _de trop_ in the Sheikh of Barzan's country, 135-6;
refuse to act against the Sheikh of Neri, 166;
attempt to shoot us in Gawar, 180-1
Zibari Kurds, 403-4
Ziggurats, at Kala Shergat, 344;
at Samarra, 348-9
Zohar Agha of Zirnek, preserves the fugitive Armenians, 232
Zoroaster, the Prophet of the Fire Worshippers, 199-200
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] The direct journey across the desert occupies about ten days, and
this is the route followed by the Government pack mules which carry
the mails; but we diverged slightly to the northward in order to visit
Urfa, Diarbekr, and Mardin.
[2] _Yaili_ is really a Turkish word meaning "springy."
[3] Hierapolis, _alias_ Bambyce, or Bembij, was sacred to the worship
of Astarte. Here one of the most notable remains is a great underground
conduit, with deep circular inspection pits descending into it at
frequent intervals. An American lady inspecting these pits observed
artlessly that "now she understood where all those columns came from."
Apparently she imagined that they had been extracted like so many corks!
[4] A _Khanji_ keeps a _khan_ (an inn), just as an _Arabaji_ drives an
_araba_ (a carriage), or a _Katarji_ a _katar_ (a mule). The _ji_ is
simply a suffix meaning a worker.
[5] It may be said that the Government revenue is entirely derived from
the land; and it is at least quaint to observe that the pet ideal of
our own extremest Radicalism is at present actually realized (of all
places in the world) in Turkey!
[6] An English cheque in Turkey will often pass from hand to hand like
a banknote, and may be current for months before it reaches the bank.
Indeed a cheque is more readily accepted than a banknote. It is more
familiar to the money-changers. Also, if it gets purloined in the post,
the loss is more easily recoverable.
[7] Weights and measures are in a similar state of chaos: _e.g._ each
village has its own "stone" (a real material stone varying in size and
weight _ad libitum_), and will sell its produce by no other standard.
[8] The bridge is now broken; but enough of it remains to reflect great
credit on its builder, whether he was actually the Emperor Valerian or
no.
[9] This church was the scene of one of the most fiendish incidents in
the terrible Armenian massacres of 1895. Over two thousand refugees of
all ages and both sexes had crowded into the sacred edifice to seek
sanctuary from their pursuers. The Moslems thrust through the doors
and windows fragments of broken furniture and carpets saturated with
paraffin, and burnt or suffocated every soul.
[10] A legend attaches to these columns which should make a strong
appeal to anyone with gambling instincts. One of the two is full of
gold and silver; the other acts as stopper to a prodigious fountain
of water which is capable of producing another Noachian flood. He who
pulls down the former will win wealth beyond the dreams of avarice;
but if he touches the latter he will eliminate mankind. Which is which
no one can tell, for the two are precisely similar, and consequently
nobody hitherto has had courage to risk the attempt.
[11] There are many tombs and hermits' cells in the hill which faces
the castle, similar to the combs and cells of Dara, which will be
described in chap. iii. One of the tombs near the moat has a door
formed of a great stone disc running in a groove and socket. Of this
type in all probability was the tomb of our Lord.
[12] The inhabitants of Osroëne might be quite correctly described as
"Greeks"; that word being often used in the New Testament as merely
equivalent to "Gentiles."
[13] "They have continued Christian to this day," writes Eusebius; a
statement which is not quite accurate, for Paganism was re-established
later. Yet there were undoubtedly a large number of Christians in
Edessa in Eusebius' day.
[14] Many of the Crusaders had married Asiatic wives, and the children
of such ill-assorted marriages were generally a pretty poor lot. This
fact contributed very sensibly to the fall of the Latin kingdom of
Jerusalem.
[15] The true Ur of the Chaldees was either Erech or Tel Mugayir in
Babylonia; but Haran, Abraham's later home, lay a considerable distance
further north. Local traditions identify it with Harran (Carrhæ)
about twenty-five miles south of Urfa, the proudest boast of whose
inhabitants is the possession of Rebekah's Well. Other corroborative
traditions assert that the Patriarch lost many cattle in fording the
Euphrates near Birijik; and that the Arabic name of Aleppo (Haleb,
"milk")was bestowed upon it in compliment to his pedigree cow. Jacob
was certainly journeying northwards when he fled from Beersheba to
Bethel; but this fact does not necessarily favour the Urfa tradition,
for his direct line to Babylonia would cross an impassable desert. The
Ibrahim of Urfa was perhaps some local hero who has got credited with
his namesake's deeds. It may be added that a further tradition asserts
that Urfa was the home of Job.
[16] A multitude of basalt boulders covering quite a considerable
area lie in the midst of the alluvial levels a little to the east of
Nisibin. These are, of course, obviously volcanic, but it is not quite
obvious how they get there: for Karaja and Nimrud, the nearest admitted
craters, are each a hundred miles away.
[17] It is said that they were cleared away once; and that the
inhabitants promptly replaced them, lest they should lose the fees that
accrued to them for helping carriages along the road!
[18] The spacing of the towers also is just about the same as at Lugo
and Astorga; but the irregular outline of the works is less usual, the
Romans generally adopting a more formal plan.
[19] The walls of Constantinople had similar double banquettes. In this
case the walls were double; and the two walls, taken together, must
have made a stronger defence than the single wall at Amida. But neither
of the two, taken separately, was quite so formidable in itself.
[20] The whole is built of basalt with yellow marble columns, and
yellow marble bands here and there.
[21] The science of war has made little progress in these parts since
the days of the Assyrians. To this day a Kurdish chieftain, when
besieging his rival's castle, will endeavour to force an entry by
mining the walls with picks.
[22] Zachariah of Mitylene.
[23] Chosroes employed the same device in his siege of Edessa a little
later. In this case the mine was fired prematurely and (lest the smoke
should betray them) the defenders pelted the mound with fireballs
so that the Persians never suspected that the real danger was under
ground. Presently the fire got beyond all quenching, and the mound was
destroyed completely; the smoke of its burning being visible fifty
miles away. Such counter-strokes were rather dangerous, as sometimes
the wall itself burst with the heat of the bonfire; but the basalt
walls of Amida were doubtless pretty well inured.
[24] Kobad's losses had amounted to 50,000, so there were plenty of
_manes_ to appease.
[25] We may quote a parallel incident which occurred in India soon
after the Mutiny. An old cultivator was being examined as witness
with regard to the outbreak in his town. He had heard a great row, he
explained, but at first he took no notice. He thought it was "only
the Rajah plundering the bazaar." But soon the riot came nearer, and
he could distinguish the shouts of "Allah." And at that word he grew
frightened. It must mean real mischief when the mob invoked the name of
God!
[26] See pp. 227, 338. Bedr Khan Beg's massacres of the mountain
Christians occurred in 1843, and are described by Layard in his
"Nineveh and its Remains." Under pressure from the British Ambassador,
Bedr Khan and his family were eventually banished to Candia--"a totally
inadequate punishment."
[27] Or rather, he has now written the Code Napoleon side by side with
this system, and left authority to take its choice between the two, and
to apply the code that is least trouble in each case!
[28] The Kurds are a very ancient people, no doubt identical with
the "Carduchi" who gave so much trouble to the Ten Thousand in the
Anabasis. Their modern Russian name "Kurdischi" is a transliteration of
the Greek.
[29] These oppressed nationalities cherish pathetically futile hopes
of British intervention, recognizing rightly that England is the only
disinterested power. But the only power ever likely to interfere
effectively is Russia; and though those who have tried Russian rule
have found themselves bitterly disillusioned, it must be admitted that
the Russians preserve better order than the Turks. What the country
needs is a set of self-sacrificing administrators, with no axe of their
own to grind, who will devote themselves solely to the good of the
people. No other nation can furnish such administrators as England: and
no other nation so obstinately refuses to recognize their worth.
[30] These monasteries have been visited and described by the Rev. O.
H. Parry and Miss G. Lothian Bell.
[31] _i.e._ "Believers in one nature"; the name was given them because
they rejected the technical term enforced at Chalcedon, which declared
that Christ existed "_in two natures_," the Divine and the Human.
[32] It is a remarkable proof of the persistency of Eastern conditions
that, up to the commencement of the present century, 1 piastre (2_d._)
was still regarded as the regular day's wage.
[33] The Chronicler also alludes to the baths as a monument fit to rank
even with the granary and the cistern; but the limited time at our
disposal did not allow us to identify these. The bridge and the river
embankments are, however, conspicuous works.
[34] The establishment of this hermit monastery must have followed
immediately upon the building of the city: for it is written that
in 526 the Queen of King Kobad, being possessed by a demon, and
having sought relief in vain from her own magicians, sorcerers, and
soothsayers (who only succeeded in "introducing more demons into her")
came hither to consult a certain holy hermit named Moses, and was duly
healed by his prayers. Kobad was, of course, officially a Zoroastrian
(and privately, of all incredible things, a Communist); but even to
this day the mountain Moslems not infrequently go on pilgrimage to
Christian shrines.
[35] Justinian, it may be noted, had equipped this army with such a
plethora of commanders that their defeat can hardly cause surprise.
[36] The snowfall on this occasion was even more prodigious in the
mountains. The valley of Amadia was buried under an _average_ depth of
fourteen feet, and not a man could stir beyond his own village for a
period of fully four weeks! Fortunately the villagers had their winter
stock of provisions and fuel, and so did not suffer like the nomads;
but the hares and partridges were exterminated, and have only just
begun to reappear.
[37] The driving belt also formed part of the loot, and this was a
good, useful bit of leather; so the game was generally voted quite
worth the candle after all.
[38] See p. 81 for an explanation of these terms.
[39] The terms are not technically correct, but are used for clearness'
sake.
[39a] The terms are not technically correct, but are used for
clearness' sake.
[40] Jonah is still a great personage in the district. The Fast which
he is said to have instituted, now known as the "Rogation of the
Ninevites," is still observed annually by the members of all religious
denominations--an extraordinary survival even in this extraordinary
land.
[41] Thus they are even charged with human sacrifices; and it is said
that, when a Yezidi falls ill, his relatives seek to propitiate the
Power of Evil in his favour by murdering a Christian or Kurd. The
charge is widely believed, but quite unsupported. It reminds one of
the old accusation of ritual murder which was so often brought against
the Jews in mediæval Europe; and which, by the way, is still devoutly
believed by the Syrians--"Surely you would not eat Jews' bread, Rabbi?
How can you be sure it is not made with the blood of a Christian child?"
[42] This is really the same word as Amir. The title is also given
occasionally to some of the local Kurdish chiefs.
[43] Mascot means simply a temple, and is used by the Yezidis for
mosques and churches as well as for their own shrine. Etymologically it
is no doubt identical with _masjid_, _mezquita_, mosque.
[44] When approaching a village by night it is considered correct to
give warning, either by sending a messenger ahead, or by firing a gun
as one draws near, so that the villagers may be prepared for visitors.
Otherwise it is not at all improbable that the intruders may be saluted
with a fusillade!
[45] The Yezidis all agree that their temple was built by Christian
workmen, and the monks at Rabban Hormizd even went so far as to say
that it was once a Christian church. The former statement is possibly
true; but the latter highly improbable. Sheikh Adi must have been a
holy place long before the days either of Christians or Yezidis; and
that Christian monks may have occupied it for a time in the days of the
Roman Empire is about the utmost that we can reasonably concede.
[46] A hatchet forms part of the Mira's insignia when he is fully
arrayed for performing religious rites; and a comb has also certain
magic properties, as instanced on p. 306.
[47] The Christians always remove their shoes in their churches, in
addition to uncovering their heads.
[48] Another chamber, now used as an oil store for the temple lamps,
opens out of the sanctuary to the westward. It is conceivable that
this may have been the original nave, following the true lines
of Orientation; and that the naves on the south side were added
subsequently when larger accommodation was required.
[49] The Yezidis are so careful on this point that they even avoid
words which are at all similar in sound to Sheitan, such as _shat_ an
arrow and _keitan_ a thread.
[50] _i.e._ "Standards."
[51] They also act medicinally; the water in which they are washed
being a great specific against every kind of disease.
[52] When Mrs. Badger visited Sheikh Adi the priest showed her an image
which they said was that of _Melek Taüs_. But this was almost certainly
a bronze lamp in the form of a bird, which they produced to appease
her importunity. We are informed, however, that a later visitor has
actually seen and photographed one of the _sanjaks_.
[53] These practices, of course, did not originate in the Mosaic
ritual, and the Yezidis may possibly have borrowed them direct from a
yet older source.
[54] This owes its name to the fact of its having contained the word,
Sheitan--now in every instance carefully erased.
[55] It is possible that the Yezidis themselves at one time encouraged
this misconception; for, so long as the Ommayedes were on the throne,
Yezid's name may have helped to gain them toleration.
[56] In this legend we meet with the only official explanation to
account for _Melek Taüs_ being represented as a peacock. When the Marys
came to the empty tomb and found no body within it, _Melek Taüs_ (says
the legend) appeared to them as a Dervish and related what he had
done. To rebuke their doubts, he took a cock which had been killed,
cooked, and dismembered, and restored it to life in their sight. He
then vanished; first informing them that henceforth he would choose
to be worshipped in the form of the most beautiful of birds. The
representation of Deities under the form of birds was familiar to the
ancient Babylonians.
[57] The duty of hospitality is incumbent upon all Eastern monasteries;
and often where the monastery has become extinct this duty has passed
to the present tenants of its lands.
[58] From the days of "the Great Elchi" onward the English Ambassadors
have interfered occasionally, and with some success, in favour of the
persecuted Yezidis; and this fact explains their gratitude towards the
English race.
[59] "Divine right" is an axiom in the East; and the Khalifate soon
became hereditary, though at first it was endeavoured to make it
elective. To this day at Constantinople, though a Sultan may be deposed
or murdered, it is always a member of the House of Othman who is
appointed in his room.
[60] Not the same nephew that we had met at Sheikh Adi.
[61] This was really rather a bit of cheek. It would be thought
presumptuous even in a Kurd.
[62] A coarse local kind of Anise
[63] See, for instance, the head on the title-page--a portrait of
a Syrian priest, the late Qasha Khoshaba, who might have been a
reincarnation of Sargon.
[64] These caps are precisely of the shape which we see on Assyrian
bas-reliefs.
[65] A clean-shaven man in the East is regarded as something
emasculate, and in order to escape reproach one must wear at least a
moustache. Laymen often shave the beard and whiskers, but a bishop or
priest never shaves; and to shave a priest is esteemed as practically
equivalent to unfrocking him.
[66] Gibbon takes the "six-score thousand persons who could not
discern between their right hand and their left" as referring only to
the children, and thus calculates the total population of Nineveh at
700,000 souls. Taking a line from Mosul we might estimate that about
150,000 could actually be housed within the walls.
[67] Chosroës had sent him forth with the significant instruction: "If
you cannot conquer, you can die."
[68] On the same ground in 750 was fought the great battle which
transferred the Khalifate from the dynasty of the Omayyades to the
Abbassides. There can be few spots on the earth's surface which have
seen three such decisive days.
[69] One of these marshy valleys is known locally as the Dungeon of
Solomon, that potent necromancer having here imprisoned the rebellious
Jann, by pegging them into the mud.
[70] The monastery of Sheikh Mattai, perched high up on the southern
slopes of Jebel Maklub, is very similar to Rabban Hormizd in general
situation, but consists of buildings, not of caves.
