Turkish population of Astarabad District
The population of Astarabad itself, taken from an
official computation of the number of houses now inhabited, is said to be
10,000. Six souls are allowed to each house.
The population of the eastern buluks―Katul,
Fidarisk, and Kuhsar―has been estimated at about 31,000, which may be a little
under the mark. Anahzan is for its extent thinly peopled, and Shahkuh-u-Savar
has scarcely any population. The tracts about Astarabad and the base of the
hills have a comparatively large population. The people of the eastern buluks
are chiefly Garili Turks, and speak Turkish as well as Persian. They are a
fine, hardy race, of good physique, with a great reputation for courage, and
are for the most part well armed.
Estimating the population of the eastern buluks
at 30,000 men, about 6,000 to 7,000 adults would be found fit to bear arms and
ready at very short notice.
In the Kuhsar, it has been estimated, 1,500 men might
be had in a day; at Naudeh, 1,000; and at Ramujan, 1,000. Between Fidarisk and
Katul, where the population is denser, an equal number would, no doubt, be
found as readily.
The glens leading from the Kuhsar plateau to the plain
held by the Guklan Turkomans are inhabited by a small tribe of Turk, or, by one
account, Baluch origin; who, from the natural strength of their country, and
the light hold of the Persians on the Gurgan plain, are able to maintain a
certain amount of independence. It was lately found so difficult to control
them from Astarabad that they were temporarily handed over to the tender
mercies of the Ilkhani of Bujnurd, who was able to reach them, if necessary.
They, however, submitted and paid the arrears of the tribute due. They number
1,000 tents, and have an immense local reputation for courage, strength, and
expertness with their guns.
In the western buluks the population is
slightly more mixed: there are many Tajiks and some few villages of Kajars;
also two villages, Yangi Mahalleh and Muhammadabad, near Astarabad, chiefly of
Hazara Barbaris, immigrants of an ancient date. There is a mixture also of
Tats, a tribe apparently of Persian origin, found in larger numbers in
Mazandaran.
Though inferior to the people of the east in
appearance and reputation, the peasantry of the west are hardy, fairly armed and
well acquainted with the forest paths and the proper modes of bush-fighting. A
levy en masse there would produce about the same number of armed men as
in the east of the district.
The town population is very mixed. There are Tajiks,
Kajars, and Turks, and a number of families of Afghans and Hazaras, as well as
a colony of Turis from Kurram. It increased slightly during the famine, but is
still far below what it once was, as is evidenced by large spaced within the
enclosure covered with ruins and vacant habitations.
Gazetteer of Persia. Volume I. ― Simla: Government of India Monotype
Press, 1910, pp. 42―43.
No comments:
Post a Comment