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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. II. 1917' [204] (213/542)
The record is made up of 1 volume (269 folios). It was created in 1917. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
204
LAND EOUTES
There are several canals and irrigation cuts which need ramping
for wheeled traffic. None of these requires bridging except where
noted in the itinerary.
Water is good and plentiful from the Tigris. Information is given
with regard to watering-places, but these vary considerably from
year to year.
A limited number of sheep and cattle can be obtained from villages
and Arab encampments en route.
Considerable quantities of bhusa and grain for fodder can be
obtained from villages and Arab encampments Camel-
grazing is plentiful, but there is very little grazing for horses.
Wood fuel can be obtained only at Qutniyat (m. 68|), but scrub
jungle is plentiful.
In time of high flood the only places that can be counted on as
having considerable areas above flood-level are Kut el-Amara, Bagh-
dadiyeh (see under m. 76) and Ctesiphon (m. 93).
A T. L. runs roughly parallel with, and often contiguous to, the
route. For the river-route see Boute III C, and Appendix B.
Miles from
Kut el-
Amara
o
6
10
Kut el-Amara (camping-ground). General direction to
m. 16, WNW. Eoad runs NW. from camping-ground
for about 2 m.: on this stretch in Feb. 1916 it needed
improvement for wheeled transport by filling in water-
cuts, &c. (The Turks subsequently made a road from
their camp at Shumran passing N. of Kut to the 1. bank
of the Tigris opposite Maqasis.)
Route joins old caravan-route. From here to m. 6 the
going is good. The track runs for the greater part of
the way along an old canal. The side-tracks leading
to the river are very sandy and heavy.
Route turns SW. to river and runs along river bank to
m. 10, through the Zoweir Hammad tract. There are
here two tracks : the upper one is dry and dusty but
affords good going for horses and vehicles: the lower
track has in the dry season a hard damp surface said to
be ' excellent for infantry but doubtful for guns'; in the
flood season this lower track would probably be under
water. The river bank is covered with scrub: owing to
its steepness, watering would be difficult.
Track, continuing in same general direction, leaves the
river, which here makes a considerable detour to S.
(through El-Qayet esh-Sharqi and El-Qayet el-Grharbi
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume II, Irak, The Lower Kārūn, and Luristan (Admiralty War Staff Intelligence Division, May, 1917), covering the regions of the Shatt el-‘Arab [Shaṭṭ al-‘Arab], Kārūn, Luristan, and the Tigris and Euphrates up to Baghdad and Fellūjeh [Fallūjah]. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and War Office, and appears to be based on official and unofficial publications and maps which are cited in a bibliographical section in the volume.
The volume includes a note on confidentiality, a title page, 'Note', 'Abbreviations'. There is a 'Contents' which include the following sections:
- Introduction;
- River Routes (Shatt el-‘Arab, The Kārūn, The Tigris, The Euphrates, The Shatt el-Hai);
- Land Routes (The Region of the Shatt el-‘Arab, The Tigris Valley, The Region of the Lower Kārūn River of Luristan, The Euphrates Valley, Connexions between the Tigris and Euphrates Valley, The Arabian Desert);
- Railways;
- Gazetteer of Towns;
- Bibliographical Note and List of Maps;
- Transliteration of Names;
- Glossary;
- Appendices (A: Notes on Weather on the Tigris, B: The Control of the Tigris Water, C: The Control of the Euphrates Water, D: Oil-Fields of the Mesopotamia and Persian Frontier, E: Note on Mules);
- Index;
- Plates;
- Maps.
The volume includes eight plates that illustrate the volume. There are also three maps:
- 'Baghdad';
- 'City Map of Baghdad';
- 'Mesopotamia: Outline Map Showing Routes'.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (269 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged accourding to numbered routes. There is a table of contents at the front of the volume and an alphabetical index at the back. There is also a list of plates and two maps are house in a pocket and one is a foldout.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of the folio.
Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/3
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. II. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:374, 374a:374b, 375:530, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence