The Northern Ḥeǧâz/Chapter 2
CHAPTER II
MAʻÂN TO AL-ḤOMEJMA
The ḳâjmaḳâm, or representative of the Turkish Government at Maʻân, was one of the most intelligent and honorable officials whom I ever met in the Turkish Empire. He exhibited great readiness to assist me, but he himself admitted that his influence over Maʻân was less than mine, and he asked me to reconcile him with several of the native chiefs. No Turkish gendarme dared to show himself east of the railway, and from time to time the noise of gunfire could be heard. All the people showed signs of unrest and were afraid of what the morrow might bring forth.
We were anxious to get away from the oasis into the open desert, but our camels had not arrived. As we were at luncheon, however, we heard the growling noise of someone forcing the camels to kneel down. The sweetest music could not have been so gratifying to our ears. We immediately brought out our baggage and prepared for the journey to the camp of Chief ʻAwde abu Tâjeh of the tribe of Ḥwêṭât.
THE ḤWÊṬÂT TRIBE
The tribe of Ḥwêṭât is divided[1] into three groups:
Ḥwêṭât at-Tihama
Ḥwêṭât eben Ǧâd (or ʻAlâwîn)
Ḥwêṭât eben Ǧâzi.
al-Maṭâlḳa
Darâwše
ʻAmâmre
Marâjʻe
ad-Dmânijje
al-ʻUṭûn
at-Tawâjhe.
The head chief Eben Ǧâzi is descended from the clan of al-Maṭâlḳa. Until the year 1894 his authority was acknowledged by all the other clans. At that time ʻArʻar eben Ǧâzi, who was the great chief, resisted the advance of the Turkish Government and killed several soldiers. The Turks, thereupon resorting to stratagem, captured him, put him in prison at al-Kerak, and negotiated with the various chiefs who promised the captors support and gifts if they released ʻArʻar. When ʻArʻar was set free at the end of 1896, nobody would obey him. After his death in 1900 there arose dissension among his Ḥwêṭât. Each chief did what he pleased. The one having the greatest authority was Ḥarb abu Tâjeh—chief of the at-Tawâjhe clan—who was joined by several families from the remaining clans who did not wish to pay tribute to the Turkish Government. Ḥarb died in the year 1904 and his aged son Rbejjeʻ became chief, but only in name, the real authority being exercised by Rbejjeʻ’s younger brother ʻAwde, who, when Rbejjeʻ died in 1907, was recognized as chief of all the Tawâjhe and of the various clans encamping with them.
ʻAWDE ABU TÂJEH
ʻAwde was renowned far and near for his courage, energy, obduracy, and also for his cruelty. In 1902 when he was encamped near al-Moṛejjera he led a raid upon the tribe of Šarârât at Abu ʻAmûd and returned laden with booty. The Šarârât united and surrounded his camp. For seventeen days the women did not leave their tents. The Šarârât were passionately exhorted to persistence by their leader, Daʻsân eben Hemš. The chief ʻAwde prayed: “O Allâh, may Daʻsân fall beneath my hand, that I may be able to drink his blood.” Daʻsân fell, mortally wounded by Ǧwêred, a relative of ʻAwde. The latter flung himself upon his enemy, tore out his beating heart, and gulped his blood. Over three hundred men are said to have fallen on both sides and twenty-seven of ʻAwde’s kinsmen perished. Eye-witnesses described to me how ʻAwde on several occasions cut the heart from a wounded enemy and bit at it.
I met this chief in the spring of 1909, when he was visiting the camp of Prince an-Nûri eben Šaʻlân at al-Hawǧa. His hand had been injured by a gunshot and I cured the wound for him. He hated the Turkish Government, which, in 1908, issued a warrant against him for having shot two gendarmes who had been sent to arrest him because he had not paid tribute. ʻAwde assured me that the charge was a lie and that he had paid the tribute. He said that in 1906 he had accompanied his brother to Maʻân and that they had taken with them all the money collected for tribute, together with the proceeds of the sale of ten camels. At Maʻân they deposited both wallets with the ḳâḍi[2] and the tax collector, asking them to calculate the amount due to them and to return the remainder. The Turkish officials took all the gold coins except seven and assured both the chief and his brother that everything was paid. The cautious ʻAwde wanted a receipt, but the officials declared that it was just the time for the al-ʻaṣr (afternoon) prayer and that they must go and pray. They departed and did not return again that day. On the following day the ḳâḍi fell ill and the tax collector went on a journey. ʻAwde and his brother waited at Maʻân for several days, but the sick man grew no better and the tax collector did not return. Their friends in Maʻân asserted that it was a matter of common knowledge that they had paid their tribute and promised that they would obtain a receipt for them as soon as the ḳâḍi recovered his health. Accordingly, the brothers departed to join their tribe and proceeded to their winter encampment in the aṭ-Ṭubejḳ region. They did not return to Maʻân until eight months later, but they found no receipt and discovered that both the officials had been transferred elsewhere. At the end of 1907 Rbejjeʻ died and ʻAwde received an order to pay his arrears of tribute from 1905. When he did not obey this order, declaring that the tribute had been paid up to the end of 1906, two gendarmes were sent to his camp near Maʻân, early in the summer of 1908, for the purpose of conveying him to the seat of Government. ʻAwde, afraid that he would be imprisoned, refused to go. One gendarme fired at him but missed his aim; whereupon both servants of the law were killed. Since then ʻAwde has avoided Maʻân.
DEPARTURE FROM MAʻAN
On Thursday, May 26, 1910, at 3.45 P. M., we left the station of Maʻân, traveling in a southeasterly direction. We were accompanied by the negroes Mḥammad and Sâlem, whom ʻAwde abu Tâjeh had sent to us with six camels, and by the gendarme Ismaʻîn. ʻAwde was encamped to the southeast of Maʻân, on a plain which extends between the lowland of al-Ǧafar and the southeastern spur of aš-Šera’. We did not proceed to him by a direct route but by a detour along the foot of aš-Šera’, in order more easily to avoid the hostile bands patrolling the depression of al-Ǧafar. As the journey to ʻAwde’s camp was very dangerous, we were joined by fifteen settlers from Maʻân and several Bedouins with camels, each animal carrying two men.
Leaving the station on our right, we soon reached the well ʻAjn al-Kalbe on the left slope of the broad šeʻîb of the same name, which extends in an east-northeasterly direction from Maʻân. The šeʻîb of al-Kalbe joins on the east with the šeʻibân of al-Ḫaṭâba, ar-Ratami, Ab-al-Ǧerḏâm, and ar-Rwejǧîde, all of which converge on the lowland of al-Ǧafar.
On the right slope of al-Ḫaṭâba we saw about forty horsemen, chiefs of the clans of the Ḥwêṭât returning from Maʻân, where they had gone to claim payment of the money which the Government owed them for the protection of pilgrims. Until the railway was constructed from Damascus to al-Medîna, the tribes encamped along the Pilgrim Route used to protect the pilgrims, and for this service the Government paid them fees on a fixed scale, known as maʻâše. After the railway was built the Government wished to abolish this payment, but the tribes protested against the proposal and threatened to destroy the bridges and remove the rails. The more judicious chiefs pacified their companions and suggested that they should negotiate with the Government, and it was for this purpose that about forty of the Ḥwêṭât chiefs had proceeded to Maʻân to discuss matters with the ḳâjmaḳâm. Being afraid that they might be attacked and slaughtered by Turkish troops, they had not entered the narrow streets of the settlement but had encamped on the slope opposite the Government building and had threatened to shoot everyone who entered or left the building until the ḳâjmaḳâm had paid what was due to them. The ḳâjmaḳâm pleaded that he was not in possession of so much money and asked them to be satisfied with a sum on account, offering to let them have the balance as soon as he could procure it from the provincial governor at Damascus. After negotiations which lasted for two days, the chiefs consented to accept a sum on account and to depart. They promised, however, that they would return in greater numbers if the whole amount were not paid to them before the middle of July.
At 4.48 P.M. we entered the broad channel of ʻAḳejḳa, which passes through a rocky slope consisting of three horizontal layers. On the left we saw the railway embankment and to the north the yellow sides of the table-shaped elevation of al-Mamlaḥ, where the peasants of Maʻân dig for salt. The šeʻîb of ʻAḳejḳa begins to the southwest on the ridge of aš-Šera’, near the Roman camp of al-Ḳarana, at a height of 1676 meters. The hilly region of Abu Ḥṣejnân divides its head from the šeʻîb of Ṭaberijja, the lower part of which is known as al-Mṣawwal. At five o’clock we caught sight of a small white house with a red roof towards the south-east, the station of Abu Ṭarfa’. Almost in the same direction, but nearer to us, we saw the tree Umm ʻAjjâš, which, in the opinion of the pilgrims and settlers, is inhabited by a spirit. Then we crossed the small šeʻîb of al-Ǧemâǧem. Our camels were hungry and greedily searched for the perennials which grew here and there in the stony soil. Wishing to give the animals time to graze, we halted at 5.58 P. M. in the šeʻîb of al-Mṣawwal, on the left slope of which workmen had broken stone for the construction of the railway track.
THE LOWLAND OF AL-ǦAFAR
Mounting the slope of the šeʻîb of al-Mṣawwal, we drew a map of the lowland of al-Ǧafar. The setting sun illuminated the yellow hillside which sinks down towards the lowland. The separate channels, partly obscured by shadows, resembled dark bands and were plainly visible.
North of the šeʻîb of ar-Rwejǧîde, the šeʻîb of aẓ-Ẓersi runs into the lowland of al-Ǧafar. This latter šeʻîb takes its origin in the šeʻibân of Ab-al-Ḥamâm, al-Bêẓa (al-Bêẓa being formed by the junction of the šeʻibân of Neǧel and ad-Daʻǧânijje), and, last of all, al-Ḳalât. Farther to the east rose the dark slopes of Rwêšed ar-Rawjân and Rwêšed al-ʻAṭšân, which run from the tabular hill of al-Burma. Eastward from al-Burma could be seen the shining hills of aš-Šhejba, in which the šeʻibân of Mdejfaʻât and Abu Ṭlejḥa have their origin. Behind aš-Šhejba are the heads of the šeʻibân of ʻAjrijje, Abu Sarâwîl, Riǧlet al-Ḫrâḳ, and al-Kzejme. From the east proceed the šeʻibân of aš-Šômeri, Ṛadejrât Zâjed, al-Ṛwejr, al-ʻArfa’, and finally al-ʻÂḏrijjât, separating the hills of Wadʻat aš-Šhaba’ from Wadʻat al-Ḥamra’ and aš-Šwêḥeṭ.[3]
To the northeast, between the šeʻibân of ʻAḳejḳa and al-Ǧemâǧem, there extends in a northeasterly direction a series of isolated hills called aṯ-Ṯwêrên, the last remnants of a stratum which has disappeared through the action of wind and rain. In the plain, the šeʻîb of al-Mṣawwal joins with the šeʻîb of ‘Aḳejḳa, with the united šeʻibân of Umm Ṛaẓa’ and Abu Dims, and still farther on with the šeʻîb of aš-Šîdijje, which rises near the pass al-Ḥdejb. On the right bank of the lower portion of the last-named šeʻîb is situated a group of yellowish elevations called al-Kbejda, which form the southern border of the actual lowland of al-Ǧafar.
ABU ṬARFA’ TO ‘AŠÛŠ ABU ṚADÎR
At 7.31 P. M. we again took up our march. The soldiers guarding the station of Abu Ṭarfa’ heard our voices and shot at us twice, thinking that we wished to attack them. The Bedouins creep round the railway stations under cover of night, fling themselves upon the soldiers, rob them of their arms and ammunition, and vanish before the victims can recover from their surprise. The garrison at Abu Ṭarfa’ had already been attacked and robbed in this manner on two occasions and was on the alert.
At 8.22 we reached the railway track, which projected about thirty centimeters above the plain. It was not easy to persuade our camels to cross the rails. They became frightened at the unexpected sight and fled to right and left, so that we were finally compelled to dismount and force them across one by one. We continued in the same direction at a rapid pace through Šaṭnet umm Ṛaẓa and Abu Dims. Camels proceed at night more rapidly and steadily than by day, especially if they are passing over a plain where they need not avoid stones. At 9.52 we arrived at the šeʻîb of aš-Šîdijje, in the hollow of which we encamped, now being north of the railway station of Bîr aš-Šîdijje (or Bîr aš-Šedijje).
On Friday, May 27, 1910, after a peaceful night, we set out at 4.15 A.M. in a southeasterly direction through a region covered with coarse sand of a dark-gray, almost black, color and cut by numerous twisting šeʻibân, broad but shallow. These watercourses are the only places in which annuals and perennials can thrive. But the valleys are not entirely covered with plants, and it is only in their lower portions that one can observe clumps of various kinds of vegetation. Here and there bushes and low ṭalḥ[4] trees project above the brushwood.
At 5.30 A.M. we crossed the šeʻîb of al-Makmi and immediately afterwards ʻAšûš abu Ṛadîr. To the east we spied a rider on a camel. Scarcely had the negro Sâlem caught sight of him when he called to one of the Bedouins who were accompanying us. Whereupon they threw aside their outer garments, loaded their rifles, and started off in pursuit of the unknown rider. Seeking cover among the high slopes, they endeavoured to cut him off. The rider, observing us, came to a momentary standstill, but immediately afterwards disappeared not far from a high pile of stones .heaped upon the hill above, which indicated the position of the well of al-Marmak. After a short interval we again caught sight of the man fleeing from Sâlem and his companion. When they caught up with him Sâlem flung him from his camel and rode up to us with the captured animal. It was 6.08 A. M. when he returned. After a while the plundered rider came running up to us and asked for his camel. He was a Šarâri, or member of the tribe of Šarârât, which occupies the inhospitable territory north of the oasis of Tejma. As the Šarârât cannot obtain enough sustenance in their own territory, they associate with the tribes of the Ḥwêṭât, Beni Ṣaḫr, and especially with the Rwala, to whom they pay tribute. No one holds them in great esteem, and the Bedouins number them among the dishonorable Arab tribes. Sâlem, being the negro of a chief, only laughed at the Šarâri and refused to return his camel to him. When I urged Sâlem not to torment the poor fellow any more, he declared that he would restore the camel to its owner but not until he reached the chief’s camp. He would ride there on it and would lend his own camel to his acquaintance, a settler from Maʻân, who had been proceeding on foot. The Šarâri made no objection to this arrangement, happy in the thought that he would not lose his animal. From 6.08 to 7.35 our camels grazed (temperature: 16.8° C).
The negro Mḥammad recounted to me how the chief ʻAwde abu Tâjeh had plundered the Šarârât early in May. During the rainy season he had been encamped with his clans at Ṭubejḳ al-Ḥamar and Ṭubejḳ al-ʻAfar; that is, in the territory which belongs to the Šarârât, with whom he was on the most friendly terms. When all the ponds of rain water dried up at the end of April, ʻAwde with his Ḥwêṭât proceeded northward into his own territory. The Šarârât, who had been his friends hitherto, desired to go with him, but ʻAwde attacked one of their divisions, robbed it of all its herds, and proclaimed war on the whole tribe. When I remarked that I should not have expected such conduct from ʻAwde, Mḥammad replied: “The Šarârât are our magazine, maḫzan, which we empty whenever we please. If we want war, then we have war with them, if we want peace, then we force them to make peace.” At the time of my journey several clans of the Šarârât had remained at aṭ-Ṭubejḳ; others had made their way to the šeʻîb of Ḥedreǧ and the depression of Sirḥân, whence they were making inroads into the territory of the Ḥwêṭât, robbing the latter of their flocks.
THE ḤWÊṬÂT, THE BENI ṢAḪR, AND THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT
The majority of the Ḥwêṭât clans were encamped between Maʻân and al-Bṣejra—that is west of the railway—and only three clans with ʻAwde abu Tâjeh were still grazing their herds southeast of Maʻân. Even they were already on the march westward to the territory of the settlers who till the soil, where they desired to obtain grain necessary for themselves and their horses. Within the next fourteen to twenty days they wished to strike out toward the southwest and west of Maʻân, so that after that time the region between Maʻân and the depression of Sirḥân would be stripped of all camps and would form the seat of war between the Ḥwêṭât and their enemies. The latter included the Beni Ṣaḫr as well as the Šarârât. The Beni Ṣaḫr and the Ḥwêṭât have no strictly defined frontiers, and when in the territory of the settlers both tribes often lay claim to the same settlements and exact payment from the same settlers. This proceeding generally results in skirmishes. The Turkish Government many times endeavored to reconcile the two tribes. At the time of the harvest, when they were both encamped in the territory of the settlers, the governor would summon the chiefs and exhort them to make peace, threatening that he would not pay the money due to them for the protection of pilgrims until peace was concluded. Several chiefs of the Beni Ṣaḫr and the Ḥwêṭât would proceed to the mutaṣarref at al-Kerak and agree to everything that he demanded; whereupon the authorities at Damascus and Constantinople would be informed that peace had been concluded between the tribes encamped along the Pilgrim Route. But this peace concluded by the Government did not last long. The Bedouins would say: “We did not conclude peace of our own free will, but it was the Government who forced us to do so (ad-dowle aṣlaḥatna),” and would continue merrily to steal the flocks. Then the Ḥwêṭât would send a message to the mutaṣarref: “To please the Government we concluded peace with the Beni Ṣaḫr, but they are disturbing the peace (amm beni ṣaḫr ḳlobow).” The chiefs of the Beni Ṣaḫr would directly contradict their enemies and lay all the blame on the Ḥwêṭât.
As the Ḥwêṭât were waging war both with the Beni Ṣaḫr and with the Šarârât and Šammar, who were encamped northeast, east, and southeast of Maʻân, it was clear that I should not be able to use Chief ʻAwde’s camp as a starting point from which to explore the territory of aṣ-Ṣawwân, which extends between al-Ǧafar and the depression of Sirḥân. As our only guide would in that case have belonged to the Ḥwêṭât, we should have fallen a prey to one of the enemy marauding parties; in which case we might have lost not only all our equipment but our lives as well. Mḥammad comforted me, saying: “Do not be afraid, Chief. If Allâh is well disposed to thee, thou wilt not perish (elja ḫajjark allâh lâ tmût).”
ABU RTEJMÂT TO ʻAWDE’S CAMP
At 8 A. M. we crossed the combined šeʻîb of Abu Rtejmât and of Abu ʻAlejdijjât and ascended a slight elevation that divides this channel from that of the Abu ʻAmûd valley. At 8.28 we caught sight of a large troop of riders mounted on camels, proceeding from the north in a westerly direction. We at once forced our camels to their knees and watched the riders. But they were not visible from the ground, and it was impossible to keep our binoculars steady when we were in the saddle as the focus changed at the least movement of the camels. We therefore urged our mounts on, doing our utmost to reach the šeʻîb of Abu ʻAmûd as quickly as possible. There we should have a better chance of concealing ourselves from the strange riders who we feared might be a troop of the Šarârât on the lookout for herds belonging to the Ḥwêṭât.
We remained in Abu ʻAmûd until nine o’clock. The šeʻîb begins under the name of al-Mšâš in the territory of al-Kḏûr near the pilgrims’ station Ḳalʻa Faṣôʻa, and it joins with the šeʻîb of al-Makmi near the rain wells of al-Marmak, and lower down with aš-Šîdijje on the left and al-Maṭḫ on the right. It forms the border of the al-Kbejda hills and ends at the wells Ḳulbân al-Ǧafar. An old road runs along the right side of the lower part of this šeʻîb, past the rain wells of al-Marmak to the wells Ḳulbân al-Ǧafar and continues northward between the šeʻîb of ʻAjrijje and that of Abu Ṭlejḥa.[5]
At 9.20 A. M. we sighted a grove of ṭalḥ trees on the north, with the rain wells of al-Marmak close by. These wells are about two meters deep and hold water for two to three years following a heavy rain. North of al-Marmak rise the tabular hillocks, al-Kbejda, which, enveloped by vapors, resembled a big isolated tent.
We were now passing through the plain of aš-Šubejče, which is covered with coarse, brown gravel, in which a good rain helps the plant semḥ to thrive. Semḥ, which grows thickly and has a short but very disjointed root topped with an umbel as wide as a human palm, never exceeds four centimeters in height. The small sprigs and leaves are yellowish green, soft, gelatinous; the blossoms, tiny and white. The Šarârât, Beni Ṣaḫr, and the inhabitants of the oasis of al-Ǧowf gather the ripe semḥ into bags, and when these are filled they beat them with sticks and stones to separate the seed pods. Then, shaking the bags till the pods fall to the bottom, they remove the husks, throw the seeds into some rain pool, and wait patiently for the moisture to open the pods, thereby causing the seed to drop out. Throwing away the now worthless pods, they pick out the seeds, which they dry and preserve for food. The seeds are eaten either roasted or boiled; they are also ground into flour for bread.
Fig. 2—The dolmen of Abu ʻAǧârem.
At 3.28 we perceived on our left a dolmen about two meters high, known as Abu ʻAǧârem, rising above a large artificial reservoir (Fig. 2). Before long we saw a number of tents to the east, two of which were supported by two main poles, whereas the remainder rested on one pole only. The small triangular tents are called ḫarâbîš, while the tent with two or more main poles is known as bejt.
The negro Mḥammad at once informed me that the tents must belong either to members of the Šarârât or the Beni ʻAṭijje, as the Ḥwêṭât have no ḫarâbîš tents. For several years the Beni ʻAṭijje have lived at peace with the Ḥwêṭât, and their head chief Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje was a faithful friend of ʻAwde abu Tâjeh. Mḥammad added that he believed that we saw before us the camp of a Beni ʻAṭijje clan. Nor was he wrong. On asking for news of Chief ʻAwde, we were informed that he was camping somewhere near the šeʻîb of al-Mnâwaḫ, if he had not already proceeded farther on to the rain pond Ḫabra Minwa’.
Changing our direction somewhat to the east-northeast, we hurried over a bare, undulating plain covered with coarse gravel until we reached the šeʻîb in question. At about five o’clock we perceived on a broad elevation a long row of black spots which vanished for a while in the brown atmospheric layer and then reappeared. Gradually these spots increased in size, remained more firmly in their places, and were transformed into a row of tents. It was the camp of ʻAwde abu Tâjeh. Mḥammad recognized the chief’s tent from afar and we made our way towards it.
AT THE CAMP OF ʻAWDE ABU TÂJEH
Several men came out of their tents and stared at us inquisitively. The chief’s tent was open towards the east, so the men’s division was located in its southern portion as the men’s division is always to the right. Turning towards it, we rode round the long tent ropes and ordered our camels to kneel at about thirty paces south of the tent. ʻAwde, accompanied by several younger chiefs, came towards me, embraced and kissed me, and led me into his tent, where he assigned me to the place of honor north of the fire near the partition that divides the men’s and women’s quarters. I sat down on a small rug and rested my left arm on a pile of small cushions. ʻAwde sat at my right on a long carpet which was spread out alongside the back wall of the tent. My two companions, Tûmân and Rifʻat, sat on the carpet with him. Our baggage was left outside, in care of the servant Šerîf.
The tent was crowded with more than fifty persons who greeted me one by one. When the greetings were concluded, ʻAwde beckoned to a negro who was boiling coffee and tea over the fire, whereupon we were each served three times with several drops of black coffee and a cup of sweetened tea. Just then a rifle shot resounded behind the camp, causing all the youths present to leap up, arms in hand, and rush out in the direction of the shot. After a while they returned, announcing that there was no trouble, the shot having been fired by a mischievous herdsman. I was surprised to see that each man had a cartridge belt slung around his body and that even when they were sitting in the tent they all kept their rifles in their hands. The chief himself wore two cartridge belts which contained about a hundred and forty rounds of ammunition. Later I discovered that ʻAwde and his men were fearful that they would be attacked by a kindred clan with whom they had had some dispute on the previous Wednesday. Returning from a raid, a relative of ʻAwde had stolen a camel from a Šarâri, a protégé of another relative. The plundered Šarâri hastened to his protector and asked him to have the lost animal restored. But all endeavors proved vain. It was impossible to recover the stolen camel. The protector then lodged a charge against his kinsmen with the judges of the Ḥwêṭât tribe, and they decided that the camel was to be restored immediately to the Šarâri. But ʻAwde’s kinsmen would not comply with the court’s decree. Thereupon ʻAwde called together his negroes and cousins, proceeded to the tent of his obstinate relative, and requested him to return the camel at once, as he would otherwise take it by force. The relative and his family began to abuse and threaten the chief and his companions: a shot was fired and one of those accompanying the chief fell dead to the ground. ʻAwde fired his rifle, inflicting a mortal wound on his relative’s son. Further fighting was prevented by the more prudent men, who surrounded both parties and urged them to make peace. One of ʻAwde’s negroes led the stolen camel away and returned it to the Šarâri. As one man had been killed on either side, the score was even; but the relative from whom the camel had been taken declared that he would not endure such injustice and departed with his whole clan to the settlement of Maʻân in order to seek help against ʻAwde. As ʻAwde did not know whether his offended relatives with other opponents would attack him, he commanded his men to equip themselves and set up a guard all around his camp. Only about fifty tents were left with him, but in case of danger he hoped to receive assistance from his friend, the chief Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje, who was encamped not far off.
Toward evening, when the camels had returned from the pasture, ʻAwde ordered a fat old she-camel (fâṭer) to be slaughtered in our honor. The evening meal was not ready until midnight. The boiled camel’s flesh was heaped up on a shallow dish one meter in diameter and filled with rice. Four slaves brought the dish in and placed it before me. ʻAwde invited me, my European friends, and three other chiefs to commence eating. A young slave poured a little water on the fingers of our right hands, we drew around the dish, sat down on our left heels, took up the rice with pieces of meat, and with three fingers of our right hands kneaded it into mouthfuls which we swallowed almost without chewing. Our native companions thrust into their mouths pieces of food larger than hens’ eggs and after about four minutes had eaten their fill and, holding their right hands over the dish, waited for us to satisfy our hunger. As soon as we had finished, we all rose and went to our places. Rifʻat and Tûmân, my European companions, whispered to me that they were hungry. After us, ʻAwde invited the second row, then the third; and when the meat and rice were eaten up he had the dish filled for the fourth time, so that nothing remained of the whole camel save a mere heap of bones, which were gnawed at by some of the poor Šarârât. After midnight we left the tent and went to our baggage, where we lay down to rest.
RIDE TOWARD ḪABRA MINWA’
Early on Sunday morning, May 28, 1910, ʻAwde brought me two camels, and, shortly after, the other chiefs also arrived with camels, so that we were supplied with a sufficient number of animals for mounts and as baggage carriers. ʻAwde informed me that we should proceed in a northerly direction in order to approach the rain pond Ḫabra Minwa’. The Ḥwêṭât struck their tents, loaded them on the camels, and waited for the chief. Almost all the other tents were already disposed of, but his still remained untouched. Though ʻAwde shouted abusive words at his slaves, no one listened to him, so he was finally reduced to pulling out the poles and rolling up the tent himself. He was then joined by his people, who packed up his supplies and tent; at 5.80 we moved off.
There was no order on the march. Each one rode or drove his camel however and wherever he wished. ʻAwde was continually avoiding the pack camels, turning off first to the right and then to the left in order to keep clear of the throng. At first I rode with him, as I wished to discuss various matters; but we had scarcely begun to talk before some ragged servant or herdsman would thrust his camel between us, followed by a second and a third rider, compelling us to ride round them in order to rejoin each other. The same thing happened to the other chiefs who joined ʻAwde.
FAWZÂN ON THE ḤWÊṬÂT
Seeing that it would be impossible during the march to talk to ʻAwde undisturbed, I joined a camel merchant named Fawzân as-Sâbeḳ, who was followed by his servants driving more than two hundred animals that he had purchased. This herd, as well as the servants, protected us from the troublesome Ḥwêṭât.
Fawzân, a man about forty years of age, had a good-natured, dark face, with expressive eyes, and he conducted himself very quietly and modestly. He had bought the camels on behalf of an acquaintance of mine, the rich camel-dealer Mḥammad eben Bassâm, by whom he had been warmly recommended to me. When I expressed my surprise that the Ḥwêṭât observed no order either in camp or on the march, Fawzân said that the Ḥwêṭât were not genuine camel-breeders but that they belonged to the Ahl ad-Dîre, who breed sheep and goats, and that, in fact, many of them were mere tillers of the soil. The Ḥwêṭât, he declared, had no head chief, so that any chief who was in charge of more than ten tents acted in complete independence, declared war, and concluded peace with whom he liked, regardless of the other clans and families. This independence was supported by the Turkish Government in the case of all the tribes encamped along the railway between Damascus and the Ḥeǧâz, as the authorities considered that it was easier to subjugate scattered tribes and mutually warring clans, than if they were subordinated to a single head chief. But this policy was not altogether correct; for if any move was set on foot against the Government, all the scattered clans would unite at once and rally round the chief who happened to be acting against the Government. If, on the other hand, the Government wished to obtain something from the tribes, desiring, for example, to count their herds so as to fix the amount of their taxes, or if it was searching for flocks stolen from the settlers, it had nobody to support and assist it in carrying out its intentions. There was no head tribal chief, and the numerous petty chiefs would take flight with their flocks, or join the chiefs of neighboring tribes who were under no obligation to keep watch on them or to supply the Government with reports concerning them. Thus the Government never succeeded in achieving what it set out to do. Of course, it would call upon this or that chief, enjoining him to collect taxes on his herds or to find out what had become of stolen flocks; but in such cases the chief generally would plead disobedience on the part of his subordinates, or would announce that they had left him and that he did not even know where they were encamped. These statements were true and could be corroborated by numerous witnesses. In the autumn, when these tribes used to penetrate more deeply into the desert, they would again rally round their chief and remain with him until the end of May or the beginning of June. Then they would return to the frontier of the cultivated territory under Government jurisdiction, separating and scattering again in order to evade the governmental demands. During this season they would rob and plunder in the villages subordinated to the Government. The peasants who had been robbed often enough recognized the plunderer and reported him to the Government, which would then send his chief a written order that the culprit be produced immediately with his booty. But the chief, supported by witnesses, would assert that the culprit was not encamped with him and that he did not know where he was to be found. Meantime, the lawbreaker had packed up his tent and departed with his booty to join another chief, to whom he would give a share of the plunder remaining with him, safe in the knowledge that he would not be reported. Even when a whole tribe engaged in a raid on Government territory, the Government was unable to discover the culprits.
