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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [287] (296/568)
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
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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT 2$7
Rocks and whirlpools make navigation difficult and somewhat
dangerous in the gorges between the mouth of the Batman Su and
Hasan Kaif, and again between the Bohtan and Jezlret-ibn-'Omar.
Rapids also occur in the stretch between Jezlret-ibn-'Omar and
Mosul.
(ii) Mosul— Baghdad (? about 300 miles). Times taken by
vary from about 3 to about 15 days (or 2-10 days to Samarra),
according to the state of the river, the wind, &c.
Safmehs can ascend from Baghdad to Samarra (106 miles by river)
in high water. It appears that in low water they would have to be
unloaded and portaged over shallow places.
With regard to steamer navigation satisfactory information is not
available. It seems that in a high river (April-June) steamers
drawing 4^ ft. can ascend to Tekrit (140 miles above Baghdad), while
steamers of 8^—4 ft. draught can reach Qal'ah Sherghat (about
220 miles above Baghdad). In low water (September-November)
steamers drawing 3-| ft. or more cannot navigate above Baghdad;
but the shallow-draught steamer Ju is said to have been able to
reach Samarra at that season.
Before 1917 there had been hardly any navigation of the river
above Samarra by steamers. In 1839 the (3 ft. draught)
reached Sultan Abdallah 40-45 miles below Mosul. In the spring
of 1917 a number of Turkish steamers, drawing 3^-4f ft., passed
upstream of Baghdad, and one, the drawing about 3-| ft.,
reached Haji Ali a few miles below Kaiyara and about 20-25 miles
above Qal'ah Sherghat; she there went aground.
The current is strong. Rocks which endanger navigation occur
above Samarra, and rapids are formed by rocks or ledges of shingle.
It is believed that, if the rocks forming the principal obstacles to
navigation were removed by blasting, shallow-draught steamers of
considerable power could ascend to Mosul.
(c) The Lesser Zab.
This river is navigable by ltdeTts from Taktak (about 45 miles
above Altun Koprll) to its junction with the Tigris. There is a good
deal of JceleJc traffic from Altun Koprii and Baghdad, but in low
water JceleJcs of the larger kind, carrying goods, do not usually
travel on the Lesser Zab.
Usual times for Jceleks from Altun Koprtl to the Tigris are : in high
water, 12-24 hrs. ; in low water, about 3 days.
It is possible that small steamers of considerable power could
ga navigate the Lesser Zab in high water as far as Altun Kopru. There
(0I jji are rocks and rapids in the channel, and in low water depths in
jJi places are only 1-2 ft.
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