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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [245] (254/568)
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.
CURRENCY, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
245
Basra. For the purpose of land or surface measurement at Basra
a dhara of nearly 19 in. is employed, and 6§ = 1 gusha (about
rffei; 10 ft - 2 2 in.). 20 sq. gushas (2041 ft. x 2041 ft.) = 1 jarib = 41,684^
• sq. feet = 0-95 acre.
The jarib is also subdivided as follows:
1 Jarib = 10 gifiz .... = 41,684i sq. ft.
1 Gifiz = 10 esbrans . . . = 4,168^ ,,
:■ 1 Esbran . . . , = 41 fU
U'l ' 4 "
The dommi system prevails as far as Mosul and Diarbekr.
Arabistan.— The faddan (Persian or, in the Hindlyan
district, guo. a word used elsewhere on the Persian coast) is de-
• • ■ scribed as the area that can be ploughed during the ploughing
season by one pair of bullocks, or needs 100 Shushtar (13 cwt.)
iaib: of seed to sow it. .
The jarib is used in the Shatt el-Arab district. Like the Baghdad
jUTib it is about 2^ acres, but is somewhat variable. It is described
as accommodating 200 date-trees.
(iMI
Liquid,
There is no standard measure for liquids, which are sold by the
pot or bottle, the pots being of all sizes and the bottles generally
v r reputed pints or quarts.
Time
The day is divided into 12 hrs., of which the 12th ends at sun
set, or rather 7 mins. after. Thus, when the sun sets at 6 p.m.,
7 o'clock by local time corresponds to 1 p.m. European Style. Sun
set is the fixed point of reckoning for each day.
At the March and September equinoxes 6 o'clock Turkish = noon.
The Eastern custom of referring to a night or evening as part of
the day following, rather than the day preceding, is productive of
|$i much confusion: e .g. Monday night or evening means the night
or evening between Sunday and Monday (cf. our Christmas Eve,
Easter Eve), not Monday evening in its current modern sense.
' Monday evening' according to European idiom must be described as
the evening of the day of Monday.
Turkish Beckoning of Years. —Two years in use are to be distin-
513 guished:
(a)The Hejira year. This is the year of the Mohammedan Era,
which is calculated from July 15, 622 a. d ., the date of Mohammed's
flight from Mecca.
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