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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [186] (195/568)
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.
186
AGKICULTURE AND LAND TENUEE
and inferior pack-animal, though it usually has good bone, and animals
of this type are procurable at all seasons at Dizful and in lesser
numbers at Shushtar.
[cl) The Pusht-i-Kuh mules, commonly so called, are big-boned
animals of fine type which are brought unbroken and wild to Dizful
from the north-west by their Sagwand Lur and Kurdish breeders.
They are sold to Dizful muleteers at ages from 1 to 3 years, and are
prematurely broken down by overwork. These mules frequently
stand 14-2 "and 14-3 hands, and an animal of about 16 hands has
been seen. Good arrangements for sale and purchase of these mules
exist at Dizful and Shushtar, though in 1916 a local boycott by
certain sects caused difficulties which would not arise in normal
years.
In upper Mesopotamia Mosul, Kirkuk, and Diarbekr seem to be
important mule-markets. The mule breeding ot Mesopotamia is
unimportant compared with that of Persia. The animals sold in
the market at Kirkuk are probably mainly bred by the tribes of
Persian Kurdistan and the Kirmanshah provinces. There is a cer
tain amount of mule-breeding in the Diarbekr vilayet, in the neigh
bourhood of Mardln and of JezIret-ibn-'Omar, and in and round the
Diarbekr basin.
Donlteys. —The ordinary pack-donkey is a small and wiry animal,
black or brown in colour. Large numbers of these are owned by the
Arab tribes in the plains of Irak and are used lor carrying water and
other loads; there are considerable numbers also in the Diarbekr
vilayet. Large white or silver-coloured riding-donkeys which com
mand a high price are also bred in Irak in the districts round
Baghdad, Hilla, and Samaweh. Donkeys of this class are in much
request all over the Ottoman Empire.
Sheep. —A large part of the pastoral wealth of Mesopotamia consists
in huge flocks of sheep, which range far over the plains in the spring
when there is good pasturage to be found, and in dry seasons collect
by the rivers, and in the well-watered areas near the hills. Sheep-
rearing is one of the principal occupations of the nomad and semi-
nomad Arab tribes. It is the custom of some tribes to let the rams
remain permanently with their flocks, with the result that the ewes
may bear lambs twice in the course of the year.
Breeds of sheep in Mesopotamia are not clearly defined in the
available information. They may, however, be roughly classified
according to their wool into three groups, (a) The breed is
reared on the plains, characteristics of the wool being a crinkly
fleece of comparatively line fibre and bright appearance. This wool
is used for making blankets and other coarse woollen textures.
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