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‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎337v] (681/722)

The record is made up of 1 volume (384 folios). It was created in 1886-1895. 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. .

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SUMBAR— Lat. 37° 52' 0", Long. 55° 2(T O'' ; _Elev. ^ ' {Napier),
A tributary of the river Atrak, which it joins at Chat, about 100 miles
from its mouth. In the upper part of its course it bears the name of the
“ Sunt ” river. Its general course is along the bottom of a steep-sided ravine,
the bed of which is more or less flat; and in its midst is the river channel,
varying in width from a few feet to 20 or 30 feet. It generally contains
but little water; and in April at its junction with the Atrak at Chat it is
said to have little more than a foot of water, and to be crossed by an easy
jump. From the size of the ravine, however, and from the dimensions of
the channel itself, it is probable that, at times, the mass of water must be
very considerable.
Small as is the usual quantity of water in the Sumbar, the river presents
an almost insuperable obstacle to beasts of burden, and especially to camels,
even when not laden. This is due to the sides of the river sloping regularly
at an angle of 45°, and owing to the slippery nature of the loamy soil
when moistened, which then resembles a soaped board, and renders it almost
impossible to get out of the water without assistance, or even to stand
in the water within one's depth, as the sides slope together in V form.
The water of the Sumbar is considerably more saline and charged with silt
than that of the Atrak.— {O’Donovan.)
SUNCHA— Lat. , Long. ; Elev.
Formerly a Turkuman fort in the Atak, 32 miles south-east of Kizil-Arvat,
outside the Khurasan border.— [MacGregor.)
SUNDAGH— Lat. , Long. ; Elev.
A range of hills in northern Khurasan, lying north of the Chat-i-Chandfr,
and said to have many springs and fine pastures. Its spurs reach to the
banks of the Chandir river.— {Napier.)
SUNGI—Lat. , Long. ; Elev. '.
A range of hills in Khurasan, running south of Mashhad.— {Rozario.)
SUNT— Lat. 38° 12' 0", Long. 55° 42' 0"; Elev. ' {Napier).
A river rising in the Kuran Dagh mountains, near a hill called Kuh Sunt,
and which flows in a south-westerly direction to join the Atrak. In the
lower part of its course this river is called the “ Sumbar." There is a ruined
village of the same name, south of the Atak, by Chandir.— {Thomson,
Napier.)
SUNTJ— Lat. , Long. ; Elev.
A village of the Gunabad subdivision of the Tabas district of Khurasan,
but not in the plain.— {MacGregor.)
SIJRBAT— Lat. , Long. ; Elev. '.
One of the villages of Chardih in northern Khurasan, having 60 houses,
the others being Khurasan and Safirabad.— {MacGregor.)
SURDAWAN— Lat. , Long. • Elev. '.
One of the villages of Chardih in the Astarabad district, south-west of
that town, and below the Shahkuh range; Kishash, Warzar, and Kala
being the othe.s. dhey have numerous walled gardens, with rows of poplar
and willow trees, stunted mulberries, and the inevitable imamzadas.—
{Lovett.)
SURUK— Lat. 37° 37' 0", Long. 57° 25' 0"; Elev.
A village in northern Khurasan, 10 miles north-east of Bujnurd.—(2/2-
telligence Department, War Office.)

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Content

This volume is Volume I of the four-volume Gazetteer of Persia (1886 edition). It was compiled for political and military reference by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Metcalfe MacGregor, Assistant Quarter Master General, in 1871, and brought up to 31 July 1885 by the Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General’s Department in India. It was printed by the Government Central Branch Press, Simla, India in 1886.

The areas of Persia [Iran] covered are Astarabad, Shahrud-Bustan, Khurasan [Khorāsān], and Sistan. The boundaries of the areas covered by Volume I are as follows: the Afghan border from the River Helmand to Sarakhs in the east; and from there a line north-west to Askhabad, due west to the Atrak, which it follows to the Caspian Sea; then along the sea coast to Ashurada Island; then in a straight line to Shahrud; and from the latter south-east to Tabas hill, Sihkuha, and the Helmand, from where the river first meets the south-east border of Sistan.

The gazetteer includes entries on human settlements and buildings (forts, hamlets, villages, towns, provinces, and districts); communications (passes, roads, bridges, canals, and halting places); tribes and religious sects; and physical features (rivers, streams, springs, wells, fords, valleys, mountains, hills, plains, and bays). Entries include information on history, geography, buildings, population, ethnography, resources, trade, agriculture, and climate.

Information sources are provided at the end of each gazetteer entry, in the form of an author or source’s surname, italicised and bracketed.

The volume includes the following illustrations: ‘VIEW OF AK-DARBAND.’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 12v]; ‘PLAN OF AK-KALA.’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 14]; ‘ROUGH SKETCH OF ASTARÁBÁD, FROM AN EYE-SKETCH BY LT.-COL. BERESFORD LOVETT, R. E., 1881.’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 24]; ‘ROUGH PLAN OF BASHRÚGAH’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 40v]; ‘ROUGH PLAN OF BÚJNÚRD’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 48]; and ‘BUJNURD, FROM THE S. W.’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 49v].

It also includes the following inserted papers (folios 51 to 60): a memorandum from the Office of the Quartermaster General in India, Intelligence Branch to Lord Curzon, dated 6 December 1895, forwarding for his information ‘Corrections to Volume I of the Gazetteer of Persia’, consisting of articles on the Nishapur district of the province of Khorasan, and the Shelag river.

Extent and format
1 volume (384 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged as follows from the front to the rear: title page; preface; list of authorities consulted; and entries listed in alphabetical order.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 388, 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 each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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English in Latin script
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‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎337v] (681/722), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/376, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100107690765.0x000052> [accessed 28 November 2024]

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