tors, never looked back and was soon able to protect Bandar "Abbas and an important section of the caravan route from the raiding tribesmen.
The Success ofQmvam el Mulk and his Sudden Death. Qawam was aided by the British with money and munitions, and an ex- aggerated report of the means placed at his disposal led to the rebel Arab headmen kissing his feet. With their aid he defeated the Swedish gendarmerie, and was marching in triumph to Shiraz when he was killed by a fall from his horse. His son, a man of 28, was however able to restore Persian authority in Pars.
The March of Sir Percy Sykes to Kerman. The success of Qawam and the landing of the mission at Bandar 'Abbas made the position of the German parties at Kerman decidedly insecure. The governor-general became hostile to them and they decided to retire westwards to Pars, the route farther N. being dangerous owing to the Russian advance southwards. They fled in two par- ties, and after suffering some losses from attacks on the road, were all captured by Qawam and imprisoned at Shiraz to the number of 60 Germans and Austrians, a dozen Turks and a few Afghans. A small force of Indian troops, consisting of a section of mountain guns, a squadron of cavalry and 500 rifles, was sent to Bandar 'Abbas and Sir Percy Sykes marched inland a distance of 280 m. to Kerman, where he was received with much cordiality. The various pro-German elements who had created a state of insecurity fled, the bank and telegraph offices were reopened, and the normal state of affairs was very quickly reestablished. At Kerman, recruiting for a brigade of the S. Persia Rifles was started with much success, and, before long, it was dealing effectively with the robber bands which were destroying life and property in the province. The column, after halting for some weeks, marched on to Yezd, where the British colony had only recently returned. News being received of the Turkish advance and of a probable attack on Isfahan, the column, instead of marching direct to Shiraz as originally intended, proceeded to Isfahan and joined the force of 600 Russian Cossacks at the ancient capital of Persia. The Turkish force had reached Dunbeni, 60 m. to the N.W. of Isfahan, but had not advanced any further, and it appeared that exaggerated rumours as to the size of Sir Percy Sykes's force had been the cause of this change of plan. During the halt at Isfahan, the column marched out for 50 m. along the Ahwaz route, at- tacked Jafar Kuli, a noted brigand, who was holding it, and pro- vided an escort for loads of British merchandise that had been lying at Kava Rukh for many months. Altogether 16,000 loads were brought in, and incidentally several merchants were saved from bankruptcy. When it finally became evident that the Turks would not advance on Isfahan, the column marched S. to Shiraz, which it reached in Nov., thereby completing a march of 1,000 m. through the heart of Persia.
Taking over the Swedish Gendarmerie in Pars. At Shiraz the question of the gendarmerie had to be settled. The Persian Govern- ment had not actually given its consent to it being incorporated in the S. Persia Rifles, but was unable to pay or equip the force. Spread over the route for a distance of 300 m. from the borders of Pars m the N. to Kazerun in the S. and numbering some 3,000 men, the problem which confronted Sir Percy Sykes was one of extreme difficulty. He had no staff to administer or train such large numbers and he was aware that it was this force which had seized the British consul only a year previously and that many of the officers were pro-German in sentiment. But he also realized that, if the gendarmerie broke up into well-armed bands of robbers and devastated the country, few supplies would reach Shiraz. He consequently addressed the officers, explained to them that they were to be absorbed into the S. Persia Rifles, and expressed the hope that they would serve Persia loyally by helping to put down the brigandage that was slowly but surely extirpating the sedentary population. In March 1917, this action was indirectly approved by the Persian Government, which officially recognized the S. Persia Rifles. The men were in rags, half-starved and undisciplined. It was impossible to take them off the road immediately, as there were no barracks for them at Shiraz. It was a case of feeding, clothing and paying the men at first and of gradually restoring the discipline that appeared to be almost lost. With only three or four British officers available, much was done, and when a proper staff reached Shiraz in the spring of 1917, rapid progress was the order of the day.
The Restoration of Order in Southern Persia. Since the assas- sination of Nasir ed Din in 1896, the authority of the Persian
Government had weakened year by year, and in Pars the gover- nor general had been at the mercy of the powerful Kashgai tribe. Under their capable chief, Solat ed Dauleh, these powerful nomads numbering 130,000 tribesmen, and moving in their migrations from the Persian Gulf to Qumisheh, dominated the province, of which Solah (Solat) was the " uncrowned king." They were armed with Mausers, had plenty of ammunition and displayed great bravery in the field. Solah collected the revenue in full from his tribesmen, but paid nothing to the Persian Government. He also sent powerful raiding parties throughout the greater part of the province, which looted and levied blackmail. If a governor- ge.neral attempted any opposition to Solah, the latter promptly prevented supplies and goods from reaching Shiraz. The result was scarcity in the bazaars arid discontent, followed by riots, and the governor-general returned to Teheran. It was obvious that Solah would be hostile to the British. The Kashgais considered that raiding was their right and would combine against anyone who attempted to put an end to it. Generally speaking, they held western Pars at their mercy and, farther E., lay the territory of the Khamseh Arabs, who were 70,000 strong. Under their chief, Qawam el Mulk, they ranged from the neighbourhood of Bandar 'Abbas and Lar to the vicinity of Niriz and Dehbid. The Arabs were less well-armed than the Kashgais but were equally brave. They were also equally addicted to looting. The marked difference between the two chiefs was that Qawam was a polished Shirazi, anxious to improve the state of Pars, although he could not immediately stop looting, whereas Solah lived with his tribes- men all the year round and had the same mentality. Sir Percy Sykes met Solah, with whom an agreement was made to prevent his tribesmen from looting, and, although it was realized that he was thoroughly untrustworthy, he refrained from attacking the British during 1917, and allowed them time to open up commu- nications and construct forts at Saidabad (Sirjan) and Niriz. With Qawam good relations were maintained throughout.
In the summer of 1917, a force of Indian troops was stationed at Dehbid which, by the infliction of a single salutary punishment, made the main route safe, and caravans once again began to pass. In the autumn, combined operations against tribes marked down for punishment were undertaken by the Pars and Kerman col- umns. So successful were they that, had there been no interrup- tion, S. Persia would have rapidly settled down to comparative prosperity. But the reaction of the World War was destined to be felt still more strongly than before in remote Pars.
Successful Russian CampaigninWestern Persia. The saddest year in Russian history opened with military success in Persia. As already mentioned, at the end of 1916, the Turks were occu- pying Hamadan and facing the Russians at Kazvin. During the winter, however, the position in Mesopotamia entirely changed. Instead of weak, ill-equipped columns, severely handicapped by unfavourable climatic conditions, failing before Kut al Amara, there was the pleasant picture of overwhelming forces under the inspiring leadership of Gen. Sir Stanley Maude recapturing Kut in Feb. 1917 and following this up by the signal success of the surrender of Bagdad to the British. The position of the Turks in Persia became more and more difficult as the British advanced. On the day Bagdad was occupied they evacuated Kermanshah and, pursued by the Russians, reached the Persian frontier at Qasr-i-Shirin on March 31, worn out and hungry but not wholly demoralized. Meanwhile the British had despatched two bri- gades to the Jebel Hamrin, but found the range occupied in great force by the Turkish i8th corps, which did not retire until the 13 th corps had evacuated Persian soil intact, when the united forces moved northwards. On April 2, a squadron of Cossacks met the British at Qizil Ribat, but marched back the same night. There was no question of maintaining contact, but the British helped their allies to establish themselves firmly on the Diala river.
The Russian Collapse in Persia and its Results. March 1917, which witnessed the capture of Bagdad, also saw the abdication of the Tsar. Gradually the Russian troops in Persia became de- moralized and, during the winter of 1917-8, the rot had set in and hordes of Russians made for home, plundering the villages for food, pulling down houses to secure timber for fuel and selling