In March, 1908, a band of the Ḥwêṭât attacked the large settlement of Salamja, situated southeast of Ḥama’, and made off with about twenty horses and a hundred and sixty camels. All these animals were branded with the mark of the inhabitants of Salamja, yet the Government was unable to discover a single one of them. The victims complained to the Government that they had been robbed by the Ḥwêṭât, who were under the control of the chiefs ʻAwde abu Tâjeh and ʻArʻar eben Ǧâzi. The Government requested the two chiefs to restore the stolen animals and then sought to imprison them; but both ʻArʻar and ʻAwde were able to prove that they had not taken part in the raid. ʻArʻar had been detained at the settlement of Maʻân at that particular time, and ʻAwde produced twenty witnesses, all of whom swore that the chief had not left his camp either in February or March, 1908. The ḳâjmaḳâm at Maʻân therefore informed the authorities at Damascus that he could punish neither ʻAwde nor ʻArʻar for what had been done by other chiefs who, moreover, were recognized by the Government as independent and not accountable to the two leaders accused. The inhabitants of Salamja sent four men into the environs of Maʻân to find out which chiefs were looking after the animals stolen from them. The investigators reported five petty chiefs to the Government at Maʻân, but the chiefs mentioned did not put in an appearance, preferring to proceed farther into the desert. In the summer of 1909 two men from Salamja were again staying at Maʻân and reiterated their complaints. In reply to a fresh summons by the ḳâjmaḳâm, the accused chiefs arrived with numerous witnesses, who all asserted that they had, indeed, had the stolen camels with them, but that these animals did not belong to them, being the property of strangers who were now encamped somewhere with the Beni ʻAṭijje or with the Šarârât. So the inhabitants of Salamja did not recover a single horse or a single camel. Yet I personally bought from Fawzân a young she-camel which bore the mark of the settlers at Salamja, and I was informed that in ʻAwde’s camp there were twenty-eight such camels and six horses. The Ḥwêṭât laughed not only at the foolish settlers of Salamja, but also at the unwise Government. If the Ḥwêṭât had had a single head chief and the Government had effectively supported him, he could have controlled the chiefs under him and thus preserved order. But he would, of course, have had to stand in awe of the Government, knowing that obedience would be forced from him if he did not fulfill its wishes voluntarily.
EBEN SAʻÛD AND EBEN RAŠÎD
From the autumn of 1909 to March, 1910, Fawzân had been residing in the Neǧd, in the territory of the Princes Eben Saʻûd and Eben Rašîd. He explained that during the last few years there had been very little rain in the region of Eben Saʻûd, in consequence of which expeditions against Prince Saʻûd eben Rašîd had suffered. During the last rainy season Prince ʻAbdalʻazîz eben Saʻûd had been encamped within the area of al-Ḥasa. The minister, Zâmel eben Subhân, regent for Saʻûd eben Rašîd who had not yet attained his majority, had concluded peace with Prince ʻAbdalʻazîz and had established his authority among the Šammar and among the inhabitants of the various settlements in their territory, especially in the town of Ḥâjel. In the environs of this town and, in fact, in the whole territory belonging to the Šammar, there had been a great abundance of rain during the last two years, so that there had been a great increase in the prosperity of the Šammar; and many of the smaller tribes who owed their allegiance to Eben Saʻûd had joined the Šammar for the simple reason that they sought pastures for their flocks. Many of the orthodox Moslems are said to have regarded the lack of rain in the territory of Eben Saʻûd as a punishment sent from Allâh because Eben Saʻûd’s followers had joined the unbelievers and slaughtered the faithful children of Mohammed. Fawzân declared that ʻAbdalʻazîz eben Saʻûd would not be content until he had driven out Eben Rašîd and occupied all the latter’s territory, including the town of Ḥâjel. This would be an act of revenge, as Mḥammad eben Rašîd had once expelled ʻAbdalʻazîz’s father, ʻAbdarraḥmân, from his residence at ar-Rijâḍ and had established his deputy, or ʻâmel, there. The deputies of Eben Rašîd had resided at ar-Rijâḍ until the year 1902.
At the end of 1901, Prince ʻAbdalʻazîz rode out from the town of al-Kwejt, where he had been dwelling with his father, ʻAbdarraḥmân. Accompanied by an escort of ten, he found adherents among the ʻAǧmân tribe, which was encamped in al-Ḥasa, and with them advanced toward ar-Rijâḍ, where his ancestors had formerly resided. The inhabitants of this town hated ʻAǧlân, the representative of Eben Rašîd, and longed for the return of the old ruling family. ʻAbdalʻazîz pitched his camp at a point about two hours’ journey from the town and, when night fell, led his men on foot under cover of darkness to the gardens. There he was awaited by the citizens who were favorably disposed towards him. They led him from the gardens into the town and after midnight they attacked the citadel which was the residence of ʻAǧlân, whom they slaughtered with his friends. After the fall of the town of ar-Rijâḍ, nearly all the remaining settlements acknowledged ʻAbdalʻazîz as their ruler, and in a short time he was joined also by the Mṭejr tribe. In the spring of 1906 Eben Rašîd undertook a great raid on this tribe, attacked several of its camps, and drove away a goodly number of its herds. But just at that time Prince Eben Saʻûd was resting with a large body of troops only about two hours’ journey from the encampments which had been attacked; and he set out in pursuit of ʻAbdalʻazîz eben Rašîd, who had started home with the booty. Overtaking his quarry, the pursuer ordered a small band to attack the raider and then to flee. The ruse was successful. Eben Rašîd, who began to pursue the attacking band, was waylaid by Eben Saʻûd, completely surrounded, and slaughtered with all his men. After their leader’s death domestic warfare arose between the members of Eben Rašîd’s tribes, and Eben Saʻûd took advantage of this to establish and extend his authority.
AT ʻAWDE’S CAMP NEAR ḪABRA MINWA’
While Fawzân was telling me of these events we were proceeding along a slightly undulating plain covered with coarse sand of a dark gray color, where grass and perennials grew only upon a few patches of hollow ground. The grass was already parched, but the perennials were luxuriantly green. The watercourses are very broad and shallow and in places they almost disappear. At 8.10 A.M. we reached a large patch of low ground thickly covered with perennials; and from all sides the Ḥwêṭât raised a clamor, demanding that ʻAwde should encamp there. I was surprised at this, for the Rwala never would have dared to shout at Prince an-Nûri or to decide when and where he was to pitch his camp. In reply to the shouting, ʻAwde announced that he would encamp by the rain pond of Minwa’, so as to have water close at hand; but his Ḥwêṭât increased their din and, when he refused to come to a standstill, they urged their camels to kneel down, flung the tents to the ground, shouting to their chief that he could ride on as far as he liked, but that they would encamp there. At 8.20 ʻAwde also halted and the Ḥwêṭât made a new encampment.
ʻAwde came up behind me, sat down at my side, and we began to discuss the best way for me to reach the oasis of Tejma. But after a short while we were surrounded by about a hundred men and boys, who one after another asked all kinds of questions, threw my baggage and equipment into disorder, and annoyed me by their obtrusiveness, until they heard the noise of the mortar in which a negro was crushing roasted coffee grains. This sound, so dear to every nomad, freed me from their unwelcome attentions. Forming a long line, they made their way into the tent, and those who could find no room inside sat down near the entrance, glad of an opportunity even to smell the fragrance of the coffee, although the slave did not pour out a drop for them.
At noon ʻAwde invited me to proceed with him to a point about fifty paces from the tent and shouted orders that nobody was to come near us. Squatting down, we began to talk about my journey. In ʻAwde’s opinion it was not possible to visit either Bâjer or al-Ḥawṣa. There were wells of spring water at both of these places, which were consequently the most important centers of water supply between the depressions of Sirḥân and al-Ǧafar. Raiding bands proceeding from west to east, or vice versa, visit these wells. During the rainy season, when all the rain ponds are full of water so that the nomads can obtain a supply anywhere and need not search for wells of spring water, it is possible to explore the environs of Bâjer and al-Ḥawṣa without great danger. But in summer, when the rain ponds are dried up and every marauder is anxious to reach these wells, it is extremely dangerous to remain in their vicinity. The danger is all the greater when the surrounding tribes are waging war against each other, because then the bands of raiders never pass by the wells.
ʻAwde explained that near al-Ḥawṣa there are long underground passages called al-Kelwa. The entrance is very narrow, but the passages increase in breadth, so that they can be traversed comfortably. ʻAwde said that when he was there he had carried a taper and his companions had lighted small bundles of dry brushwood, this illumination enabling them to penetrate the crooked underground passages for quite a long distance. One of these passages, he informed me, is several hundred paces long and consists of numerous spacious galleries, in the walls of which there are small recesses similar to berths. In some places it seems as if the walls had been artificially hewn out, although elsewhere they are rugged and rough. More to the south of al-Kelwa ʻAwde had seen three ruined towers (burǧ).[6]
I learnt from ‘Awde that for the past four months a Turkish garrison consisting of seven gendarmes had been stationed in the oasis of Tejma. Tejma had formerly belonged to the domain of Eben Rašîd, whose representative had resided there and kept order not only in the settlement itself, but also in the surrounding district, since the Fuḳara’ and al-Âjde clans of the Weld ʻAli tribe of this neighborhood had paid tribute to Eben Rašîd. When Eben Rašîd’s power was overthrown, the Fuḳara’ and al-Âjde drove out his representative and harassed the settlers. The latter sent a petition to Damascus, asking the Turkish Government to protect them; which the Government was able to do as far as the Fuḳara’ and al-Âjde were concerned, because both these clans were in the habit of encamping by the railway and used to obtain supplies, clothing, and money from the Government, upon which they were thus dependent. Their territory is very unproductive and they cannot provide themselves with grain and clothing except from Syria, hence from regions that were entirely under the control of the Turkish régime. If the Government had barred their access to Syria they would have died of hunger. As a result of a decree from Constantinople seven gendarmes were sent to the oasis of Tejma and later a strong military garrison was to be transferred there. I was anxious to proceed from ‘Awde’s camp direct to Tejma in order to explore the regions of Ṭubejž al-ʻAfar and Ṭubejž al-Ḥamar, as well as the oasis of Tejma itself and especially the burial ground of Ẓelʻ al-Ṛnejm. I therefore asked ʻAwde whether I might find a reliable guide in his camp. ʻAwde replied that there was in the camp a Fežîr, or member of the clan of the Fuḳara’, who was well acquainted with the whole region and who could guide me safely. But he drew my attention to the fact that between the territory of the Fuḳara’ and his camp extended the regions belonging to the Šarârât and Beni ʻAṭijje, from whom I should have to take a guide as well. He added that he was expecting a visit from the chief Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje with whom I could discuss the matter.
In the afternoon I was informed by the servant Šerîf that some of the Ḥwêṭât were demanding payment for the camels which ʻAwde had sent to Maʻân for us. Mḥammad, ʻAwde’s negro, claimed that all these camels belonged to the chief, who had received various gifts from me in return for the animals. But it turned out that ʻAwde had sent only one of his own camels, while the five others belonged to different members of the Ḥwêṭât, who were now asking the sum of six meǧîdijjât ($5.40) for each and in addition a special gift to every guide. Before I had dealt with this awkward business, Fawzân came and asked me whether I could not offer ʻAwde a pair of binoculars as a gift. I replied that I needed my good binoculars for myself and my companions. Fawzân excused himself for having come to me, saying that it was the chief’s command and that the latter would like either a pair of binoculars or firearms or some other gifts. Realizing that ʻAwde would like the binoculars, the firearms, and the other gifts as well, I announced my extreme regret at being unable to give him anything, as I had brought with me only absolute necessities, having left the gifts, the extra firearms and binoculars, among my stores at Maʻân, whence they would follow me to Tebûk. However, as I should be very pleased to comply with the chief’s wishes, I would ask him to send one of his slaves to me at Damascus, where, after returning from my journey, I would give him everything that remained. If he did not wish to send to Damascus, then I would forward the things he asked for to his friend and brother, Prince an-Nûri eben Šaʻlân, who would certainly deliver them to him in the interior of the desert. Fawzân went away and ʻAwde did not put in an appearance.
It was after four o’clock in the afternoon when four men came riding up on camels to the chief’s tent. They were the chief Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje with his retinue. Ḥarb was about forty-two years old. The expression of his face revealed sagacity, but at the same time it aroused repugnance. He was a blood relative of ʻAwde, his mother being a sister of ʻAwde’s father, and he had married ʻAwde’s daughter. Ḥarb announced that by the well of al-Mšejṭijje, northeast of the railway station of al-Mdawwara, his men had perceived a troop of about three hundred on camels proceeding to the north or somewhat to the northwest. It was certain that they were enemies, but it was not known to what tribe they belonged or against whom they were riding. Ḥarb conjectured that they were the Šammar on their way to attack the Beni ʻAṭijje, but ʻAwde declared that they were certainly the Beni Ṣaḫr, who had purposely eluded the Ḥwêṭât, with the intention of attacking them by surprise from the south. Both urged the men who were present to be cautious and alert. ʻAwde despatched twelve horsemen to the south for the purpose of protecting the herds of camels from an unexpected attack. Ḥarb immediately returned to his men to the west in order that they might repel the enemy, should an attempt be made on the flocks returning from the pasture.
The impending danger induced the herdsmen to return with the camels from the pasture at an early hour, and the owners brought the animals to me, offering them for sale. All the camels were exceptionally fat. In the regions of aṭ-Ṭubejḳ, where they had been grazing throughout the rainy season, there had been an abundance of rain during the past two years, in consequence of which they had thriven on luxuriant brushwood and fresh grass. I was told that it is sometimes necessary to bind the camels’ jaws to prevent excessive grazing, as otherwise the surplus fat would cause a breakage of their humps. If the camel fattens too much as a result of good pasturage, the hump increases by about half; the lower part, uniting it with the camel’s back, cannot bear the weight; the hump breaks and hangs down on either side, and the animal perishes.
In the evening we ascertained our geographical latitude.
On Sunday, May 29, 1910, many more camels were offered for sale to me. I selected seven animals whose ages were between four and six years and paid from fifty to sixty-five meǧîdijjât ($45.00 to $58.50) apiece for them. Six of the camels were thorough-breds; the remaining one being a crossbreed, though very strong and yet of slender build. With a hot wire we immediately branded our mark on their left thighs—this being a half-moon between two vertical lines (helâl w meṭraḳên). One of the camels already had eight such branded marks, thus recording eight different owners before myself. The old marks (wsûm) cannot be obliterated, but it is easy to distinguish which mark is the latest, and that indicates the owner.
DEPARTURE FROM ʻAWDE’S CAMP
While the camels were being branded I had a talk with the Fežîr whom ʻAwde had recommended to me as a guide. From his information, supplemented by that of others, I had drawn a sketch map, on the previous day, of the territory between al-Ǧafar and Tejma. I could see that he was well acquainted with the district, and I should have liked to secure his services as a guide; but he was unwilling to accompany me on account of the danger and therefore asked more than I could pay him. He wanted first a hundred and then fifty Turkish pounds ($450, $225) in gold, which were to be paid immediately, irrespective of whether we reached the oasis of Tejma or not. In addition I was to give him firearms and my own camel for the journey. It occurred to me that in case of attack he would not lose much if he left all his wages at home and took nothing of his own with him except his old garments. By fulfilling this demand, I should have placed myself entirely at the mercy of his caprice and should have been unable to obtain a cheaper leader later. I offered him one meǧîdijje (90 cents) per day and his railway transportation from any southern station as far as Maʻân, whence it would be easy for him to reach ʻAwde’s camp. The herdsman in charge of the camels, whom I also wished to engage, demanded two meǧîdijjât per day, his usual pay being four meǧîdijjât for a whole year. Both of them declared that they would accompany me only because they were fond of me, knowing as they did that they were threatened by certain death. ʻAwde sent for other guides, but they all demanded the same amount, their excuse being the danger which they would incur if they came with me. At last about twenty of them were sitting round me; one after another they described the horrors of thirst and the hostile bands that lay in wait during the summer season for travelers proceeding from the settlement of Maʻân direct to the oasis of Tejma. The more they talked, the more certain and terrible became the danger of death, until finally they declared that not a single one of them would accompany me. My native companions grew alarmed at this talk, and the gendarme Ismaʻîn whispered to me that he would rather return to Maʻân than go with me to death: I should not forget that he had a young wife and three children and that it would be difficult for me to bear the responsibility before Allâh if through my fault his children became orphans.
Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje now entered the camp again, sat down near my baggage, called my companion Ǧwâd to him, and questioned him concerning me. He was probably annoyed at not having yet received the gifts he had demanded. I had already sent him word on Saturday that I should be glad to give him something as a keepsake but not until I was in his territory and in his tent. On account of this annoyance he wished to frighten me. He therefore asked Ǧwâd to show him the orders which the Governor had sent him personally from Damascus. If we did not have such orders addressed specially to him, he would not permit me to enter his territory. To this demand of his I replied that I had not yet spent any time in his territory and that he therefore had no right to demand such orders. Moreover, the Governor at Damascus would not allow any chief to demand that he send orders to each chief specially, in view of the fact that they were all fed and paid by him. Knowing, however, that Ḥarb would work up feeling against me, I gave orders for the baggage to be loaded immediately upon the camels which had been purchased, and announced that I was returning to Maʻân. I asked ʻAwde to permit his negro Mḥammad to accompany me.
At 9.30 on the morning of Sunday, May 29, 1910, we left the camp without a guide and without a herdsman in charge of the camels. There were not many who took leave of us. They had expected abundant gifts and easy earnings, and they had been disappointed. I promised the negro Mḥammad, who was well acquainted with the region, an ample reward if he would tell me exactly the situations and names of various places and would remain with me as long as the gendarme Ismaʻîn. I promised the same thing to the latter, and I won them both over, because they realized that they could obtain more from me than had been given to the two chiefs and the other Ḥwêṭât who had tried to extort presents from me at the camp.
The journey on the spirited camels was very troublesome. Our mounts took fright and dashed off at a trot or canter, so that the gendarme Ismaʻin wished to proceed on foot rather than risk falling from the saddle and breaking his neck. I soon tamed the most spirited of the animals by compelling each one to gallop along with me. After ten minutes they were out of breath and after a quarter of an hour all the camels went along quietly. From 11.32 A. M. to 1.25 P. M. we halted on an extensive stretch of lowland covered with brushwood and prepared our lunch. Not far from us stood two dolmens (Fig. 3),
Fig. 3—Two dolmens south of Ḫabra Minwa’. the southern one being 2.1 m. high and the northern one 1.65 m. high, 0.7 m. broad at the bottom and 0.5 m. at the top, with a thickness of about 0.385 m. To the north of the dolmens the soil had been artificially hollowed out, and rain water had collected there. Eastward the plain was enclosed by the steep walls of aš-Šwêḥeṭ, which the narrow plain Ḫarm aẓ-Ẓbejʻâni separates from Wadʻat al-Ḥamra and al-Ḳennâṣijje. At three o’clock we reached the eastern spur of the flat ridge Ḥazm al-Čabd, the steep sides of which project as much as eighty meters above the plain. These consist of three yellowish strata with an occasional admixture of black stone upon which no grass or brushwood thrives. Cut in them, however, are some short, deep šeʻibân covered with brushwood. At 3.56 the furrowed region of Ṭubejž al-ʻAfar became visible, called al-ʻAfar (the white) because it contains numerous drifts of white sand. At 4.50 we halted near the southeastern spur of al-Čabd in the channel of a deep šeʻîb, in which our fire could not be seen. The camels were able to graze around the baggage. Not knowing whether a hostile band was still hidden somewhere close by, we did not venture to make a fire on the bank, nor did we allow the camels to graze on the uplands, where they would have been visible from afar at sunset.
VIEW FROM AL-ČABD
Accompanied by Mḥammad, Tûmân and I ascended al-Čabd, from which we could sketch the whole of the surrounding country. The view to the north, east, and south was extremely impressive.
Fig. 4—Ṭubejž al-ʻAfar from the west.
The watershed between the šeʻîb of al-Ḥawṣa and the basin of Soraṛ on the southwest is formed by the hills of al-Ǧuḥfe, ar-Rîše, an-Neǧîli, al-Mšêrîf, Sarmada, Ṭwejjel az-Zibed, Umm Leben, az-Zejdânijje, and al-Ṛdawijje. North of Ṭwejjel az-Zibed is the water Ṯmêd Rabîʻa. All these uplands belong to the region of Ṭubejž al-ʻAfar (Fig. 4), the western frontier of which is formed by the plains of Ammu Rǧâm and Fîhat Ḥawmal, from which rain water fills the ponds Ḫabâri ʻAmrât. Westward from these plains rise the uplands of ʻEnâz, Duṛdâš, aṯ-Ṯâje, Ẓelʻ Ḥawmal, Ṣaʻada’-l-Ḥamra’, al-ʻErâḳ, and az-Zejdânijje. The plains of Ḫarm al-Ḥemâra and Ḫarm al-Mḥaššar separate the elevations az-Zejdânijje from Ṣaʻada’-l-Barṣa’ and al-Ṛdawijje, the last-named being connected with aš-Šwêḥeṭ.
Westward of these table-lands we could see beneath us an endless yellowish plain, from which rose countless cupolas, cones, peaks, and obelisks, isolated and in groups. As the highest of these elevations rose only a little higher than the point where we were standing, it was obvious that none was more than 980 meters high. The nearest to us was the mutilated pyramid of al-ʻEjsâwi which towers up to the southeast; southwest of it rises the peak of al-Mzejjen; and west of the latter the five cones of at-Tamlât, southwest of which there extends from east to west a table-land overlooked by the hill of al-ʻAwǧa’. South of al-Mzejjen and Ṣaʻada’-l-Barṣa’ rise the three high obelisks of Ḳalb al-Mǧawwaḫ, and south of them, westward of Ṣaʻada’-l-Ḥamra’, the huge group of Ḳlûb al-Ḫejl and al-Ḫešše.[7]
Southeast of al-Ḫešše the plain of Bwejb al-Ḥâwi merges with the plain of Fîhat Ḥawmal. At a considerable distance to the south, from a yellowish plain, there rose the dark ridge of Šeʻaṯa partly concealing the peak of Ḫiššt aṯ-Ṯowr, which lies north of the railway station of Ḏât al-Ḥâǧǧ and southeast of the station of Ḥâlât ʻAmmâr. North of Šeʻaṯa the peaks of Dbejdeb Selîṭ were reflected from the glistening white salt marsh as-Sabḫa. At the southwestern edge of this marsh stand the old pilgrims’ station of Ḳalʻa Soraṛ[8] and the new railway station of al-Mdawwara.
The šeʻîb of Fzêr al-Ṛâzi, dividing aṯ-Ṯâje from Duṛdâš and Šdejjed Ṛâzi, ends in the marshes of as-Sabḫa; and here also ends the šeʻîb of al-Mkejḥîl, which originates at Mšâš al-Čabd under the name al-Ǧebûʻ, as well as ar-Rwêṭje and ar-Râṭje to the west of al-Mkejḥîl. On the right side of ar-Râṭje, stretching from north to southeast, the plain is shut in by a row of hillocks, Berḳ ar-Rezâje, partly buried in sand. Farther west extends another row of jagged brownish hillocks, which at the time we observed them were covered with bluish shadows cast by the setting sun.
AL-ČABD TO THE ŠEʻÎB OF AL-ḲRÊN
Having returned to our camels, we made them kneel down close to the hillside, tethering their front legs; and after supper we lay down around them, fearing lest the high spirited animals should be frightened by some wild beast during the night and run away.
On Monday, May 30, 1910, we were in the saddle as early as 4.15 A. M. (temperature: 8° C). Not wishing to ride around the spur of the ridge of al-Čabd, which extends far to the north, we laboriously ascended the steep slope (ǧâl) by winding paths and then, after a short time, crawled down into a low ground covered with luxuriant perennials. At six o’clock we reached the dome of Mḥaḳḥaḳ al-Čabd and remained beneath it until 7.03. This dome, which rises above the southern slope of the table-land al-Čabd, affords a delightful view across the southern plains. It seemed as if the latter, lying several hundred meters below us, were plunged in bluish water from which arose a dark blue vapor enfolding still darker water with a thin veil. Above the dense haze there rose like islets countless horns, cones and truncated cones, blunt pyramids, obelisks, and other quaint shapes, fashioned by the action of rain, frost, and wind, which had gnawed at the layers of rock and carried away the softer ingredients to the east and southeast as far as the sandy desert an-Nefûd. The rays of the rising sun were reflected from the separate peaks in a dense shower of golden sparks, while the sides turned away from the sun were wrapped in a dark red shadow.
From Mḥaḳḥaḳ al-Čabd we turned toward the west, riding above the slope itself until we descended through a deep gap to the foot of it. The descent was very difficult. The road led between huge broken boulders, amid which our camels, loaded as they were, could not pick their way; so we were obliged to unload the animals and carry the baggage ourselves. In places there were drifts of sand a meter in depth and so soft that the camels sank into it up to their knees. At 8.05 we arrived at the rain water well Mšâš al-Čabd, situated at the foot of the mountains in a small bay. The well is between three and four meters deep and after a heavy rain is filled with water to a depth of one meter. If it does not rain copiously for two or three years the water dries up. In the immediate vicinity there is an abundant growth of baʻêṯrân.
Having let the camels drink and after filling our goatskin bags with water, we moved on at 8.40 and by numerous windings reached the summit, along which we proceeded in a west-southwesterly direction. From 9.32 to 11.05 we let the camels graze, while we drew a sketch of the southern region. At twelve o’clock we reached the very edge of the slope which falls steeply towards the south and saw beneath us on the plain of al-Maẓlûm large green expanses that reminded us of our own fields of central Europe. They were densely covered with the plants known as semḥ. In the lower places the semḥ was dark green, while on the borders higher up, where the moisture had already evaporated, it was beginning to grow yellow and ripe. Bluish sandstone rocks enclosed the semḥ-covered plains. Farther to the south there extended olive-colored cones, horns, and ridges, with pink slopes, which seemed to throb in the burning and almost visible rays of the noonday sun. All the sides facing the northwest were covered with yellowish sand, while the eastern and northeastern sides had a dark brown gloss, and on some of them blood-red stripes could be distinguished. At two o’clock Mḥammad pointed out to me, far in the south, the sharp, jagged peaks of al-ʻÂǧât and, to the northwest of them, two cones and seven dome-shaped groups which formed Šeʻaṯa. To the southwest of us and quite close by, there arose the three tabular hills of aṯ-Ṯlejṯwât, which at times disappeared in the quivering haze and at other times assumed gigantic shapes which appeared to change their positions. The undulating upland of al-Čabd gradually merges into the plain of ar-Râṭijje, inclining to the north toward the šeʻîb of Ammu Mîl but falling steeply toward the south. In places the stony soil is so eaten away by wind and rain that it appears to have been artificially paved. In places, too, it is covered with coarse gravel in which the only growing things are small groups of daʻâʻ, a species of semḥ. In a few shallow declivities there thrive mti, rûṯe, mrâr, and ḳnêfḏe, which the Ḥwêṭât call čaff marjam.
At 2.45 P. M. Mḥammad showed me, to the south at the foot of the slope, the rain water well Mšâš Ǧebûʻ, by which ʻAwde abu Tâjeh encamped in December, 1909, on his march to Ṭubejž al-ʻAfar. From this camp he undertook a campaign against the Sirḥân clan, whose flocks were then grazing on the southern foot of the Ḥawrân, north of Ḳuṣejr ʻAmra. Passing through the šeʻîb of Ḥedreǧ, the Ḥwêṭât were observed by the Beni Ṣaḫr, who immediately pursued them on horses and camels and overtook them in five hours. A fight took place, in which the Beni Ṣaḫr succumbed to the superior power of the Ḥwêṭât. Between twenty and twenty-five of the combatants fell, among them Hâjel eben Fâjez, my good friend and brother, who in the years 1898, 1900, and 1901 accompanied me to the castle of ʻAmra. A treacherous bullet ended the life of this undaunted warrior, whose body was covered with scars of both rifle and sword wounds. Of his brothers, who were friends of mine, Barǧas, Ǧerûḥ, and Mḥammad perished in the fight; the only one to die a natural death being Ṭalâl, who died in October, 1909, at Damascus, where he was negotiating with the Governor. In the above-mentioned fight north of al-Ḥedreǧ, the Ḥwêṭât captured seven mares, whose riders were thrust from the saddle (ḳalâjeʻ), and also sixty good riding camels.
