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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [289] (298/568)
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.
COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
289
shaped like that of a saflneh, It is generally poled, but with a fol
lowing wind a small mast and sail may be used. A large haghalah
may take 100 men or 20 horses.
(ii) The danalc is a sailing-vessel found principally on the Euphrates,
though large dandks are to be met with on the Tigris.
The danah is 80-40 ft. long, and is generally of from 9 to 11 tons
burden. It is an open boat, pointed at bow and stern, with a plat
form at each end. The stem and stern-post rise above the gunwale,
but the danalc is not built so low amidships as the The
hull is coated with bitumen. The vessel may be either sailed or
poled ; there is one mast with a lateen sail.
The (la)iul: is a much clumsier-looking craft than the satinclt. and
is lighter and less strong in its construction. It is used mainly for
light bulky cargoes such as date-stalks.
(iii) The hellam is used on the Shatt el-'Arab and the canals taking
off from that river. Large cargo hellmns are also found on the lower
Euphrates.
The small hellam as seen at Basra {hellam is long and
narrow, somewhat resembling the Venetian gondola. It is about
20 ft. in length, and 3 ft. in its greatest beam. The is flat-
bottomed, and draws very little water. It is generally poled, but
can also be rowed, paddled, or sailed. There is a platform at either
end. The hellam is usually poled by two men (one on the fore plat
form and one on the aft, or both forward), and steered by a third
with a paddle. These boats are used for passengers and small
goods traffic.
The large bellams [aragiyeh) are used as lighters or cargo-boats.
They may be as much as 60 ft. in length, and carry 9-60 tons,
according to size.
(iv) The mashhuf is a canoe used in southern Irak on the marshes
of the lower Tigris and Euphrates. It is the chief means of loco
motion possessed by the Ma'adan, or ' marsh Arabsof this region.
The ordinary masJiMif is 15-20 ft. in length, and can hold up to 1
or 5 persons. It is constructed of light planks or reeds, and is
covered with bitumen. It can be rapidly propelled by a man with
a paddle who sits aft.
A larger type of mashhuf, called has a mast and sail.
It is built of thin planking and is covered with bitumen.
(v) The quffeh, a kind of coracle, is found principally on the Tigris
in the neighbourhood of Baghdad, but is also met with elsewhere on
the Tigris and on the Euphrates. Between Samarra and Baghdad
it is used for downstream navigation as well as for ferrying; else-
MES. I t
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