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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [244] (253/568)
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.
244; CURRENCY, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
The Gaz-i-SMh measures 4041 in.
Piece-goods are measured by the English yard, or by the
actual cubit (the length of a man's forearm and hand), or by the
double cubit (the distance from a man's nose to the tip of his finger
when the arm is extended).
Distance
In Turkey distances (except in so far as official measurements are
made in kilometres) are calculated in hours. The official ' hour
may be taken as the equivalent of 3-|-4 miles. It therefore repre
sents a greater distance than can actually be covered in an hour
under normal conditions by troops on the march ; and it is more
than the hour's march of laden camels under any circumstances, or
of other pack-animals on difficult ground (compare pp. 278-9). But
' camel hours' and ' pack-animal hours' are not infrequently used to
estimate distance.
In Persia the farsdkli (Arabic su'cif) is used. The is
theoretically 3-87 miles, but is actually variable, being taken as the
equivalent of an ' hour'. It may be considered to be about ■'>2' ^
miles.
Square Measure, applicable
Baghdad.—The commonest unit of land measurement is the
faddan, which term is here defined as ' the area which two men can
cultivate', or 'asurface which can be completely sown with 500
huqqehs of wheat and 700 Iniqt /clis of barley', in all 1,200 (Constanti
nople) huqqeJis. The Baghdad fad is subdivided into
square jaribs, and square dharas [mamari), as follows :
approximately
1 Faddan = 200 donum atik . . = 44| acres.
1 Donum atik = 1,600 sq. dhara mamari = 0-24 „
1 sq. Dhara mamari . . . . = 6-53 sq. ft.
or
1 Faddan = 18 sq. jaribs . . . = 44-| acres.
1 sq. Jarib = 2-47 „
The jarib is a measure of length, equal to 100 metres or 109 yards.
In Khorasan N. of Baghdad there is a of 513 or
1234 acres, and on the Khalis canal one of 340 or 81f acres.
The juft is the^area which one yoke of oxen can plough, and it varies
from 70 to 100* donums (16-8 to 24 acres).
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