At 4.05 we perceived on our right hand some small thickets of ṭalḥ trees growing in the gullies which join with the šeʻîb of Ammu Mîl. At 4.19 we halted by one of these thickets (temperature: 31.5° C). The trees, which attained a diameter of eight-tenths of a meter, were luxuriantly green and dotted with hard circular buds. Their long thorns covered all the surrounding ground, and we had to gather them up, as otherwise they would have penetrated our skin bags. Our camels found abundant pasturage in the vicinity and we prepared the evening meal. As the smoke from our fire could have been seen from afar, we decided not to spend the night in the same place; so at 7.02 we proceeded farther to the west and at 8.30 encamped in one of the gullies of the šeʻîb of al-Ḳrên.
THE ŠEʻÎB OF AL-ḲRÊN TO RWEJSÂT UMM ṚAẒA
On Tuesday, May 31, 1909, at 5.05 A. M. (temperature: 10.5° C) we entered the region of al-Kḏûr. This consists of undulating plains furrowed to the north by broad, deep channels, and it contains no considerable peaks or elevations. Only to the northeast could be seen a knoll of no great height with a large pile of stones upon it. Beneath this knoll, in the šeʻîb of al-Keḏer, lies the rain water well Mšâš abu ʻAmûd. To the northwest the region of al-Kḏûr extends as far as the ruin of al-Mṛejjera, which is also called Ḫirbet al-Kḏûr.[9]
In the autumn of 1907 the clan of ʻAwde abu Tâjeh was encamped at al-Kḏûr. Their flocks, which were grazing in the šeʻibân of Abu ʻAlejdijjât, were attacked by the Šammar and driven away as booty. The Šammar also stole a herd of white she-camels (maṛâtîr) belonging to ʻAwde. Now white she-camels are the pride of every clan, and they form the only herd from which not a single animal is sold. So it is customary to have them guarded by the best fighters; and if an enemy succeeds in stealing this herd the news spreads throughout the desert, all who hear it admire the alertness of the marauder and jeer at the careless clan which allowed its white herd to be driven away. At that time ʻAwde was paying a visit to an-Nûri eben Šaʻlân, who was encamped on the southern foot of the Ḥawrân by al-Azraḳ. ʻAwde returned to his men on the day following the raid; as soon as he heard the sad and ignominious news that his white herd had been stolen from him, he at once proceeded with sixty men on camels in pursuit of the Šammar. He overtook them in the region of al-Hûǧ, on the northwestern border of the Nefûd near the well of Abu Ṯenijje. There are only two convenient roads leading from the basin in which the well is situated to the upland. During the night ʻAwde occupied both roads, surrounded the Šammar who were asleep, killed seven men, rescued the stolen herd, and took thirty-two riding camels as plunder, with which he returned to his men. The latter, who were then encamped by the rain water well Mšâš ar-Râṭijje, greeted him with hearty rejoicings.
At 6.02 A. M. we crossed the main road leading from south to north, the road which is followed by the migrating tribes. At the station of al-Ḥazm it separates from the Pilgrim Route and passes by the watering places at al-Mṛâṭijje, al-Aḳejla, al-Mšêṭijje, and al-Ǧafar. Thence it winds through the defile of an-Nḳejb to the Ḳurṭâsijje range, passes by Ṭwîl aš-Šhâḳ on the west, swings off to Ṛadîr al-Ǧinz, and at al-Ḥasa’ again unites with the highroad of al-Ḥâǧǧ, the Pilgrim Route. At the wells of al-Ǧafar this road is crossed by another road leading from the west from Petra (Wâdi Mûsa) via Maʻân, al-Ǧafar, al-Ḥawṣa, and Majḳûʻ to Dûmat al-Ǧandalijje (al-Ǧowf).[10]
Westward from the former road the region of al-Kḏûr becomes more and more rugged. The individual gullies are deeper and the slopes more precipitous. At 8.42 we perceived in one of the gullies a boulder 2 m. long, 1.6 m. high, and 1.1 m. thick, known as al-Maḏbaḥ (place of sacrifice) because it is said that upon it goats and sheep have been sacrificed to the dead who are buried in the small cemetery to the south. Around al-Maḏbaḥ, as well as in the other šeʻibân of the neighborhood, there is an abundant growth of ratam, iḏen, al-ḥmâr, šîḥ; also žetâde in places and ṭalḥ bushes. The hills separating the šeʻibân from each other are covered with coarse stones, which made it difficult for our camels to press forward. From 9.30 to eleven o’clock we remained in the šeʻîb of al-Mutrammel, where the camels found only a scanty pasture (temperature: 29.8° C). The winter rains had filled the artificial reservoirs at the pilgrimage station of Faṣôʻa, and several clans of the Ḥwêṭât had encamped near by. Their flocks had been grazing in al-Kḏûr, and in consequence all the grass and brushwood had been consumed. At 1.15 P. M. we crossed the railway line near the station of ʻAḳabat al-Ḥeǧâzijje (1150 m.).[11]
To the northeast we perceived a higher elevation, Ṭwejjel al-Ḥâǧǧ, and to the west a tower-shaped pile of stones indicating the site of the pilgrimage station of Faṣôʻa, hidden in the basin of the šeʻîb of al-Mšâš, which unites with Abu ʻAmûd farther to the northeast. At 12.40 P. M. we descended to the small ruined fortress of Faṣôʻa, north of which are situated two artificial rain pools still partly filled with water (Figs. 5, 6, 7). We remained near this spot until 1.32. ʻ
The camels were very thirsty, pressing forward to the edge of the parapet of the rain pools, and it was all we could do to drive them away and prevent them from falling into the water. Šerîf and Mḥammad baled the water out of the pond with a canvas bucket, making the camels drink from this container. No sooner had the animals assuaged their thirst than they were running about in search of pasture. Accordingly, there was nothing for us to do but to replace the baggage quickly and move on, as there was not a single plant in the vicinity of the rain pools. Everything had been entirely eaten up.
We proceeded to the west through the opening of the šeʻibân of Abu ʻAlejdijjât, which join Abu Rtejmât and al-Makmi. At three o’clock we reached the šeʻîb of al-Moṛâra, near which the region of al-Kḏûr ends and the actual range of aš-Šera’ begins. The latter consists of a broad, flat ridge ascending towards the northwest, covered with coarse gravel in which the šaʻrân grows abundantly. At 4.20 we halted on the southern foot of the cone of Rwejsât umm Ṛaẓa, north-west of the pass Naḳb al-Ḥdejb, which is traversed by a fairly convenient road to the southern lowlands (temperature: 30.5° C). Šerîf was to prepare our evening meal while Ismaʻîn guarded the camels.
VIEW FROM KNOLL OF AL-ḤDEJB
Taking Mḥammad with us we proceeded to the knoll of al-Ḥdejb, which is of no great height and stands near a precipitous slope, and from its summit we made a geographical sketch.
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 5—Faṣôʻa fortress from the southeast.
Fig. 6—Faṣôʻa fortress, interior.
Fig. 7—Rain pool of Faṣô‘a. and Ammu Ṭlejḥa and comes to an end in the rain pond Naḳaʻ al-ʻAlejjîn near Ḳalʻa Soraṛ, where also end the al-Mhejš and ar-Ratam valleys, which are traversed by the railway line. Between the two latter valleys rise the isolated peaks of al-Ḥarad, ʻEmmêr, and al-Ḥaṭijje, while between al-Mhejš and al-Ḥafîr, on a rocky plain, are situated the cone-shaped hills of ʻAmmar, Dbejbân, and al-Ḳaws. West of Dbejbân and the šeʻîb of al-Ḥafîr towers the isolated ʻOmejr, south of which is Ammu Šdâd, split into two parts; and southwest of Ammu Šdâd stands the mutilated obelisk of aš-Šḳéḳ. To the south of al-Ḥafîr the Ḥoẓon (or al-Ḥoẓn) valley, which begins between the al-Abraḳ and al-Birde ranges, ends also at Naḳaʻ al-ʻAlejjîn. In its upper portion, on the right, al-Ḥoẓn is joined by Ammu Rkejbe, Umm Hašîm, and al-Baḫtijje, as well as by as-Samra, Abu Ḥsejje, and al-Mḫâš, all three of which proceed from the as-Saʻejd elevation. The latter is bordered to the south by the al-Loṣom valley, which starts in the as-Sardân plain and is joined on the right by the šeʻibân of ar-Ratama and Umm ʻAlda. Between the lower courses of al-Ḥoẓon and al-Loṣom lies the short gully Sidd al-Ḳâḥ. The rain ponds Ḫabâri Soraṛ derive their water from the šeʻibân of aṣ-Ṣalâdeḫ, Wudej
Fig. 8—From al-Ḥdejb looking southeast, south, and southwest. Rakeb, Ab-al-Ḫâr, al-Ḫaṣra, and al-Ḥalfa. The latter proceeds from the water Ḥsi ammu Sejfên in Ammu Kaff and is joined on the right by Umm Ṛâṭi and Umm Šellâle, between which rises the cone of Bnejẓer. To the southeast of Ḫabâri Soraṛ ends Šeʻîb at-Tebaḫḫer, which begins near Ṭwejjel al-Maǧnûn under the name of al-Mustaḥaḳna, and in which is situated the water of Ḥsejjet Štejje. The last šeʻîb, running in a north-easterly direction through the hills of Ndêrat al-Fḥûl to the marshes of as-Sabḫa, is called al-Mu‘ajẓeb.
Near Ḏât al-Ḥâǧǧ end the šeʻibân of Ḥlejf Zeben, which runs from the hills of al-Abraḳ, and Umm Zarb, which is joined by al-Hind. The latter comes from the watershed of Nedra and from the fountain of al-Hind (Bîr al-Hind), divides the hills of ʻEnejḳ on the south from those of ʻÎd (Berḳa ʻÎd) on the north, and borders on the south side of al-Ḫanâṣer. Near Berḳa ‘Îd are the springs of al-Hlêlît.
The station of Ḏât al-Ḥâǧǧ lies in a basin into which the water flows from the surrounding valleys, hiding itself beneath alluvial deposits and sand. In many places the water rises to the surface, so that it would be possible to plant the whole hollow with palms, which now grow here and there only. The pilgrimage station is a rectangular stone stronghold with a large courtyard and a shallow well containing good clean water.[12]
The plain of ad-Daṛejn, extending southward from Ḏât al-Ḥâǧǧ, is enclosed on the west by the hills of ad-Dḥal, Berḳ aṭ-Ṭwêref, and al-Ḳidrijje. Into it merges the šeʻîb of Dimne (near which are situated the wells Ǧebw al-Ḥamîr, Bîz, and Dimne), as well as the great Wâdi az-Zejte, which, under the name of an-Nǧejli, begins at Bîr al-Msallam in the az-Zejte range. On the left this wâdi is joined by Ammu Frûṯ and Umm Ḫašab, which proceed from the al-Mḫaṣṣa and al-Ḫarîḳ hills; on the right the following šeʻibân merge with az-Zejte: al-Mrašša, which rises in the Farʻûn hills; aṯ-Ṯâmri, which conveys water from al-Mnejdîr, ad-Darâbîǧ, and as-Sehem; Sdêr, separating the al-Ḫrejmât hills from ʻEmârt al-ʻAǧûz and al-Ḫawâṯel; and Rejlân, proceeding from the ruins al-Ḳrajje. At the lower end of the last-named šeʻîb are the wells of al-ʻEjêne.
To the north of our halting place, near the pass of al-Ḥdejb, the rain water flows through the šeʻibân of al-Moṛâra, Bajjûẓ, and al-Abjaẓ to the valley of aš-Šîdijje, which ends in the depression of al-Ǧafar. The dome-shaped hills of Rwejsât umm Ṛaẓa separate aš-Šîdijje from the gullies of Ṣnâʻ Ẓâher and Abu Ḳejṣûma, which combine to form the šeʻîb of aẓ-Ẓerîb. The latter, after merging with ad-Dabbe, is called Ṭaberijja and is joined on the left by Abu Ḥalûfa. Its lower course is known as al-Mṣawwal.
We stood on the ridge of the aš-Šera’ range where, after running from north to south, it turns off almost at a right angle to the east, thus forming for a distance of nearly one hundred kilometers the natural frontier between territory on the north which might be partially cultivated and rocky and sandy desert on the south; between present-day Syria and the Ḥeğâz; between the Arabia Petraea and Arabia Felix of classical times; and between the mountain range of Seʻîr, or Edom and the territory of the Madianites of Biblical times.
RWEJSÂT UMM ṚAẒA TO AL-BATRA
Returning to our baggage, we came without warning upon Ismaʻîn sitting quietly by the fire drinking coffee. Five of the camels were not to be seen, but two of them were grazing on a hill about two kilometers away. When I reproached him for neglecting to guard the camels, which, in this undulating region, might easily be driven off by enemies moving through the numerous passes, he replied calmly: “If Allâh has decreed that the camels are to be stolen from us, we cannot prevent it even if we guard them.”
After the evening meal we proceeded farther to the west at 7.40 and at 8.47 encamped in the šeʻîb of Ṣnâʻ Ẓâher. The night was very warm and clear.
On Wednesday, June 1, 1910, I roused my companions at three o’clock, untethered the camels so that they could graze, and lit a small fire over which I warmed the coffee. Mḥammad and Ismaʻîn did not get up until the smell of the steaming beverage reached them. A small cup of coffee and a morsel of bread composed our breakfast. At 4.45 (temperature: 17° C) we set off on the march, at first to the west, but from five o’clock onwards due north, because aš-Šera’ itself turns off almost at a right angle to the north near Râs al-Msaṭṭara (1455 m.). We proceeded over broad, low table-lands, and through shallow, broad valleys, all of which could have been cultivated. They were covered with an abundance of annuals and perennials. To the west these plateaus fall away steeply, without any transition, to a depth of about three hundred meters, while to the east the descent is gradual. At eight o’clock we reached a region where the table-lands merge into an elevation cut by broad valleys and numerous narrow, deep, transverse gullies. Only the lower valleys might be transformed into fertile fields; but on the slopes of the gullies there is an abundance of grass and bushes, which affords copious pasture. There is a fair amount of water, as nearly every šeʻîb contains a spring; so the whole region might be tilled and colonized. Before us rose the mighty dome-shaped peak of al-Batra, projecting somewhat to the east from the ridge of aš-Šera’ itself.
We met five migrating families of the Beni ʻAṭijje, as they call themselves, though the Ḥwêṭât and other tribes camping to the north of Maʻân nearly always refer to them as Maʻʻâze or ʻAṭâwne. Each family had but one camel, upon which was loaded all its property: a tiny tent with a single main pole, torn blankets, a bag of semḥ, a small pouch of sour milk, and the smallest of the children. The other members of the family walked behind the camels, driving a small flock of goats with long, shiny, black hair. No flock contained more than fifteen animals.
At 8.27 we arrived at the spring wells Bijâr al-Batra (Figs. 9, 10). Of these about twenty are filled with stones, but eight have been preserved in good condition. They are nearly four meters deep, and the water in them is always clear and fresh but flows only gradually. Šerîf crept into a well and filled a canvas bucket which Ismaʻîn held attached to a rope. The camels did not want to drink, so we filled one of the bags and at 8.50 began to mount the winding paths to the peak of al-Batra. We were accompanied by a Ḥwêṭi who had joined us at the springs. At 9.15 we deposited our baggage by the ruined Roman watchtower (Fig. 11) and remained there until noon (temperature: 34.5° C). The camels grazed while we drew a sketch map.
VIEW FROM AL-BATRA
From al-Batra a wide view is obtainable. To the south the prospect s enclosed by the high peaks and cones constituting the mountains of Ramm, al-Barra, al-Mazmar, and the mutilated pyramid of Umm ʻAšrîn, with the huge and lofty ridge of Râmân west of Umm ʻAšrîn. In the more immediate foreground to the south, above a rocky plain, rise the solated remains of mountains of various partly disintegrated forms. From the plain the rain water flows through the šeʻîb of Bṭajjeḥât to the Wâdi al-Jitm. Bṭajjeḥât has three tributaries: from the southeast, al-Ḫerîm; from the northeast, an-Nâsfe; and from the north, _al-Batra.jpg)
Fig. 9
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Fig. 10
Figs. 9 and 10—Bijâr (wells of) al-Batra. aṯ-Ṯelâǧe. Al-Ḫerîm rises between al-Barra, al-Abraḳ, and Ǧilf al-Mnejšîr; near it and in the eastern part of the Ramm range are situated the wells of al-ʻÂǧelîn, Abu Rmejle, aṣ-Ṣbâḫ, al-Ḳwejse, and al-Mṛejra. An-Nâsfe begins south of al-Msaṭṭara on the southern foot of the low table-shaped rocks of Ḏerâʻ umm Swâde and Haẓb as-Sâferîn
Fig. 11—Plan of Roman watchtower, al-Batra. and joins al-Ḫerîm southwest of the brown, cone-shaped peaks of ʻAṭra and ʻEmûd and south of the huge broken summit of al-Ḥṣâni. Aṯ-Ṯelâǧe proceeds from the ruins of the same name on the western edge of the aš-Šera’ range. It separates the rocks of al-Meʻzânijje from al-Ǧill; al-ʻEmejjed from Haẓb as-Sâferîn, near which flows the spring of al-Ṛorr; the peak of ʻErḳa from Salaḳa; Abu Ḥalḳûm from Hẓejb ar-Ruḥbi; al-Mḫarûḳ and al-Ḥmejẓa from Haẓbat ar-Ratama; and, joining with al-Ḫerîm west of al-Ḥṣâni between the cones of Aḥejmer and Umm Ḥaṣa, forms Bṭajjeḥât.
To the northeast could be seen the railway station of Maʻân, the depression of al-Ǧafar with Ṭwîl Šhâḳ to the north, and west of the latter the extinct volcanoes rising east of the settlement of Ḍâna. There is no view from al-Batra to the west because the vast ridge of aš-Šera’ rises up to cut off the prospect in that direction.[13]
AL-BATRA TO BÎR ḤADAB
From al-Batra we proceeded to the west. The šeʻibân are deep, the slopes rocky, but between them extends a level elevation upon which both annuals and perennials flourish. North of al-Batra there are numerous springs of water. At 12.30 P. M., in the šeʻîb of al-Ḥufejjere, we found the remains of old gardens, and at 12.47 two old, but still active, wells of the same name. We then mounted the ridge of aš-Šera’, upon which we halted at 1.17 among the ruins of Umm aṯ-Ṯelâǧe (Fig. 12).
Umm aṯ-Ṯelâǧe is the southernmost settlement on aš-Šera’, there being hundreds of similar ruins to the north of it. The ridge of aš-Šera’, which is flat and covered with a broad layer of yellow clay, could easily be transformed into fertile fields. There is a magnificent view into the region of Ḥesma’, toward which aš-Šera’ falls steeply over three hundred meters.
Ḥesma’ begins to the northwest of Umm aṯ-Ṯelâǧe and extends far to the south. It is a white, rocky plain, eroded by rain, wind, and sand, upon which are found the numberless scattered, brown remains of various firmer strata. On the northeast this plain is bordered by the steep wall of the aš-Šera’ range; and on the west by a brown ridge which runs from north to south, falling off on the west towards the rift valley of al-ʻAraba and the Red Sea. From Umm aṯ-Ṯelâǧe to the southwest extend oblong groups of isolated rocks: Hẓejbt as-Smêʻe, al-Ǧill, Ḏerw aṣ-Ṣulba, and ar-Rokob. West of them the channel of Ammu Sawra twines like a white girdle, its head lying near the spring of Fawâra, westward from the ruins of Štâr.[14]
Fig. 12—Ruins of Umm aṯ-Ṯelâǧe.
A small telegraph line has been installed along the left side of the šeʻîb of Ammu Ṣawra, which runs down from the Štâr pass. This line passes the spring of az-Zerâfa not far below the pass. Westward from the šeʻîb of Ammu Sawra can be seen innumerable white dome-shaped rocks of the groups Ḏerw as-Sâḳi, Harâbt al-ʻAbîd, and al-Ḳoff. Behind them to the west rises the white, mutilated cone of az-Zaʻtar, flanking the rocky plain to the north. On the west the plain is bordered by a brown mountain range intersected with numerous deep šeʻibân. The parts of this range situated west of az-Zaʻtar are known as ʻArḳûb al-Mšejṭi, Rwejs ad-Dukkâne, aš-Šunnârijje, and Kṯejb aẓ-Ẓabʻi; while farther to the south are Uḥejmer, az-Ziblijje, Umm al-ʻAẓâm, Šejḳer, Msâwer, Ḏnêb, Trejbîn, Ṭabaḳât Kalḫa, aṣ-Ṣôr, az-Zarnûḳ, al-Mlêḥ, aẓ-Ẓarba, al-Ḥeǧfe, Abu Sjejle, al-Ḥmejra, Ummu Nḫejle, and al-Mdajfen, separated from Râmân by the defile Ḫarm al-Merṣed.
At 2.38 P. M. we started off toward the north through fields sown with barley and wheat. After three o’clock we entered the valley of al-Bijâra, where lie the prin of al-ʻAnejzi and the ruins of the large settlement of an-Naṣâra. At 3.46 we were at the spring of Abu Ḳrejẓât, and at four o’clock we were standing by the ruins of the Roman encampment at al-Ḳarana (temperature: 21° C). I wished to make a sketch plan of this stronghold, which I had visited as far back as 1898,[15] but this was not possible. Some of the Ḥwêṭât, while cultivating the neighboring fields, had set up folds for their sheep and goats among the ruins and had removed the walls, which had been still preserved in 1898. They were encamped about six hundred meters east of al-Ḳarana, near the springs of al-Mǧawǧa and Ab-ad-Dûd, and immediately came up behind us. As the negro Mḥammad was not well acquainted with this region, I wanted one of these Ḥwêṭât to act as our guide, and Ismaʻîn brought me a man about forty years of age who declared that he knew all the hills, springs, and ruins from there to Wâdi Mûsa. Wishing to make sure of his knowledge, I asked him to point out on the ground the directions north and south and to indicate the position of the šeʻîb of aẓ-Ẓerîb, through which the rain water flows from al-Ḳarana to the norheast. The poor fellow could not distinguish north from south; he described everything situated to the north or south of us as being between sunset and sunrise. When I declared that he could not go with us because he did not know the directions, he asked me to take him nevertheless and endeavored to make an exact drawing of the šeʻîb of aẓ-Ẓerîb for me. Five times he set about the work, and five times he arrived at a different result, being quite unable to indicate in the sand the winding course of this valley although he could see it in front of him. Finally one of his kinsmen who was with him told him to go home, saying that he could understand nothing and offering to accompany me himself. This man was able to indicate accurately both the directions and the names of the various localities.
Having ascertained our geographical latitude, we started off on the march again at 7.55 P. M. Mḥammad and Ismaʻîn urged this move, declaring that the Ḥwêṭât who were encamped near al-Ḳarana were notorious robbers and that they might easily steal our things in the night. When I objected that we had one of their kinsmen with us as our companion (ḫâwi) in order to protect us against his tribesmen, Mḥammad replied that in recent years the Ḥwêṭât had ceased to acknowledge the rights of the ḫâwi and that they would rob their own fathers.
The night was so dark that nothing could be seen at a distance of two meters, and the region was covered with coarse stones, so that we could not move forward. Therefore we halted at 8.18 not far from the spring Bîr Ḥadab, from which the road leads westward to the region of Ḥesma through Šrejf abu Ṛalâjîn over the pass of the same name.
BÎR ḤADAB TO THE RUINS OF ḤAMMAD
On Thursday, June 2, 1910, we started off at 4.49 A. M. (temperature: 22° C). On our right lay the two wells of Atûd, each about fifteen meters deep; on the north we perceived the extensive ruins of Daʻûḳ and to the east of them, in the valley of ʻAḳejḳa, the springs of al-Maʻêḳel, near which ʻAḳejḳa is joined by the šeʻîb proceeding from the springs of al-Mǧawǧa and al-ʻArejža. At five o’clock, at a point not far from Bijâr al-Maṣri, we entered the broad valley of ʻAḳejḳa, which contains numerous shallow springs with good, fresh water. At 5.20 we branched off to the west, near the springs of ʻAḳejḳa, in order to obtain a better view by mounting the ridge of aš-Šera’. Both the valley of ʻAḳejḳa and the ridge itself have been converted into fields of wheat and barley. The wheat was only just in flower but was plentiful and well developed. At 5.40 we had on our right hand the entrance to the šeʻîb of al-Fwêri, in which an abundant spring gushes out near the ruins of the same name. From 5.47 to 7.05 we remained among the ruins of al-Ǧdejjed (temperature: 24.2° C), for it is possible to obtain from that point a view not only of the Ḥesma territory but also of the northeastern part of the aš-Šera’ range. The latter was entirely covered with dark green plants, which made it resemble an endless expanse of grainfields. The lowlands were still covered with dark blue shadows, from which the separate peaks rose like fabulous monsters. At 7.30 there was a slight shower, which, however, did not last long, and at 7.35 near a ruined watchtower we crossed the Darb as-Sulṭâni or, as our guide called it, as-Sikke, the highroad.
At the post and telegraph station of al-Ḳwêra, as-Sikke swings off to the northeast and runs alongside the telegraph line across the eastern slopes of the šeʻîb of Ammu Ṣawra, past the mutilated cones of al-Maʻejṣi, al-Mešârîḳ, al-Ḫlejfi, and al-Moṛr to Ḏerw aṣ-Ṣulba, over which it gains the spur of Štâr. Winding around the western side of the latter, it reaches the ridge of aš-Šera’ near the ruins of Štâr. From there it continues in an almost northerly direction through the šeʻîb of Wahadân to the ruins of al-Fwêle, Ab-al-Lesel, and Mṛejjera, after which it trends to the northeast following the šeʻîb of aḏ-Ḏawâwi as far as Maʻân. The telegraph line is installed to the east of the road upon the slopes of Swêmât and Ammu-l-Ḳṣejr.
At 8.09 we rode through the beginning of the šeʻîb of al-Ḫajjâṭ, which runs towards the ruins of aš-Šdejjid. The camels found the crossing quite difficult, as the ridge is cut by deep ravines with stony sides, and it was necessary to dismount and mount again, no easy task among the shifting stones. At 8.35, on the left arm of al-Ǧemân and toward the northeast, we perceived the three huge, bare, dome-shaped peaks Nebât as-Swêmrât situated on the spur of the aš-Šera’ range between the ruins of Ab-al-Lesel and Ṭâsân. To the west our guide pointed out the spring of al-Ḳena’, from which an aqueduct leads down to the ruins of al-Ḥomejma.
A tortoise measuring about twenty-five centimeters in diameter crawled across our path. We wanted to catch it to make soup from it, but our native companions protected the animal, saying that it was poisonous. We knew, of course, that this was not true, but we did not take the tortoise, not wishing to provoke our people unnecessarily. At 9.28 we observed the small ruin of Ammu Ḏijâb in a gully on our right.
At 9.40, on the eastern foot of the huge mountain of al-Ḳrajjeʻe near the shallow well Bîr Turki, we met four riders. They were Terâbîn, who were encamped by the Mediterranean Sea to the south of Gaza and were riding to the Saʻîdijjîn clan, whose encampment we had seen at 8.09 in the šeʻîb of al-Ḫajjâṭ, in order to arrive at an agreement concerning the consequences of a crime. A fellow tribesman of theirs had killed a member of the Terâbîn and had fled to the Saʻîdijjîn to save his life. He had offered blood money to the avengers of the murdered man; the offer was accepted, and the dead man’s relatives were now riding to meet him with his surety, for the purpose of collecting the stipulated amount.
At 9.50 we entered the Roman highroad which leads from the ruins of al-Ḥomejma along the aqueduct as far as the spring of al-Ḳena’ and along the southern slope of al-Ḳrajjeʻe to the ridge of aš-Šera’. On the elevation of aṯ-Ṯuṛra, to the left, there lay a great heap of stones, Ab-an-Nsûr, the remains of a watchtower. At 10.09 the guide showed me the ruins of al-Baradijje to the east and, to the northeast of them in a steep rocky wall, the cave of Harâbt ammu Sanâjeḥ. From 10.24 to 12.20 the camels satisfied their hunger with ʻaẓam plants, while we drew a sketch map of the surrounding country (temperature: 27.5° C). From here on the journey was even more troublesome than before. The ravines became deeper and deeper, their sides more and more precipitous, so that we were obliged to lead the camels. If one of the animals began to gallop, it lost the articles hung from the saddle, or else its load slipped over to one side, and we had to collect the lost articles or put the load straight again. The Roman highroad branched off of our route in a north-northeasterly direction, leading south of the ruins of Ṭâsân to those of Swêmre and there turning off northward past al-Ḳrên and Ẓôr to the ruins of aṣ-Ṣadaḳa. At 12.40 P. M. we descended into a deep basin in which there are numerous caves, Harâb ad-Dukkân (temperature: 30.2° C).
At one o’clock, having ʻAjn az-Zwejde on our left hand, we made our way cautiously down to the large spring ʻAjn Burḳa (Fig. 13), where we remained from 1.30 to 4.15. Below the spring a rectangular pool had been constructed from large hewn stones, into which the water flowed and from which it was distributed over the surrounding gardens. The pool, however, was entirely clogged up, and there remained nothing of the gardens save the small walls which were built to keep the fertile soil from being washed away. The Merâjʻe clan, belonging to the Ḥwêṭât, was encamped north of the spring, and close beside them stood several tents of the Ḳabâla clan of the Saʻîdijjîn tribe.[16]
Fig. 13—From ʻAjn Burḳa looking north.
Before long we were surrounded not only by the men but also by the women and children, who meddled with our things and asked inquisitively. who we were, what we were selling and buying, and where we were going. Fearing that some of our camels might be driven away from us, we divided ourselves into two groups, one of which mounted guard over the camels and the other over the baggage. I did not wish to start off until I had found a reliable guide. We were anxious to proceed through the rocky territory of the Ḳabâla clan to the ruins of al-Ḥomejma, and we needed a Saʻîdi not only to show us the road and tell us the names of the various places but also to protect us from his fellow-tribesmen and from the rapacious ʻAlâwîn, to whom al-Ḥomejma belongs. After lengthy negotiations I hired a guide, and at 4.15 we were able to start off. Ismaʻîn and Mḥammad heaped abuse on the Saʻîdijjîn because they had not negotiated with us as with guests but had begged from us not only tobacco and coffee but also rice, flour, and other articles of food. As a result, we did not warm up any coffee while we were with them, and it was for this that the negro Mḥammad in particular had a great hankering.
Wishing to refresh ourselves a little and to make a sketch of the surrounding district, we remained at the spring of al-Ǧwejbe from 4.32 to five o’clock. South of the spring, on the slope of aš-Šera’, are situated the ruins of al-Ǧhejjer.[17]
To the north of al-Ǧhejjer, above the ruins of Delâṛa, there rises a huge mountain, al-Ḥadab, behind which the hills of Ḳrênt az-Zejjât run from south to north, with, to the west of them, the broken dome of al-Hawla which separates the deep šeʻîb of Abu Ṛarab from the mountains of Šebîb and Ammu Rwejsât. The large mountain of Mʻawwal al-ʻAzab, which is almost table-shaped, merges to the south with Rwejs ad-Dukkâne and aš-Šunnârijje. Between the two latter mountains a footpath leads through the al-ʻEḳejrbe pass to Wâdi Ṛarandel. To the west and south the šeʻîb of al-ʻEǧâne encircles ʻArḳûb al-Mšejṭi and joins with al-Mwêleḥ.
At 5.06 P. M. in a deep, rocky ravine on our left, we saw the spring of Abu Ḥsejje gushing out from under a steep wall of rock. The descent to this ravine was very troublesome. Two of the camels threw off their loads and ran away, and we had to carry the loads after them until we caught them. From the ravine we descended southwest of the spring and ruins of al-Ǧhejjer to the šeʻîb of al-Ǧmejl, through which we reached the broad valley of Abu Ṛarab, where we encamped at 6.55 at the foot of Rwejs ad-Dukkâne (temperature: 29.5° C). Taking the guide with me, I proceeded to the ruins of Ḥammad (or Ḥamad), situated about three kilometers to the north and forming the remains of a large village on the right-hand side of the above-mentioned valley. Among the ruined houses which now serve as a graveyard, there is a small shrine, al-Weli Ḥammad, to which the Saʻîdijjîn make pilgrimages. The guide said that there was a large stone with inscriptions near the shrine, which he wished me to see, but it turned out to be merely a large slab of rock covered with tribal tokens (awsâm). The night was quite cold, as a moist west wind was blowing.
RUINS OF ḤAMMAD TO AL-ḤOMEJMA
On Friday, June 3, 1910, we led our camels in a southerly direction from 4.42 A. M. to 5.23 (temperature: 12°C). As far as the well of aṭ-Ṭarîf the road was very trying, as it wound among large boulders and fragments of rock, which often completely filled the river bed. The well Bîr aṭ-Ṭarîf, situated almost exactly on the watershed between the valleys of Abu Ṛarab and al-Jitm, is about three meters deep and four meters broad and contains pure fresh water. Eastward of it rise several piles of rock, the ruins of an old building, to the northeast of which can be seen the yawning black mouths of the Harâb al-Bḥejra caves.
At 5.30 we rode through the broad hollow of al-Mesann, which on the left joins the šeʻîb of aṭ-Ṭarîf. A few meters farther to the south we saw the remains of a broad dam by which the šeʻîb had been transformed into a capacious rain pond. From the left-hand side of this pond the water passed through a narrow canal into gardens that were laid out in terraces. To the south we could see the Ḥesma territory, lying at a great depth beneath us and swathed in a dense covering of morning mists, from which projected only the highest peaks, cones, pyramids, obelisks, and numerous other forms which the isolated rocks assumed. The rays of the rising sun struck upon them so that it seemed as if their angular faces were burning. In the river bed of aṭ-Ṭarîf grow ratam shrubs and low šîḥ. On the slopes ʻArḳûb al-Mšejṭi, as well as on al-Mrejbeṭ and az-Zaʻtar, there are supporting walls of varying length, the remains of old gardens. At six o’clock we rode along the right-hand side of the river bed at the foot of the granite ridge of al-Mrejbeṭ, as we wished to avoid the numerous short ravines running down from the soft limestone slopes of az-Zaʻtar. These are twenty to thirty meters deep, scarcely three meters broad at the bottom, and their sides are formed of yellowish clay and soft white limestone. Suddenly the river bed leaves the foot of al-Mrejbeṭ and cuts through the soft limestone in a gorge about fifty meters deep. At 6.48 A.M. we made our way into it near the spring of al-Ḥelwa, which gushes out from the left-hand side and fills numerous pools (Figs. 14,15). 
Fig. 14
Fig. 14
Fig. 14—From al-Ḥelwa looking north.
Fig. 15—From al-Ḥelwa looking south. The šeʻîb of al-Ḥelwa joins ar-Rekijje and comes to an end, under the name of aš-Šebîbi, in the rift valley of alʻAraba near Mount az-Ziblijje.
Our party remained at the well of al-Ḥelwa from 6.48 to 10.45. Meanwhile, accompanied by the guide, Tûmân and
Fig. 16—From al-Ḥomejma looking toward the range of aš-Šera’. I clambered on to the southern peak of Mount az-Zaʻtar, where we did some cartographical work. On our return we found that our companions were ready for departure. Having led the camels out upon the left-hand slope of al-Bêẓa, we crept down the broken ridges of rock, picking our way among white boulders, until at last we came out upon a white, undulating plain at 11.06. We caught sight of a pile of old buildings to the west, on our right, and came upon the Roman highroad, here regularly paved for a distance of about two hundred meters. Near it there stood three broken pillars, possibly the remains of Roman mileposts. I could see no inscription on them, as they were made of soft limestone which has been largely decomposed. At 11.31 we rode round the ruined bridge that spans the šeʻîb of Ammu Dûde. This šeʻîb forms a broad but shallow trough between white rocks, which gleamed so brilliantly in the sun’s rays that they seemed white-hot. The separate channels attain a depth as great as ten meters and are shut in by steep banks. The whole geological configuration resembles that of Wâdi Mûsa especially in its northern area near al-Bêḍa. After 11.42 we rode alongside the aqueduct, which is said to lead from the copious well of al-Ḳena’ and rises only a very little above the plain. The lower wall is 70 cm. broad, the trench being 15 cm. deep and 40 cm. broad. South of the aqueduct there stretches a lowland which could be transformed into fields. The remains of old field and garden walls extend as far as the ruins of al-Ḥomejma, which we reached at 12.42 P. M. (temperature: 29.8° C).
Fig. 17—From al-Ḥomejma looking south.
These ruins cover the eastern and southern foot of the elevation of Umm al-ʻAẓâm as well as the surrounding lowland for several square kilometers; but not a single building has been preserved (Figs. 16, 17). The soft limestone of which they were constructed has collapsed, so that the isolated buildings are now reduced to whitish-yellow heaps of soft powdery lime. If these heaps were excavated, apartments would certainly be found intact beneath the crumbling limestone, and in them possibly various monuments as well. There are numerous capacious artificial reservoirs for rain water that are not more than half covered. In every building were installed pyriform cisterns, where the ʻAlâwîn conceal chaff and corn. Inasmuch as some of the buildings are constructed in a style which resembles that of the ruined houses at Wâdi Mûsa, it may be inferred with certainty that al-Ḥomejma was also built by the Nabataeans, and for this reason I locate here the Nabataean city of Auara.[18]
Having inspected the ruins, I proceeded to the hills of Umm al-ʻAẓâm, as I supposed that I should certainly find a necropolis there, but my search was in vain.
Fig. 18—An ʻAlâwi and our guide For two hours I scrambled from hill to hill, making my way through deep gaps, and in the šeʻîb of al-Ḥaẓar I found numerous stone quarries and artificially smoothed walls of rock, but I did not see a single rock tomb. My endeavors won me nothing but a brief inscription in Greek and Nabataean. As I was returning, I heard a shot. It was an alarm signal with which my native companions were recalling me. Running out from the rocks, I saw my companions and the camels surrounded by a crowd of the ʻAlâwîn (Fig. 18). The latter had been reaping barley southeast of al-Ḥomejma and, hearing of our arrival, had rushed up to my baggage, where they were begging for food and presents from Šerîf and Mḥammad. Mḥammad despised them and had warned me against them even before we had encamped at al-Ḥomejma, declaring that they were all rogues. “Those of them who are strong, steal; those who are weak, beg (ḳawwîhom nahhâb, ẓaʻîfhom šaḥḥâḏ).” I was unwilling, and indeed unable, to give them food, as we did not know when we should reach Tebûk, where we could obtain fresh supplies. When Mḥammad, a servant of the chief ʻAwde abu Tâjeh, to whom the ʻAlâwîn were in the habit of sending gifts, offended them by his words and gestures, they wanted to drive away our camels, declaring that they damaged their corn. Ismaʻîn, who was guarding the camels, was unable to keep them off and had fired a shot for help. Running up to the disputants I endeavored to pacify both sides and after a while succeeded. We should have liked to move on, but Rifʻat had not yet returned. When at last he came running back, he pointed to his half-torn clothing and explained that among the rocks to the west he had been attacked by shepherds and robbed of everything he had. Not until an older man came up to the shepherds and explained to them whence we came and that we had a soldier (ʻaskari) with us, did they restore a few things to him.
- ↑ See Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 3, pp. 48—49, 51—55.
- ↑ Arabic terms (except botanical terms) not defined in the text are explained above, page xii.
- ↑ These two Wadʻa hills and their neighborhood recall the region of Mawdû‘, which Jâḳût (1224 A. D.), Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 4, p. 678, and Abu-l-Faraǧ al-Iṣfahâni (Aṛâni [Bûlâḳ, 1285 A. H.], Vol. 9, pp. 148—149) locate in the territory of the Beni Murra belonging to the tribe of Ṛaṭafân. It was there that the valiant warrior Hirm ibn Ḍemḍem al-Murri used to dwell.—The surrounding district of al-Wadʻa once belonged to the Beni Murra, the warrior’s kindred. In the poem quoted, the name was changed to Mawdûʻ for the sake of the preceding rhyme, huǧû‘.
- ↑ Latin equivalents and brief characterizations of many Arabic botanical terms appearing in the text are given in the index.
- ↑ Abu Šâma, Rawḍatejn (Cairo, 1287–1288 A. H.), Vol. 2, p. 6, writes that as long as the Crusaders held sway at al-Kerak the journcy from Syria to Egypt was made by way of Boṣra, al-Azraḳ, al-Ǧafar, and Ajla.—Boṣra is a well-known town in the southern Ḥawrân; al-Azraḳ, a fortress at the northern end of the depression of Sirḥân; Ajla, a harbor on the Red Sea, now known as al-ʻAḳaba. From its situation, the old al-Ǧafar must be identical with our al-Ǧafar.
- ↑ Jâkût, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 2, pp. 179 and 361, states that Ḥawṣa’ is situated between Wâdi al-Ḳura’ and the settlement of Tebûk. The Prophet is said to have encamped there on his march to Tebûk, and in consequence a mosque of the same name was erected at the upper end of the passage of al-Ḥawsa’, the Mesǧed du al-Ǧife standing at the lower end of it. Ibn Isḥâḳ (died 768 A. D.) calls this place Ḥawḍa’.In his description Jâḳût is certainly thinking of our al-Ḥawṣa’, although his Wâdi al-Ḳura’ is either the famous southern Wâdi al-Ḳura’, in which the modern settlement of al-ʻEla’ is situated, or the northern Wâdi al-Ḳura’ with the settlement of Dûmat al-Ǧandal. It is noteworthy that not a single mosque is recorded on the Prophet’s journey to Dûmat al-Ǧandal. Whether Mohammed actually reached our al-Ḥawṣa’ on his march to Tebûk or to Dûmat al-Ǧandal, it is impossible to prove; but this Ḥawṣa’ is situated on the important junction of the routes from Syria to al-Medîna and from Egypt to Irak, and it is possible that the mosque was erected there and dedicated to the Prophet. The mosque of Du al-Ǧîfe is perhaps identical with the ruins near Moṛejrat al-Faṭer, where ends the valley which one traverses on the way to the wells of al-Ḥawṣa’. Near Moṛejrat al-Fâṭer the šeʻibân of Umm Ǧirfejn and Ammu Ǧîfejn come together, and their names perhaps contain the primitive sound of the word Ǧîfe.
- ↑ Ibn Isḥâḳ (died 768 A.D.) relates (Ibn Hišâm [died 834 A.D.], Sîra [Wüstenfeld], p. 975; Jâḳût, Muʻǧam [Wüstenfeld], Vol. 2, p. 448) that Zejd ibn Ḥâreṯa attacked the Beni Ǧuḏâm near Ḫušejn, which, according to Ibn Hišâm, is situated in the region of Ḥesma.—If we ventured to read Ḫuššejn, we could locate this spot in al-Ḫešše, situated on the eastern border of Ḥesma not far from a supply of water at al-Mšejṭijje and thus suitable for a camping place. It is possible that Zejd returned through the region of Ḥesma to Tebûk; but from the narratives of al-Wâḳedi and Ibn Hišâm it does not seem as if he penetrated into Ḥesma.
- ↑ Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 77, states that Sarṛ is the border between the Ḥeǧâz and Syria, that it lies between al-Muṛîṯa and the settlement of Tebûk, forming a station on the Syrian Pilgrim Route, and that it was there that the leaders of the armies fighting in Syria waited for the Caliph ʻOmar ibn al-Ḫaṭṭâb. He also asserts that al-Medîna is thirteen days’ march distant from the station of Sarṛ and that, according to Mâlek ibn Ans, Sarṛ is a settlement in Wâdi Tebûk.Al-Muṛîṯa should be located on the Pilgrim Route, north of Soraṛ, but it is utterly unknown. It seems to me that it has been erroneously transcribed from Maʻân or confused with the station of the same name on the road from al-Kûfa. The statement of Mâlek ibn Ans that Sarṛ is situated in the Wâdi Tebûk is obviously incorrect, for the Arabic geographers nowhere refer to the Wâdi Tebûk.The same place, Soraṛ, is also recorded by Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 86, in the form Sarûʻ. He quotes a passage from a lost work by Abu Ḥuḏajfa on the conquest of Syria, in which it was stated that Abu ʻObejda marched with the Moslems by way of Wâdi al-Ḳura’, al-Ǧunejne, al-Aḳraʻ, Tebûk, and Sarûʻ, whereupon he advanced into Syria.—All these places here referred to are situated on the present Pilgrim Route, and from this it is clear that Sarûʻ is a corruption of Sarṛ. The old name Sarṛ has been preserved by the natives in the form Soraṛ; but in the later literature of the pilgrimages it was replaced by the name Ṭubejlijjât or Ṭabîlijjât.Meḥmed Edîb (1779 A.D.) writes (Menâzil [Constantinople, 1232 A.H.], p. 72) that the station of Ṭubejlijjât is fifteen hours distant from Ẓahr al-ʻAḳaba, that no water is to be had there, and that the stronghold and reservoir there were built by ʻAbdallâh Pasha. According to him, on both sides of the stronghold rise stony slopes, and an endless desert stretches away from the mountains, undulating and from afar resembling an ocean of sand. The road to the station of Ḏât al-Ḥâǧǧ is stony except for a track on which one travels for about three hours.
- ↑ Al-Masʻûdi (956 A.D.), Tanbîh (De Goeje), p. 338, relates that in the year 716—717 the Abbasside, Muḥammed ibn ʻAli, dwelt, according to some in al-Ḥomejma, according to others in Krâr among the aš-Šera’ mountains in the territory of al-Belḳa’ in the administrative area of Damascus.According to manuscript L (British Museum, Add. 23, 270), ibid., p. 338, note 8, the place Krâr should be read as Kḏâr, which is identical with the present Keḏer or Kḏûr. It is situated among the aš-Šera’ mountains bordering on the environs of al-Ḥomejma in the administrative area of Damascus. Al-Belḳa’ did not extend so far to the south.
- ↑ This is the transport route which Artemidorus (100 B.C.) states (Strabo, Geography, XVI, 4: 18) is used by the trade caravans of the inhabitants of Gerrha proceeding to Petra.
- ↑ Jâḳût. Mûʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 2, p. 712, relates that Dât al-Manâr is situated on the extreme southern border of Syria. It was there that Abu ʻObejda (634 A.D.) pitched his camp on his expedition to Syria.—As we know from the report which is recorded by Abu Ḥuḏajfa (Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 86), Abu ʻObejda entered Syria north of Soraṛ; we must therefore expect to find Ḏât al-Manâr between this settlement and the town of Maʻân and thus somewhere near the present station of ʻAḳabat al-Ḥeǧâzijje. The main transport route from southwestern Arabia to Syria ascended the ridge of aš-Šera’ behind the station of Soraṛ, through the pass of Baṭn Ṛûl, which is the most convenient for draft animals. Above this pass there certainly was erected a watchtower, illuminated on dark nights in order that the caravans might not wander from the right path and therefore called Ḏât al-Manâr. Similar towers were built along the road from al-Kûfa to al-Medîna, where they were also known as Manâr. The station of ʻAḳabat al-Ḥeǧâzijje is mentioned under different names in various descriptions of travel. Meḥmed Edîb, Menâzil (Constantinople, 1232 A. H.), p. 71, calls it Ẓahr al-ʻAḳaba, as well as ʻIbâdân, while the pilgrims are said to have called it also Syrian ʻAḳaba. It is thirteen hours distant from Maʻân, without water, and situated in a valley. A military guard from Maʻân escorts the pilgrims as far as this station along a flint-covered road. Just before al-ʻAḳaba is reached the pilgrims dismount from their litters and proceed downhill on foot; the pasha—the leader of the pilgrims—sits beneath a parasol at al-ʻAḳaba and inspects the pilgrims advancing before him. At this point the water bearers distribute sherbet. In the sandy and stony district round about, Othman Pasha (died 1753) caused a stronghold and a fountain to be built. The locality of Lîs, like a village, is situated behind ʻIbâdân, to which it belongs. It is in these places that the chamberlain of the pasha who is in charge of the pilgrims’ caravan collects letters from the pilgrims on the return journey and conveys them speedily to Constantinople. Generally, however, this is done earlier, at the settlement of Tebûk.—The Lîs referred to by Meḥmed Edîb perhaps designates the group of isolated rocks, ad-Dîse, between ʻAḳabat al-Ḥeǧâzijje and Soraṛ.
- ↑ Jâḳût, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 2, p. 182, refers to a place called Ḏât Ḥâǧ between al-Medîna and Syria.According to Abu-l-Feda’ (died 1331 A. D.), Muḫtaṣar (Adler), Vol. 5, p. 284, the Beni Lâm, who were encamped in the Ḥeǧâz, gathered together near Ḏât al-Ḥâǧǧ in the year 1313 and attacked the merchants traveling out on camels to Tebûk to meet the returning pilgrims. More than twenty merchants fell before they managed to beat off the Beni Lâm and take about eighty riding-camels away from them.—The Beni Lâm belonged to the tribe of Ṭajj. Today they encamp in southern Irak.Meḥmed Edîb, op. cit., p. 72, states that the station of Ḏât al-Ḥaǧǧ is also called Dâr al-Ḥaǧǧ, Ḥaǧar, and Bijâr. He says it is fourteen hours distant from Čaṛîmân, as the station of Ṭubejlijjât was sometimes called. During the reign of Sultan Suleiman, according to Meḥmed Edîb, a stronghold and a reservoir were established there, the latter being filled from a well dug in the stronghold. An abundance of wild dates was to be found there, because date palms thrived in soil in which water could be obtained anywhere by digging; the shallow wells at this station belonged to the Beni Selîm tribe; the hill opposite was called Ḳubbet al-Ḥaǧar; all the gravel consisted of pebbles and flints.
- ↑ Stephen of Byzantium (about 600 A. D.). Ethnica (Meineke), p. 237, calls Dusara a very high mountain in Arabia. According to him it is named after the god Dusare, who is worshipped by the Arabs and Dacharenoi tribes.Ibn Ḫaldûn (died 1406 A.D.). Muḳaddima (Quatremère), Vol. 1, pp. 110—111; idem, ʻIbar (Bûlâḳ, 1284 A. H.), Vol. 1. p. 52, writes that to the east from the shore of the Mediterranean Sea there rises a huge mountain called al-Lukkâm. Beginning near the Sea of Ḳolzum, not far from the town of Ajla, it extends in a north-northeast direction, separating Egypt from Syria. At its southern extremity, near Ajla, is the steep pass of al-ʻAḳaba, through which the journey is made from Egypt to Mecca, and to the north of which Abraham is buried. The mountain range of al-Lukkâm is bordered to the north from al-ʻAḳaba by the aš-Šera’ range, which first runs towards the cast but then changes its direction. To the east of it is situated the settlement of al-Ḥeǧr, the territory of the Ṯamûd tribe, and the oases of Tejma and Dûmat al-Ǧandal, which latter forms the remotest settlement of the Ḥeǧâz. Between the aš-Šera’ range and the Sea of Ḳolzum extends the sandy desert of Tebûk. At a turning of the al-Lukkâm range to the north is situated Damascus, separated by this mountain range from the towns Ṣajda’ and Beirut.—
Ibn Ḫaldûn calls the western edge of the Syrian rift valley al-Lukkâm. He sometimes refers to al-ʻAḳaba as a steep slope of this mountain re ge near the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba and sometimes as the pilgrims’ station of al-ʻAḳaba (Ajla) from which the aš-Šera’ range extends to the east. Ibn Ḫaldûn is thinking of the southernmost part of this range, which, projecting far to the east, bends in a semicircle open towards the east and runs in a northeasterly direction. Al-Ḥeğr does not lie to the east but to the south of aš-Šera’; likewise the territory of the Ṯamûd and the desert of Tebûk, which, according to Ibn Ḫaldûn, extends as far as the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba of the Sea of Ḳolzum. It is interesting that he reckons the oasis of Dûmat al-Ǧandal as still forming part of the Ḥeǧâz.
- ↑ Saladin marched through our pass of Štâr. Abu Šâma, Rawḍatejn (Barbier de Meynard), p. 217, relates that on May 11, 1182, Saladin set out from Egypt for Damascus by way of Ṣadr and Ajla and arrived there after five days. Learning that the unbelievers were concentrating their army near al-Kerak in order to obstruct his path, he strengthened his two flanks and proceeded from the region of Ḥesma’ through the pass of Šitâr to al-Ḳarjatejn, making an incursion into the enemy’s country. Thereafter he marched with the main strength of his army along the very border of the al-Kerak territory to al-Ḥasa’, while his brother, Tâǧ al-Mulûk Bûri, traveled with the noncombatants on his right flank. Within a week they had joined at al-Azraḳ.—It would seem that Saladin, when coming from Egypt, followed the ancient transport route by way of Ṣadr to Ajla. Traveling rapidly, he arrived at the latter harbor within five days. Thence he took the northeastern branch road to the main transport route by way of Maʻân. From the account given it is clear that he reached the region of Ḥesma and the pass of Štâr. The branch road in question leads from al-ʻAḳaba through the Wâdi al-Jitm to the northwestern corner of the Ḥesma’ region, whence it ascends through the Štâr pass across the aš-Šera’ range and then follows parallel to this range as far as the oasis of Maʻân, which our report refers to as al-Ḳarjatejn—two settlements—because it comprises two villages. From Maʻân Saladin proceeded with his army along the main south to north transport route until he got as far as the station of al-Ḥasa’ at the head of the wâdi bearing the same name. From there he moved in a northeasterly direction to the stronghold of al-Azraḳ, where he met his brother.Jâḳût, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 3, p. 259, refers to the Šitâr pass as lying to the east of the Egyptian Pilgrim Road and leading through the aš-Šera’ range between the regions of al-Belḳa’ and al-Medîna. It leads north into an extensive grassy district, located south of al-Kerak, over which loom the Fârân mountains.
- ↑ See Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 2, Part 2, pp. 229—230.
- ↑ See Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 3, p. 46.
- ↑ Al-Jaʻḳûbi, Ta’rîḫ (Houtsma), Vol. 2, p. 385, writes that the Omayyads dwelt in al-Ǧuhajjer between al-Ḥumajma and Adruḥ in the administrative region of Damascus.—In the text it is incorrectly printed al-ḤHJR. Our al-Ǧhejjer is situated on the road from al-Ḥumajma to Aḏruḥ.
- ↑ Al-Ḥomejma obtained its name from the white color of the rocks and soil which prevail in its environs. In Aramaic and Arabic this white color is designated also by the word ḥawwâra, which the natives often interchange with Ḥomejma, and I conjecture that these ruins were originally called Ḥawwâra.According to Uranius, Arabica (Müller, Fragmenta, Vol. 4), p. 523 (Stephen of Byzantium, Ethnica [Meineke]. Vol. 1, p. 144) the Arabic city of Auara obtained its name from a prophecy which was communicated to the Nabataean king Obodas (about 93 B. C.) by his son Aretas. The latter was to seek a place which was white, or auara, as white is called in Syriac and Arabic. While occupied with this task, there appeared to him a white man on a white camel who thereafter suddenly disappeared. The searcher then perceived the portion of a tree trunk rooted in a certain place. It was upon this spot that Obodas founded the city of Auara. As this narrative does not contain the slightest reference to the sea and the harbor city of Leukekome (Auara in Syriac and Arabic), which was known before Obodas’ time, I would identify Uranius’ city of Auara with the city of Auara which Ptolemy, Geography, V. 17: 5, places in Arabia Petraea and which, according to the Tabula Peutingeriana (Vienna, 1888), sheet 8, was situated on the highroad from Aila to Petra and is identical with our ruins of al-Ḥomejma.Notitia Dignitatum (Seeck), Oriens, 34, Nos. 12 and 25, refers to a place Hauare or Hauanae in Palestine, which contained a garrison of mounted native bowmen.Assemanus, Bibliotheca Orientalis, Vol. 3, Part 2, fol. 593, notes, according to Nilus Doxopatrius (1143 A. D.). that in the sixth century of our era the bishopric of Avara belonged to the metropolitanate of Bostra.Al-Jaʻḳûbi. Ta’rîḫ (Houtsma), Vol. 2, p. 347, relates that in the year 713—714 A. D. al-Walîd I set out for the settlement of al-Ḥumajma in the district of aš-Šera’, which was situated in the administrative region of Damascus. The mother of Salîṭ ibn ʻAbdallâh ibn ʻAbbâs complained to him that ʻAli ibn ʻAbdallâh had killed her son and buried him in a garden in which he lived, and had built a little shop above his grave. Al-Walîd punished him for it. ʻAli settled down permanently in al-Ḥumajma, and his children also remained there until Allâh entrusted them with authority over the Moslems.Al-Masʻûdi, Tanbîh (De Goeje), p. 338, records that in the year 716—717 A. D. the Alide pretender Abu-l-Hâšem proceeded to the Caliph Sulejmân ibn ʻAbdalmalek, from whom he departed with rich gifts to al-Medîna. While on the road poison was administered to him. When it began to take effect, he hastened to the Abbasside Muḥammed ibn ʻAli—who, according to some, was then living in al-Ḥumajma but, according to others, at Kḏâr in the aš-Šera’ range, in the district al-Belḳa’ of the administrative area of Damascus and renounced all claims to the Caliphate in favor of his son.—Following the manuscript L (London) of the Tanbîh I identify the dwelling place of the Abbassides, or Beni ʻAbbâs, mentioned in connection with al-Ḥomejma, with the region of Kḏûr situated east of al-Ḥomejma, in the southern part of aš-Šera’ near the highroad leading to al-Medîna.Al-Jaʻḳûbi, Buldân (De Goeje, 2nd edit.), p. 326, refers to al-Ḥumajma as in the aš-Šera’ range.Al-Bekri (died 1094 A.D.), Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), pp. 83, 284, states that al-Ḥumajma is a place in Syria. When ʻAli ibn ʻAbdallâh ibn ʻAbbâs emigrated to Syria, he settled in al-Ḥumajma and built a strongly fortified house there.Jâḳût, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld). Vol. 2, p. 342, mentions al-Ḥumajma as a settlement in the aš-Šera’ region on the Syrian border, which belonged to the administrative area of ʻAmmân. He states that the Abbasside dynasty dwelt there before they obtained possession of the government. Aš-Šera’ was the name of the district in which the settlement al-Ḥumajma lay. The ruins, however, are not situated in the aš-Šera’ range but upon its border in the Ḥesma’ region.Abu-l-Feda’, Taḳwîm (Reinaud and De Slane), pp. 228—229, asserts that in the neighborhood of the aš-Šera’ range there is a settlement, al-Ḥumajma, from which the Abbassides departed in order to obtain possession of the Caliphate in Irak. The village of al-Ḥumajma is situated a day’s distance from Šowbak.