[71] Of course he was: though physically (and we hope morally) the
accuracy of the description was not so striking as might be wished.
[72] A strong chain is advisable; for in one of the Tkhuma churches
a lunatic who had been similarly tethered succeeded in wrenching the
staple from the wall. The old priest entering next morning discovered
him squatting on the altar, having torn up all the service books,
and set the hangings on fire! He was further anxious to strangle
the priest, who only just eluded him. Evidently this was a case of
possession by Apollyon himself.
[73] The nearest village to these sculptures is Hinnis, upon the right
bank of the river at the point where our road struck it; but they take
their name from the larger village of Bavian, situated on the left bank
a little lower down.
[74] There are several remains of reservoirs also, built on the
southern side of the mountains by the Assyrians, and on the northern by
the Urartians. In one instance (at Firek Gol, near Van) even the dam is
still intact, but is no longer watertight.
[75] Abdul Hamid, for all his shortcomings, was apparently a pretty
good landlord. Khalilka had to pay to him only one-third of its rice
crop and one-fifth of its other produce; which is a considerably
smaller proportion than local custom would justify.
[76] These trees are often "sacred trees," from which no one will dare
to take fuel. For there are still "sacred trees" in this country--as
there were in the days when the bas-reliefs of Nineveh were carved.
[77] The _malmudir_ of Akra supervises the taxation of about 150
villages, and about £10,000 in taxes pass annually through his hands.
His salary is about £120, while that of a _kaimakam_ is £500 to £800,
according to the importance of his district. These are not exactly
princely (even when they are paid regularly), but it is, of course,
possible to increase them by well-recognized, if not quite legitimate,
means.
[78] We spent the night in equally brotherly fashion, our beds being
spread out for us side by side on the floor of the room. Our host even
wished us to take turn and turn about with the hubble-bubble with which
he solaced his last waking moments; but we pleaded that this was a
taste which we had not acquired.
[79] The prevalent opinion in Mosul was that the Tripoli, where the
war was raging, was the Asiatic Tripoli. The comet which was visible
about this time presaged destruction to the Italians, "because you
will observe that the tail points towards Italy"--the aforesaid comet
standing vertically in the north-eastern quarter of the sky.
[80] Tuesday, it may be added, is esteemed inauspicious by Christians,
because on that day Judas Iscariot made his covenant with the chief
priests. Wednesday is the Yezidi Sabbath; but apparently anyone may
work on Thursday. Thursday will probably be early closing day when
reform is inaugurated in the land.
[81] The Imaum is virtually a sort of parish clerk, leading the
Responses in the public services at the mosque; and our friend was as
gravely self-important as any English parish clerk could be.
[82] The Sheikh tried to purchase peace honestly; but his enemies
outraged even local morality by accepting his bribes, and persisting in
their machinations.
[83] They were mostly half-trained Kurdish levies, who were not quite
easy in their consciences at fighting such a Holy Man as the Sheikh,
and had moreover a pretty shrewd suspicion that they were being
employed in Sabonji's interests and not the _Hukumet's_. The Sheikh
used merely to disarm his prisoners, and then release them on parole.
As he had nowhere to keep them, his only alternative would have been to
kill them; and this would have meant a war of extermination, which he
did not wish to provoke.
[84] This was Nazim Pasha, then Vali of Baghdad, who was subsequently
Commander-in-Chief of the Ottoman army in the Balkan War, and was
assassinated by the partisans of Enver Bey during the negotiations
for peace. He so entirely exonerated the Sheikh as to award him £1000
indemnity--on paper: but the Sheikh had suffered heavily from the
plunder of his villages, and gained nothing but prestige.
[85] The correct title to use in addressing the Sheikh is
"_Corban_"--"Your Holiness."
[86] The regular oath of a Tyari Christian is: "By the head of Mar
Shimun."
[87] A "_belai_" forms the top story of many of the mountain houses. It
is quite open on one side (usually the northern) and forms the general
family living room during the summer heats. In winter it is used as a
hay barn, and thus helps to warm the room below.
[88] Except one hoof, to be accurate--such at least was the cook's
report. Scott points out that the Scotch highlanders also would eat
prodigious meals when they got the chance, though ordinarily their fare
was very meagre.
[89] Eye disease is terribly prevalent in all the neighbouring
provinces. It is originated by dust and want of cleanliness, and
aggravated by persistent neglect.
[90] In this connexion sometimes the phrase is unpleasantly literal.
The prison at Akra, for instance, is a regular bottle-shaped dungeon
like those at Alnwick and Berkeley, and in many Continental keeps.
[91] See p. 112.
[92] It is to be feared that sometimes they adopt other masculine
habiliments, particularly (for instance) in winter, for convenience in
getting through deep snow. We went once to rout up a workman who had
failed to turn up at his job in the morning. He was still in bed, we
discovered. A fact which did not tend to appease us until he faltered
out his excuse. "But my wife has gone away to work, Rabbi; and has
taken my only pair of trousers"--when we fear that the Rabbi's laughter
brought these confidences to a sudden end.
[93] This brushwood harbours all sorts of vermin, including scorpions
and serpents, which latter are rather encouraged because they are
reputed to eat the rest. The proper way to get rid of them is to make
up a blazing fire, and pile on to it a quantity of sheep's horns or
goats' horns (cow's horns will not do). This sounds as if it ought to
get rid of much worse things than serpents!
[94] The _tanura_ serves also as an oven, and when the fire has
subsided into embers the thin pancakes of dough (the form in which
bread is usually made in the mountains) are plastered round the hot
sides of the pit.
[95] Most "old books" have now been ferreted out, and perhaps the only
earths yet untried are in the Yezidi villages of the Sinjar. These
villages were formerly Christian; and there is a widespread conviction
(strenuously denied by the Yezidis) that old Christian books still
remain there, carefully secreted in certain caves. We have heard from a
Syrian priest that he himself once actually saw some spread out to dry
in the sun because they had got damp in a flood. He was at once headed
off when he tried to look at them; but could see from the title-page
that one was "The Works of Diodorus," a famous Eastern doctor whose
writings have been entirely lost.
[96] This journey was actually made in the spring of 1909, and was thus
earlier in date than the events recorded in the last chapter.
[97] Alternatively _mesta_--curds; the usual form of dairy produce
hereabouts--identical with Jael's "Butter in a lordly dish."
[98] Turkey has since evacuated the disputed province.
[99] See "Highlands of Asiatic Turkey," by Lord Percy. The victim was
Mar Gabriel of Urmi.
[100] See the writings of Æneas Sylvius Piccolomini, quoted by Milman,
"Latin Christianity," XIII, xvi. The Italian, however, entirely
misunderstood the chivalrous practice.
[101] The Prophet himself never left Arabia; and even Omar--a favourite
legendary hero in these parts--never came north of Jerusalem.
[102] The life of a minor official in Turkey is not a happy one. We
have recently heard of the experience of a tax-collector in this
seventh year of upright and constitutional government, who undertook
the adventurous job of gathering the taxes from Tkhuma and Tyari, (!)
at a wage of £3 per month. After two months' work he asked for an
instalment of his salary. "My dear fellow, you shall have it all,"
said the _Mal-mudir_; "there are no more arrears in these days; you
take all your salary--subject to the official deductions, of course."
Accordingly he presented the applicant with a schedule of these
"deductions" (which amounted to £5 10s. 9d. out of the total of £6),
and the balance of 9s. 3d. in silver!
[103] From "Turkey in Europe" by "Odysseus"
[104] These truculent ruffians (when they have thoroughly earned a
thrashing) will often accept it with most edifying docility. We have
heard the late Dr. Browne, an old gentleman of the mildest manners and
most fragile appearance, lamenting with the utmost artlessness that he
had been obliged to thrash his muleteers. Consuls do not approve the
habit, but have been known to practise it nevertheless.
[105] There is some real danger in exploring these caverns, for if you
do not often find real _Jann_, you are always liable to stumble on a
wolf!
We were once exploring a "cave-monastery," near Maragha; one feature
of which was a long passage, burrowing into the rock, and expanding at
intervals into cells, like balls threaded on a string.
Down this we crawled, with an antiquarian's eagerness, our guide
politely allowing us to go first. When we were well in, a voice came
from behind us: "_Rabbi_, there's a wolf who generally lives down here,
but I don't know if he's in now!"
[106] _I.e._ by Kurds driving cattle into the building. This outrage is
exceptional, but not unknown.
[107] Orientals usually attribute the Epistle to the Hebrews to St.
Paul.
[108] We fear that other episodes in the career of this polite brigand
are of a far darker hue. He was at least concerned in the murder of an
American Missionary--the Rev. Benjamin Labaree--in 1905.
[109] Tea is considered a great luxury, and men of moderate means will
actually ruin themselves by indulging in it. Not so much owing to the
cost of tea as to that of the sugar, for they use about as much sugar
as the tea will dissolve.
[110] Owing to Russian influence, this statement now needs some
qualification as far as Urmi is concerned.
[111] It is a double church really: Mar Sergius and Mar Bacchus:
these very popular saints in the East, among whose churches that at
Constantinople is the most famous, were Persian martyrs of the fifth
century; and the church of Mar Sergius near Urmi claims to mark the
site of their martyrdom.
[112] The word has been adopted into English, as a relic, probably, of
Crimean slang; and the "Ancient Society of Codgers" may claim khoja
Nazr-ed-din as a member of their club. Literally, it means "eunuch" or
"tutor"; but in common speech implies rather "old fellow."
[113] Persian women have a high reputation for cleverness; a repute
which is exemplified in the saying that every Moslem, to be happy,
requires at least four wives. A Persian because of her wit, and a
Circassian because of her beauty; an Armenian to do the cookery and
housework, and a Kurdish woman to thrash, as a wholesome example to the
other three.
[114] At the present price of silver about 3_s._ 6_d._
[115] Heir-Apparent of Persia; Azerbaijan is his hereditary province.
[116] This was the Rev. Benjamin Labaree, of the American Presbyterian
Mission, Urmi, who was murdered by the _Seyyid_ Nur-ed-din, on account
of some personal grudge that he had (or fancied he had) against another
member of that mission. The _Seyyid_ was little better than a madman;
though, of course, not the less of a holy man or of a dangerous
scoundrel on that account. It appears (though there is not absolute
certainty in the matter) that Mr. Labaree was offered life if he would
renounce Christianity by repeating "the _kalima_," and died as a martyr
on his refusal.
[117] Even Bibles used to reach their destination with the word Armenia
neatly obliterated; but we feel there was some excuse for the censor
who confiscated a batch of hymn books on the ground that "Onward
Christian Soldiers" was a sort of Armenian _Marseillaise_!
[118] _i.e._ Governor. The rank is intermediate between _kaimakam_ and
_vali_.
[119] "I'll tell you what it is," cried an irritated British Consul to
an Armenian petitioner, "if ever we did undertake the administration
of your country, you fellows would have to pay your taxes." "What!"
exclaimed that gentleman in dismay, "_every year?_"
[120] The criminals who were not sentenced must have been far more
numerous. The _Vali_ must have felt like the old Lord of Perugia, who
had to grant a general amnesty lest he should depopulate the town!
[121] The word "_Fedai_" is Persian, and comes from a root that
means sacrifice, and implies "one who sacrifices himself for a
cause." Thus a volunteer in a forlorn hope would be a _Fedai_; and
the term was originally applied to the devoted Assassins of the "Old
Man of the Mountain" in crusading days. Ottomans usually called the
revolutionaries simply "brigands." A third society, the _Huntchak_, was
worked on the same lines as the _Tashnak_, and was incorporated with it
later.
[122] _Tashnak_ means a banner.
[123] Some were found in the writer's own residence; a Tashnakist
having taken service with him for the express purpose of securing a
good _cache!_ The soldiers were hugely delighted with their haul, and
gave us some packets of dynamite as mementoes!
[124] Otherwise "Bashi-bazouks." This word of formidable memory means
merely "rotten-heads," and is barrack slang for a civilian mob.
[125] It may be a novelty to some readers to hear that all varieties
of Christianity, as well as of Islam, are established and endowed by
the State in Turkey. Bishops are appointed by the State and are State
paid in part; and church organizations are recognized, given power, and
controlled as such. The fallacious assumption implied in the query,
"_quid Christianis cum regibus?_" does not deceive the Oriental as
easily as it appears to do the Western.
[126] See the Preface.
[127] Until quite lately his Beatitude maintained a court jester
also--one Shlimun (Solomon), who died a few years ago. He was an
amusing scamp, but his sense of humour was sometimes rather _outré_.
[128] The priest has been known to stop in the middle of service, and
ask her where he is to go on; for they are simple folk, and the Use is
very complex.
[129] See Benson, "Cyprian," pp. 51-57. The scandals there referred to,
however, are quite absent from the modern Nestorian Church.
[130] This advice applies even more forcibly to travellers in the
remoter villages. There almost the only food obtainable is the
local pancake bread. The sole delicacies are "butter (_i.e._ curds)
and honey," as they were in the days of Isaiah. Eggs may be got
occasionally; but the pampered European who lusts for flesh meat had
better bring it with him in tins. Life is too hard in the mountains to
yield more than the barest necessaries; and the slaughter of a sheep
for a banquet is a very exceptional extravagance indeed.
[131] The churches serve as refuges for the women and children whenever
the villages are raided, and are thus built with an eye to security.
Often they are planted in almost impregnable sites, like the little
church of Shwawutha in our illustration.
[132] Attached to the church are a couple of anchorites' cells, and
within the last twenty-five years one of these was actually inhabited
by a venerable hermit--the _rabban_ Yonan. The incumbent is entitled to
reside there still--if he likes.
[133] See additional note, p. 283.
[134] Fasting as a religious observance is most strictly enforced
among the Syrians. We have known a priest refuse to proceed with a
marriage service (which, of course, is ranked as a Sacrament) because
he discovered that the best man had been smoking that morning! It was
only after thrashing the delinquent that he relented and finished the
service.
Smoking breaks a fast. And this fact was exemplified in a ludicrous
sequel to an ugly attack on an Englishman which occurred in these
parts in 1912. The Englishman had evaded his assailants, and found
shelter for the night in a village: but it was quite likely he would
be pursued; and at daybreak next morning every one's nerves were very
much on edge. The sun's rays had just touched the hill-top opposite,
and the shadows were rapidly sinking into the valley, when over the
ridge, running as hard as he could leg it, there swooped a solitary
Kurd. None could doubt the nature of his tidings; and they watched with
their hearts in their mouths as he tore down the slope towards them,
leapt the stream, flung himself on the grass beside it, and--_lit a
cigarette_.
It was _Ramazan_: and he only wished to reach a spot where the sun had
not yet risen, in order to enjoy a last smoke!
[135] Tyari men would not have eaten her at all; not for that reason,
but because they have scruples about touching beef. "Our Fathers did
not do so."
[136] The Baz men are hereditary builders, and migrate in a body to
Mosul in winter in order to undertake such work.
[137] _i.e._ "Prophet."
[138] A comb is one of the mystic symbols which are carved on the
Yezidi temple at Sheikh Adi.
[139] See note at end of chapter.
[140] See Tylor, "Anthropology," ch. xvi.
[141] Reshid's personal reputation may be gleaned from the fact that
natives travelling in our company have begged us to pocket their
cash for them while passing through his borders. Even our inviolable
"shadow" was not quite good enough there!
[142] _Châl_ in Turkish means Thieve!--habitually, and preferably with
violence. But this, though admirably apposite, is not an accredited
derivation.
[143] The writer was recounting this anecdote at a meeting after his
return to England when an old gentleman in the audience was overheard
to remark, in a scandalized voice: "Tut, tut, tut; why didn't he give
him in charge?"
[144] There are no coroner's inquests in the mountains; but we never
killed any one as far as we know.
[145] "Books of remedies" and collections of charms like the one
referred to are often found among the Nestorians, and the substance
of them is often of almost incredible antiquity. The writer once
translated some specimens he had selected to a friend learned in
Assyriology and found that they were essentially identical with the
charms on the oldest of the Babylonian tablets. A substratum of the
oldest faith of the land has survived all the changes of seven thousand
years.
[146] The incident occurred in 1901 or 1902. The officer concerned was
Captain Maunsell, R.A., then British Vice-Consul at Van. The English
"Apostles" do not usually carry arms. It might answer if they could be
sure of disabling an assailant; for then he would come to be doctored,
and amicable relations would be re-established. But to kill him would
start a blood feud, and to miss him would be worst of all. The _vacuus
viator_ is safer than one who carries such a valuable prize as an
English gun.
[147] The lady is usually allowed very little choice. We were consulted
once in a knotty case where a girl had been betrothed to one man by
her father and another by her mother; and we mildly suggested that she
might at least be allowed a casting vote. "What can it matter to her,
Rabbi?" said the Bishop of Berwar who was acting as arbitrator; "one
husband is as good as another!"
[148] "And satyrs shall dance there" is the final touch in Isaiah's
picture of the desolation of Babylon. This is doubtless the identical
beast.
[149] He entirely confirmed Mr. Bram Stoker's evidence that the King of
the Vampires is Dracula.
[150] Armenians aver that this happened on the summit of Sipan Dagh,
near Van. Noah, on feeling the bump, ejaculated "_Sipan Allah!_"
(Praise God!) and this gave its name to the mountain. He must have been
the only mariner on record to feel delight at such an event.
[151] These were the gorges that drove Xenophon to take to the
mountains in the Anabasis. He could march up the left bank of the river
about as high as Jezireh; but there the ravine grew too narrow and
difficult for troops.
[152] Herodotus seems to have confused the _keleg_ and the _ghufa_ in
his notes; for both existed, on the evidence of the sculptures, in his
day. He speaks of "circular craft, covered with skins and caulked with
bitumen," and made on wooden frames. He adds that at the journey's
end the wood was sold, and the skins carried back "to Armenia" on the
back of a donkey that had made the voyage down on the vessel. All his
details are right, as regards one or other of the two types, save only
the voyaging donkey. An experienced jackass will jump readily into a
_ghufa_ and be ferried across, or some way down, the river; but he does
not, in these days at any rate, come all the way down from Diarbekr to
Baghdad. However, there is no reason why he should not.
[153] Under these was in each case a small chamber, just large enough
to contain the miniature image of the "guardian of the threshold" that
was invariably placed there.
[154] See p. 191.
[155] This is not precisely the epithet that is usually applied to
Nineveh in Scripture; but a touch of national prejudice changes the
point of view. The Assyrian Tyrtæus was a refugee from Serai, near Van.
[156] See pp. 311 _et seq._
[157] See p. 317.
[158] See pp. 76-78, 251, etc.
[159] See pp. 136 _et seq._
[160] See pp. 171-73.
[161] The _Yaila_ of Shina lies amid the mountains which are shown in
the illustration facing p. 176. It would be near the extreme left of
the picture, facing the precipices of Ghara Dagh.
[162] The Tal gorge debouches upon the Zab from the left, near the
further end of the reach shown in the frontispiece. See also p. 288.
[163] This must have been a col in the distant mountain range, shown in
the illustration facing p. 257.
[164] See pp. 127, 159, etc.
[165] See p. 216.
[166] The Kitab ul Fakhri on the Tartar sack of Baghdad.
[167] See pp. 256-69. Firebrand as he was, Aram on this occasion did
all he could to avert disorder, exhorting the Armenians to suffer
anything rather than give a pretext for "repression."
[168] The delay was partly owing to the "Sykes-Picot Treaty" which left
Mosul in the French sphere. The French could not work this treaty, and
for long would not consent to its abrogation, and the fact tied British
hands.
[169] A quaint episode marked the campaign. After storming--and
plundering--a Kurdish village, some exultant mountain warriors came
to their C.O. to announce that they had secured the most valuable
loot they could hope to win. They presented to the amused officer
an enormous MS. tome of Church services! It was a copy of their
"Khudra"--_i.e._, the collection of the variable parts of the offices
on all Sundays and ferials of the "circle" (khudra) of the year, an
enormously enlarged equivalent to the Collects and occasional prayers
of the Book of Common Prayer. They begged for a mule from the transport
train to carry this sacred trophy at the head of the column on the
march, and it gives some idea of the size of the book when we say that
the mule was actually necessary to carry it, though, as the companion
volume of the "Gezza" (Treasury, containing the prayers for saints'
days) was not there, it was not more than half a load for the beast.
For the rest of the campaign the book was the palladium and standard
of the corps, and was given a voluntary guard of honour every night.
Subsequently, it was presented to the Patriarch, and is now in use in
his church.
[170] Pp. 321 _et seq._
[171] The Ottoman Government had, during the war, some notion of
hanging the writer "because he had built a house to serve as a British
fort." He escaped by a clerical error, heartlessly described by Sir
A. Wilson as "one of those errors of routine inevitable in even the
best administrations!" His name, in the list of civil prisoners, was
transliterated one way; on the list of criminals, in another. We hope
that this posthumous justification of the sentence is as satisfactory
to the judges as it is to the criminal!
[172] See p. 118.
[173] "Sandy McPherson," said Lord Justice Braxton to the "panel"
before him, "ye are a vera ingenious chiel, but ye'll be nane the waur
of a haanging." And one is reminded of this verdict by the character
of that sporting and alluring rascal, Agha Petros. The man is a good
fighter, who under other circumstances might have earned high rank; but
whose lot has been cast in places that have developed that "kink" in
his nature that will prevent him from ever being chevalier of a higher
order than that of "Industrie." He declared to the writer--with a
frankness that does him credit--that he had read the earlier edition of
this book, and that all said of him therein (see pp. 218-19) was true;
but he added that he had become a changed man since.
It is certainly the fact that this hawk has since learned to fly at
higher game, but he still must be classified among "raptores." Alas
that so many good fellows are rascals!
[174] See note on p. 401.
[175] When the Assyrians made their attack, an officer in the train
judged it better to get out on the side remote from the action, "lest
he should see things that it might be his duty to report."
[176] See p. 267.
[177] Surma _Khanim_ spent several months, in the years 1919-20, in
England, where she was the guest of the "Sisters of Bethany," who have
an interest in her people of long standing. The object of her visit was
to put the claims and position of her people before the British Home
Authorities, and, if possible, before those of Europe at large. She at
least secured a courteous hearing from British Cabinet Ministers, and
though she was unable to extract any definite promises from men who did
not themselves know what they wanted, she left the impression of a very
striking personality on the minds of those who had been accustomed to
think of Assyrians as a mere barbarian nuisance.
[178] See illustration facing p. 128.
[179] See pp. 311 _et seq._ Reshid had been "reconciled" the previous
autumn; his formidable "Castle" at Deir Sherish being razed so flat
that (as reported by the gleeful Assyrians) "You wouldn't think it had
ever been there!"
[180] Some of the heroes of this Odyssey retired into Mosul Gaol for
a while in consequence of it, and were still there at the following
Easter. Then a pitiful petition was sent in on their behalf (or, at
least, on behalf of the "Old Churchmen" among them) to the effect:
"Please let those out for Easter who have been keeping their fast so
properly in prison. Never mind about the Protestants--_they_ have been
eating the good prison food and don't matter."
Unfortunately, even this pathetic plea did not move the Gallio who then
sat in the seat of authority! However, all were released soon after.
Gaol has become, as a result of British rule, quite unpopular in Mosul.
You can no longer sit in the prison and take your ease there, sending
out for your food and tobacco, as under the Turk. Instead, you have
to wear "an unbecoming frock" like the gentleman in the Bab ballads,
and work on the roads. So "wearing the cap" is disliked in Mosul, the
more as it is no longer possible, when weary of captivity, to hire a
substitute to take your place there and make up the tale of captives!
[181] It was proposed to raise some companies of Yezidis for the levy
also, and they would serve British officers most loyally. However, up
to the time of writing this has not been done, though they offer good
military material, and their home in Jebel Sinjar lies conveniently on
the flank of the one line of advance possible to the one enemy. The
only difficulty (given separate companies of Yezidis, as of Assyrians)
seems to lie in the British words of command used throughout the "Mosul
levy," and which Orientals who know no English pick up with marvellous
quickness. For any sound resembling "Sheitan" is blasphemy to the ears
of a Yezidi. How then is it possible to address to them the mystic
adjuration "'Shun"?
[182] Petros was ill-advised enough to try and blackmail the High
Commissioner! He claimed present payment of Rs. 38,000, alleged to have
been spent by him out of his own funds on the expedition to Gawar!
Failing immediate payment of this, he would denounce Sir P. Cox's
dealings with his people to the League of Nations, the French Republic,
and the Pope. To his amazement he was told that he might go to all
three, and the devil as well if he liked (the connection with the Pope
was not so obvious to Petros as to the angry A.D.C.), and had better
begin by leaving the office.
* * * * *
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
Selencia=> Seleucia {pg 5}
admittted=> admitted {pg 100}
bridgroom=> bridegroom {pg 161}
left a one=> left alone {pg 178}
France or Amercia=> France or America {pg 259}
inacessible=> inaccessible {pg 264}
callousnesss=> callousness {pg 378}
faily well=> fairly well {pg 287}
is a good as ever=> is as good as ever {pg 291}
mattter=> matter {pg 301}
Hand him over over to us=> Hand him over to us {pg 301}
did not minish=> did not deminish {pg 382}
cavavan=> caravan {pg 409}
deserted by Patriach, 364;=> deserted by Patriarch, 364; {pg 427}
shrin of Mar Abd' Ishu, 306-7;=> shrine of Mar Abd' Ishu, 306-7; {pg
429}