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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [128] (137/568)
The record is made up of 1 volume (282 folios). It was created in 1918. It was written in English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac. 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.
128
RELIGIONS
though the latter is more venerated by Jews than Mussulmans.
Much the most influential Sunni in Mesopotamia is the Naqib of
Baghdad, the official head of the Arab community in that town.
Appointments to the Naqibat have been made by the Sultan hereto
fore, but in practice the succession is treated as hereditary: nor can
there be any doubt that the importance of the Naqib in the present
day depends much less upon Turkish recognition than upon his
descent and position as the custodian of the shrine of Sheikh Abdul
Qadir Gilani. It is worthy of note that'extreme deference is paid to
the Naqib of Baghdad and his family by many of the most influential
and wealthy, as well as the humblest and poorest, of Indian and
Afghan Moslems. Compared with this high dignitary of Baghdad,
the Sunni Naqib of Basra is an inferior being, whose importance
depends chiefly on his wealth and employment by the Turkish
Government in political affairs.
Christian Sects
Some information regarding the numbers, distribution, organiza
tion, &c., of each of the various Christian sects which are represented
in Mesopotamia and Kurdistan will be found on pp. 131-3.
The great majority of Christians living in this area are to be found
in the vilayets of Diarbekr, Bitlis, Van, and Mosul. There are also
Christian communities in Baghdad, Basra, and some other towns of
Irak. It is said that in the years preceding the war many Christians
were driven by the attacks of the Kurds to migrate from the north
to the towns of Irak. In northern Mesopotamia the term Syrian '
is equivalent to ' Christian '.
It will be noticed that the Christian bodies dealt with on pp. 131- 3
may be divided into three groups: the independent Asiatic
Churches (the ' Gregorian ' Church of Armenia, the ' Nestorian ' or
East Syrian Church, and the Jacobite or West Syrian Church);
(fe) the bodies called Uniate, which, while they are derived from
one or other of the independent Churches, are now in communion
with the Roman Catholic Church (Armenian Uniates, Chaldaeans,
Jacobite Uniates, or Syrian Catholics); (c) a miscellaneous group,
including Protestant converts from the independent and Uniate
Churches (chiefly Armenian), and secessionists like the New
Chaldaeans, and Orthodox Armenians.
Origin of the Independent Asiatic — (i) The Church of
Armenia derives its name Gregorian from St. Gregory the Illuminator
(a. d . 255-326), who brought about the conversion to Christianity of
the main part of the Armenian nation, As Armenia was a country
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Naval Staff, Intelligence Department: November 1918). This is an updated and expanded edition of A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: August 1916) (IOR/L/MIL17/15/41/1). This is an introductory volume containing matter of a general nature giving an account of conditions in Mesopotamia, for the most part as they were before the First World War.
The volume includes a note on official use, a title page and 'Note'. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following chapters and sections:
- Chapter 1: Boundaries and Physical Features;
- Chapter 2: Climate;
- Chapter 3: Minerals;
- Chapter 4: Fauna and Flora;
- Chapter 5: Hygiene;
- Chapter 6: History;
- Chapter 7: Inhabitants;
- Chapter 8: Religions;
- Chapter 9: Administration;
- Chapter 10: Irrigation of Irak [Iraq];
- Chapter 11: Agriculture and Land Tenure;
- Chapter 12: Commerce and Industry;
- Chapter 13: Currency, Weights, and Measures;
- Chapter 14: Communications and Transport;
- Vocabularies;
- Index.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (282 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in numbered chapters. There is a contents page and an alphabetically arranged index.
- 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'. of the folio.
Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/2
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:556, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence