!['Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎166] (175/568)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_2_0175.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎166] (175/568)")
'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [166] (175/568)
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.
166
IERIGATION OF IKAK
for the Habbaniyeh escape and Hindiyeh Barrage being omitted) was
<£T5,347,130 (£4,812,417), of which £T1,006,760 (£906,084) would
go to the prolongation of the 1 right Tigris canal' from the Ctesiphon
bend to Kut. The total cost of agricultural works was estimated at
£T6,500,000 (£5,850,000).
(b) The country along the Shatt el-Hai would be irrigated from
the Tigris. The Shatt el-Hai would be restored and its supply
increased by a barrage on the Tigris at Kut el-Amara.
The area commanded here was to be 250,000 hectares (617,500
acres). The cost of the irrigation works was estimated at £T2,757,980
(£2,482,182); that of the agricultural works at £T2,500,000
(£2,250,000).
(c) In the Basra district the alluvial land west and south of the
city was to be irrigated from the Euphrates as follows:
The water in the Euphrates Jchor between Gurmat c Ali and Suq
esh-Shuyukh would be held up in the low season by a barrage at
Gurmat 'Ali. In order to prevent the increased amount of water
behind the barrage from spreading over so wide an area that its
evaporation would nullify the effect of the barrage, the Euphrates
water would be cut off from the Hammar Lake and the old channel
by a dam at Suq esh-Shuyukh, and its water would all pass down
to Gurmat 'Ali, being confined on the north by a bank running from
Suq esh-Shuyukh to Kurna. Thus the Hammar Lake and the old
channel would be fed with Tigris water only, while the Euphrates
water would be concentrated in the present Ichor of the new channel,
and when held up by the Gurmat 'Ali barrage would not be able to
spread north into the Tigris marshes. It would be carried to the
Basra plain by a canal passing between Basra and Zobeir.
The area to be commanded is 90,000 hectares (222,300 acres).
Estimated pre-war cost of irrigation works, £T1,996,960 (£1,797,264);
of agricultural works, £T900,000 (£810,000).
An estimate was also made for the reclamation of 50,000 hectares
(123,500 acres) of land in the Euphrates marshes: for irrigation
works, £T425,000 (£382,500); for agricultural works, £T250,000
( £225,000).
(The land between Basra and Zobeir used to be flooded mainly
from the Euphrates Jchor on the north, and also partly from the
Shatt el-'Arab below Basra. In 1915-16 bunds were built from
doubled to allow for interest on the money spent during the execution of these
works and their subsequent development. The result thus reached is called by
Sir William Willcocks the ' true ' or ' actual' cost. It is this ' actual' cost that
has been quoted here and in subsequent paragraphs.
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [166] (175/568), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023472673.0x0000b0> [accessed 7 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472673.0x0000b0
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472673.0x0000b0">'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎166] (175/568)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472673.0x0000b0"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_2_0175.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
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