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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [256] (265/568)
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.
256 COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
pack-road, difficult before the war. From Ziyaret Wa'iz el-Qur'ani
to Diarbekr there is an unfinished chaussee. From Zokh to Diarbekr
there is a route via the Desht-i-Keri and Ermi, which is about
20 miles shorter than that by the Batman Bridge and Farqln ; but
the ford by which it crosses the Batman is impassable in flood.
[Erzerum—Baghdad, about 770 miles.]
[d] Erzerum—Diarbekr via Mush and Hazro (about 230 miles).
It was reported in 1916 that a road for wheels was under construc
tion between Mush and Hazro; this may follow the Kulp valley
route, which before the war was a mule-track.
[Erzerum—Baghdad, about 700 miles.]
(e) Erzerum—Diarbekr via Oghnat, the Chabakchur plain, and
Lijjeh (about 200 miles). This was not passable for wheels before
the war, but was used as a summer-route by mule-caravans. During
the war it has been followed by infantry.
[Erzerum—Baghdad, about 670 miles.]
(/) Bitlis—Mosul via Sairt and Jezlret-ibn-'Omar (about 220
miles). This road, which passes by the Bitlis, Bohtan, and Tigris
valleys to Jezlret-ibn-'Omar, was not passable for wheels before the
war. On the roads from Jezlret-ibn-'Omar to Mosul see p. 253.
Approximate distances to Baghdad by this route to Mosul and thence
by Samarra are:
Erzerum—Baghdad, about 616 miles.
Trebizond—Erzerum—Baghdad, about 550 miles.
[Less important routes across the Taurus between the Euphrates
and Lake Van are the mule-tracks from Palu to Haini and Lijjeh,
and track (not passable for wheels, but apparently fairly easy for
pack-animals) from Kharput to Chermuk Pusherto (for Severek
or Diarbekr).
East of Lake Van the very difficult mountain-country of central
Kurdistan is crossed by no important route from eastern Armenia.
The track from Van to Mosul via Bash Qal'ah, Julamerk, and Amadiyeh
is in parts very difficult even for pack-animals.]
D. From the Persian Plateau to Mesopotamia and Akabistan
Mesopotamia and Arabistan are separated from the Persian plateau
by a barrier of mountains which greatly impedes communication.
By far the most important approach on this side is the route from
Kirmanshah to Baghdad, which runs through the depression in the
barrier by Qasr-i-Shlrln and Khanikin,
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