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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [15] (24/432)
The record is made up of 1 volume (214 folios). It was created in 1917. It was written in English. 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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INTEODUCTION
15
ave Routes towards Persian Frontier —North-east of Baghdad, in the
' ai ' neighbourhood of Khanikin and Qasr-i-Shlrln, lies the main depression
on in the mountain system which divides the plateau of Iran (Persia)
■ e r, from the Mesopotamian plains. Through this depression runs the
S., Baghdad—Kirmanshah caravan-route by Baqubeh, 1 Qizil Eibat, Kha-
lD d nikin, and Qasr-i-Shlrln. This before the war was the only route
passable for wheeled transport between Mesopotamia and Persia,
and even this was not easy for vehicles beyond the Persian frontier.
* In the plain between Baghdad and Khanikin the going was good
Jen except after rain. (See Route 28 a.) A much more difficult alter-
; ris native route (28 b) to Kirmanshah runs by Beledruz and Mandali to
ely
join the main road at Khorasabad. This is liable to become very
bad in the plains in wet weather, and is merely a mule-track in
the hills. For connexions between these routes, see 29 and
ily 28 b, m. 122i, 147|, 156|. ^
^ Khanikin and Qasr-i-Shlrln on the main Baghdad—Kirmanshah road
or are connected by easy though unmade tracks with Salahiyeh (Kufri)
in on the Baghdad—Mosul road. The only serious obstacle on this set
re of tracks is the Diyaleh Eiver. (See 32 a, b; 33.)
id There is a made road passable for wheels from Qasr-i-Shlrln to
ds the Anglo-Persian Oil Company's wells at Chiah Surkh: and there
V, is a fairly easy line over the Zohab Plain between Qasr-i-Shlrln and
lis the Suleimaniyeh—Kirmanshah route mentioned below,
to To the N. of Qasr-i-Shlrln the first principal route-centre of
Kurdistan is Suleimaniyeh, a considerable town lying in a fertile
;er though under-cultivated plain some 60-70 m. E. of Kirkuk. The
ire easiest approach to Suleimaniyeh from the W. is from Kirkuk over
on stony rolling hills through Chemchemal and the Baziyan Pass,
jn Between Kirkuk and Chemchemal and between the Baziyan Pass and
he Suleimaniyeh there appears to be a number of possible tracks; and
ill. there seems to have been before the war at least one route from
Kirkuk to Suleimaniyeh which was just passable for wheels
ii- throughout though in need of improvement. (See 37.) Prom
eg the SW. Suleimaniyeh can be approached from Salahiyeh (Kufri) by
nd mule-tracks which are bad in parts. From the NW. mule-tracks
ng over a more mountainous country under the Plr 'Omar Oudrun Dagh
to lead to Suleimaniyeh from Koi Sanjaq and Kaniyeh : these cross the
Lesser Zab by ferries at Dukhan or Khanabi. (See 39, 38.)
3d South-east from Suleimaniyeh a route leads by Halebjeh across
id the Persian frontier to Kirmanshah : this is fairly easy for pack-
• i^" S ^ ar as (where it crosses the Diyaleh by a bridge) it is identical
with the better road from Baghdad to Delli 'Abbas on the Baghdad—Kirkuk—
Mosul route. See Route 25 a.
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume III, Central Mesopotamia with Sourthern Kurdistan and the Syrian Desert (Admiralty War Staff Intelligence Division, January, 1917), covering the Tigris and Euphrates from Baghdad and Fellūjeh [Fallujah] to Mosul and Meskeneh [Maskanah], the Lesser Zāb, the country east of the Tigris towards the Persian frontier, and the routes running westward from the Euphrates valley across the Syrian Desert. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and War Office, and appears to be based on official and unofficial publications and maps which are cited in a bibliographical section in the volume. This volume was supplemented with corrections and additions in June 1918 (see IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/5).
The volume includes a note on confidentiality, a title page, 'Note', 'Abbreviations'. There is a page of 'Contents' which includes the following sections:
- Introduction;
- River Routes (The Tigris and the Lesser Zāb, The Euphrates);
- Land Routes (The Tigris Valley with Region to East, The Euphrates Valley, Connexions between Tigris and Euphrates Valleys, The Syrian Desert);
- Gazetteer of Towns;
- Bibliographical Note;
- Transliteration of Names;
- Glossary;
- Appendix;
- Index;
- 'Sketch Map of Routes', which includes 'City Map of Baghdad' (f. 212) and 'Mesopotamia: Outline Map Showing Routes, Volume III' contained in a pocket.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (214 folios)
- Arrangement
This volume is arranged according to numbered routes. There is a page of contents and an alphabetical index. There are two maps housed in a pocket.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover and terminates at the inside back cover; 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'. side of each folio (except for the front cover, where the folio number is located on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. ).
Pagination: The volume also has an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/4
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:422, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence