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ASIR

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Originally appearing in Volume V02, Page 762 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ASIR , a See also:

district in western See also:Arabia, lying between 17° 30' and 21° N., and 40° 30' and 45° E.; bounded N. by See also:Hejaz, E. by See also:Nejd, S. by See also:Yemen and W. by the Red See also:Sea. Like Yemen, it consists of a See also:lowland See also:zone some 20 or 30 M. in width along the See also:coast, and of a mountainous See also:tract, falling steeply on the See also:west a.nd merging into a highland See also:plateau which slopes gradually to the N.E. towards the Nejd See also:steppes. Its length along the coast is about 230 m., and its breadth from the coast to El Besha about 180. The lowland, or Tehama, is hot and barren; the See also:principal places in it are Kanfuda, the See also:chief See also:port of the district, Marsa See also:Hall and El Itwad, smaller ports farther See also:south. The mountainous tract has probably an See also:average See also:altitude of between 6000 and 7000 ft., with a temperate See also:climate and See also:regular rainfall, and' is fertile and populous. The valleys are well watered and produce excellent crops of cereals and See also:dates. The best-known are the See also:Wadi Taraba and the W. Besha, both See also:running See also:north-See also:east towards the W. Dawasir in Nejd. Taraba, according to See also:John See also:Lewis See also:Burckhardt, is a considerable See also:town, surrounded by See also:palm groves and gardens, and watered by numerous rivulets, and famous for its See also:long resistance to Mehemet See also:Ali's forces in 1815. Five or six days' See also:journey to the south-east is the district of Besha, the most important position between See also:Sana and Taif. Here Mehemet Ali's See also:army, amounting to 12,000 men, found sufficient provisions to See also:supply it during a fortnight's See also:halt.

The Wadi Besha is a broad valley abounding with streams containing numerous hamlets scattered over a tract some six or eight See also:

hours' journey in length. Its principal affluent, the W. Shahran, rises 12o m. to the south and runs through the fertile district of Khamis Mishet, the highest in Asir. The Zahran district lies four days west of Besha on the See also:crest of the See also:main range: the principal See also:place is Makhwa, a large town and See also:market, from which See also:grain is exported in considerable quantities to See also:Mecca. Farther south is the district of Shamran. Throughout the mountainous See also:country the valleys are well watered and cultivated, with fortified villages perched on the surrounding heights. See also:Juniper forests are said to exist on the higher mountains. Three or four days' journey east and south-east of Besha are the encampments of the Bani Kahtan, one of the most See also:ancient tribes of Arabia; their pastures extend into the adjoining district of Nejd, where they breed camels in large See also:numbers, as well as a few horses. The inhabitants are a brave and warlike See also:race of mountaineers, and aided by the natural strength of their country they have hitherto preserved their See also:independence. Since the beginning of the 19th See also:century they have been bigoted See also:Wahhabis, though previously regarded by their neighbours as very lax Mahommedans; during Mehemet Ali's occupation of Nejd their See also:constant raids on the See also:Egyptian communications compelled him to send several punitive expeditions into the district, which, however, met with little success. Since the reconquest of Yemen by the See also:Turks, they have made repeated attempts to subjugate Asir, but beyond occupying Kanfuda, and holding one or two isolated points in the interior, of which Ibha and Manadir are the principal, they have effected nothing. The chief See also:sources of See also:information regarding Asir are the notes made by J.

L. Burckhardt at Taif in 1814 and those of the See also:

French See also:officers with the Egyptian expeditions into the country from 1814 to 1837. No See also:part of Arabia would better repay exploration. AcTIIORLTIES.—J L. Burckhardt, Travels in Arabia (See also:London, 1829) ; F. Mengin, Histoire de l'Egypte, &c. (See also:Paris, 1823) ; M. O. Tamisier, Voyage en Arable (Paris, 1840). (R. A.

End of Article: ASIR

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