!['Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [‎184] (193/432)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023045519.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_4_0193.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [‎184] (193/432)")
'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [184] (193/432)
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
184
Miles from
Baghdad
LAND KOUTES
When there is any doubt, as at night, the telegraph-line can
be followed. General direction to Khan Beni Sa'ld NNE
For the first 3 m. the road is a broad level track over
a plain of alluvial soil, showing frequent signs of flood.
An irrigation channel is crossed by a rickety wood and
stone bridge with 12-ft. roadway. Width of channel
12 ft., depth below bank 3 ft. Some cultivation.
Khan el-Bir ruins on r. Limited supply of brackish water,
About here a second irrigation channel similar to first is
crossed. On the other side of the channel is the postal
staging station. From here the Nahr Tahwileh runs
parallel to the road for 1 m., then diverging N.
Line of mounds crosses road running NE. and SW. The
road from here shows no sign of flood up to
Khan Beni Said or Ortah Khan, a village with two
khans, one of which is 100 yds. square, of massive brick,
in which there is accommodation for 300 men and horses!
There is also plenty of room for camping. Brackish
water from wells. Grazing scarce. Fuel scarce locally.
There are villages in palm groves about 4 m. to NW.
From Khan Beni Sa'ld to Baqubeh the general direction
is NNE. The road throughout is good and passable to
all arms except at the Diyaleh bridge.
Road to Beledruz via Bahrlz branches off NE. See 30.
Cultivation on both sides of the route.
Irrigation canal, 6 ft. wide, 3 ft. below the banks, crossed
12 ft St0ne i n bad repair; the bridge roadway is
A narrow deep channel is crossed, 6 ft. wide and 10 ft. below
the banks, running N. and S.
Reach r. bank of the Diyaleh, here a sluggish river, 60 yds.
wide, with deep-cut banks. Gardens, dates, and poplar-
trees on either hand. Road now runs up river bank,
ground becoming hilly and broken.
Small khan 1. of road.
Swinging bridge over the Diyaleh, consisting of il boats
(with two spare for increasing the span when the water
rises), over which a 12-ft. roadway is laid. It is rickety,
serviceable for pack-transport, but unfit for guns or any
wheeled vehicles except very light ones. The pontoons
are in good condition ; a very slight repair (materials for
which are obtainable on the spot) would put the roadway
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [184] (193/432), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/4, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023493069.0x0000c2> [accessed 14 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023493069.0x0000c2
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023493069.0x0000c2">'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [‎184] (193/432)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023493069.0x0000c2"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023045519.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_4_0193.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100023045519.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
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