!['Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎169] (178/568)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_2_0178.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎169] (178/568)")
'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [169] (178/568)
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.
CHAPTER XI
AGRICULTUKE AND LAND TENURE
Introduction—Principal cultivated areas—Soil—Methods of cultivation —
Principal crops—Domestic animals—Land tenure and taxation of agri
culture : the land question in Irak.
Introduction
In the recent past the wealth of Mesopotamia has consisted
almost wholly in agricultural produce and in flocks and herds; and
upon its agriculture and stock-raising the future fortunes of the
country will chiefly depend. The natural fertility of the soil in
the alluvial plains of Irak and Arabistan, and in large areas of
upper Mesopotamia^ promises an immense increase in the productive
ness of these lands if they should be well governed, well irrigated,
and adequately populated.
The staple products of the country are dates, rice, barley and wheat,
wool and goats' hair, hides and skins. Date-cultivation is practically
confined to Irak and southern Arabistan, and it is in the marshy
and easily flooded lands of the south that most of the rice is grown.
The cultivation of cotton in Irak, insignificant in the past, may
become very important in the future.
In the plains of Irak and Arabistan agriculture depends mainly on
irrigation, although the amount of rainfall has much to do with the
success or failure of the winter crops, which include wheat and barley.
In upper Mesopotamia wheat and barley are generally dependent on
rainfall alone ; but there is a certain amount of irrigation for rice,
cotton, and other crops. In Irak, owing to the need of irrigation, the
principal cultivated areas consist of belts of land adjoining rivers,
canals, or marshes; the most prosperous districts are those in which
it has been found easiest to get the river-w T ater on to the land. In
upper Mesopotamia the most important areas of cultivation lie in
the plains, but not far from the hills, in regions where the soil is
good and the rainfall plentiful enough for wheat and barley, and the
streams which descend from the highlands can be used for growing
cotton and rice or watering orchards.
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' [169] (178/568), 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_100023472673.0x0000b3> [accessed 17 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472673.0x0000b3
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_100023472673.0x0000b3">'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎169] (178/568)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472673.0x0000b3"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_2_0178.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