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canal, connecting the Tigris and Euphrates; Nasrieh, at the junction of that canal with the Euphrates and Suk esh-Sheiukh, on the lower reaches of the Euphrates, are the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal settlements, with a population varying from 3000 to 10,000 or somewhat less. Along the Shatt el-Arab and the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates there are vast plantations of date-palms, which produce the finest See also:

DATES

dates known. Here and there are found extensive See also:

rice-See also:

FIELDS, JAMES THOMAS (1817-1881)

fields; See also:

LIQUORICE

liquorice, See also:

wheat, See also:

BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

barley and See also:

ROSES, WARS OF THE

roses are also cultivated in places. But in See also:

general the See also:

ancient canals on which the fertility of the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country depends have been allowed to go to ruin. The whole See also:

LAND

land is subject to inundations which render settled See also:

agriculture impracticable, and the population consists chiefly of nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes whose See also:

WEALTH

wealth consists in herds of buffaloes, horses, See also:

sheep and goats. The principal exports are See also:

WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool, dates, cereals, See also:

GUM (Fr. gomme, Lat. gommi, Gr. Kµµ1, possibly a Coptic word; distinguish " gum," the fleshy covering of the base of a tooth, in O. Eng. gbma, palate, cf. Ger. Gaumen, roof of the mouth; the ultimate origin is probably the root gha, to open wide, seen in

gum, liquorice-See also:

root and horses. The See also:

CLIMATE

climate is humid and unhealthy.

The population is estimated at about 200,000 almost exclusively Moslems, of whom three-quarters are Shi'ites. There are about 4000 See also:

Jews and perhaps 6000 Christians, among whom are reckoned the remains of the curious See also:

SECT

sect of See also:

SABAEANS

Sabaeans or See also:

MANDAEANS

Mandaeans, whose headquarters are in the neighbourhood of Suk esh-Sheiukh. The capital of the vilayet, also called Basra, is situated in 470 34 E. See also:

long. and 32° N. See also:

lat., near the western See also:

BANK

bank of the Shatt el-Arab, about 55 M. from the Persian Gulf. The See also:

TOWN

town proper lies on the canal el-'Assar about 1-i to 2 M. W. of the Shatt el-Arab. There are no public buildings of importance. The houses are meanly built, partly of See also:

sun-dried and partly of burnt bricks, with See also:

FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat See also:

ROOFS

roofs surrounded by parapets. The bazaars are miserable structures, covered with mats laid on rafters of date trees. The streets are irregular, narrow and unpaved. The greater See also:

PART

part of the area of the town is occupied by gardens and plantations of See also:

palm-trees, intersected by a number of little canals, cleansed twice daily with the ebb and flow of the See also:

TIDE (O. Eng. lid, cf. Ger. Zeit, time or season, connected with root of Sanskrit a-diti, endless)

tide, which rises here about 9 ft. These canals are navigated by small See also:

BASS 489 boats, called bellem (plur. ablam), resembling dug-outs in See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form, but See also:

LIGHT

light and graceful. At high-tide, accordingly, the town presents a very attractive See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance, but at See also:

low-tide, when the mud banks are exposed, it seems dirty and repulsive, and the noxious exhalations are extremely trying.

The whole region is subject to inundations. The town itself is unhealthy and strangers especially are See also:

apt to be attacked by See also:

FEVER (Lat. febris, connected with fervere, to burn)

fever. Basra is the See also:

PORT

port of Bagdad, with which it has See also:

steam communication by an See also:

ENGLISH

English See also:

LINE

line of river steamers weekly and also by a See also:

TURKISH

Turkish line. The Shatt el-Arab is deep and broad, easily navigable for ocean steamers, and there is weekly communication by passenger steamer with See also:

India, while two or more See also:

FREIGHT, (pronounced like " weight "; derived from the Dutch vracht or vrecht, in Fr. fret, the Eng. " fraught " being the same word, and formerly used for the same thing, but now only as an adjective= " laden ")

freight lines, which also take passengers, connect Basra directly with the Mediterranean, and with See also:

EUROPEAN

European and See also:

BRITISH

British ports. It is the great date port of the.See also:

WORLD

world, and the dates of Basra are regarded as the finest in the See also:

MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market. Besides dates the principal articles of export are wool. horses, liquorice, gum and See also:

ATTAR [or OTTO] OF ROSES (Pers. 'atar, essence)

attar of roses. The See also:

ANNUAL

annual value of the exports is approximately £1,000,000 and of the imports a little more. The See also:

FOREIGN

foreign See also:

trade is almost exclusively in the hands of the English, but of See also:

LATE

late the Germans have begun to enter the market, and the See also:

HAMBURG

Hamburg-See also:

AMERICAN

American line of steamers has established See also:

DIRECT

direct communication. Since 1898 there has been a British See also:

consul at Basra (before that See also:

time he was a representative of the See also:

INDIAN

Indian See also:

government). See also:

France and See also:

Russia also maintain consular establishments at Basra. The settled population of Basra is probably under 50,000, but how much it is impossible to estimate. It is a heterogeneous mixture of all the nations and religions of the East—Turks, See also:

ARABS

Arabs, Persians, See also:

INDIANS, NORTH AMERICAN

Indians, Armenians, Chaldaeans and Jews.

Of the latter there are about 1900, engaged in trade and See also:

commerce. Fewest in number are the See also:

TURKS

Turks, comprising only the officials. Most numerous are the Arabs, chiefly Shi'ites. The wealthiest and most influential personage in the capital and the vilayet is the nakib, or See also:

MARSHAL (med. Lat. marescalcus, from O.H.Ger. marah, horse, and scalc, servant)

marshal of the See also:

NOBILITY

nobility (i.e. descendants of the See also:

FAMILY

family of the See also:

PROPHET (Irpo4i ri7s)

prophet, who are entitled to See also:

WEAR

wear the See also:

green See also:

TURBAN

turban). Basra is a station of the Arabian See also:

MISSION

mission of the Dutch Reformed See also:

Church of See also:

AMERICA

America. See also:

HISTORY

History.—The See also:

ORIGINAL

original See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city of Basra was founded by the See also:

CALIPH, CALIF

caliph See also:

OMAR (c. 581-644)

Omar in A.D. 636 about 8 m. S.W. of its See also:

PRESENT

present site, on the edge of the stony and pebbly Arabian See also:

plateau, on an ancient canal now dry. The See also:

MODERN

modern town of Zobeir, a sort of See also:

HEALTH

health suburb, occupied by the villas of well-to-do inhabitants of Basra, lies near the ruin mounds which See also:

mark the situation of the ancient city. In the days of its prosperity it rivalled See also:

KUFA

Kufa and Wasit in wealth and See also:

SIZE

size, and its fame is in the tales of the Arabian Nights. With the decay of the See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of the Abbasid See also:

CALIPHATE

caliphate its importance declined. The canals were neglected, communication with the Persian Gulf was cut off and finally the See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place was abandoned altogether.

The present city was conquered by the Turks in 1668, and since that See also:

period has been the See also:

SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene of many revolutions. It was taken in 1777 after a See also:

SIEGE (0. Fr. sege, siege, mod. siege, seat, ultimately from sedere, to sit, cf. Class. Lat. obsidium, a siege)

siege of eight months by the Persians under Sadik See also:

KHAN (from the Turki, hence Persian and Arabic Khan)

Khan. In about a See also:

YEAR

year it See also:

fell again into the hands of the Turks, who were again deprived of it by the See also:

SHEIKH, or SHAIKH

sheikh of the Montefik (Montafiq) Arabs. The town was in the See also:

OCTOBER

October following recovered by See also:

SULEIMAN

Suleiman See also:

PASHA

Pasha, who encountered the sheikh on the banks of the Euphrates and put him to See also:

FLIGHT

flight; it has since remained in the hands of the Turks. (J. P.

End of Article: BASRA (written also BUSRA, BASSORA and BASSORA)

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