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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [194] (203/432)
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.
194
LAND ROUTES
Miles from
Baglidad
222
BAGHDAD—KIEMANSHAH (217^ M.)
Via M andali
Authority : — Routes in Persia, vol. iii, no. 95, from reports of 1897, 1903, and 1906.
There was very little traffic on this route before the war. It was
used by the people of Mandali to carry produce to Kirmanshah, but
not by people from Baghdad. As far as Beledruz (also spelt Baladoz)
it has been in use as a route for carts carrying heavy machinery, &c.,
for the D'Arcy Oil Company. (For another road to Beledruz see
Route 30.) The remainder of the route in its present condition
is only a mule track. It is a difficult route for camel transport. As
far as Mandali the route lies over alluvial plains which after rain
become more or less inundated and impassable owing to the boggy
nature of the soil. Even a little rain, by making the road slippery
and sticky, may produce a serious obstacle. After heavy rain
some 24 hours at least are required to allow the road to dry sufficiently
to permit of the passage of caravans. The latter part of the route
lies through mountainous and rocky country, and the going is bad
until the main Baghdad—Kirmanshah route is reached at Khor-
asabad (see m. 170|). To render the route fit throughout for the
passage of carts a large amount of labour would have to be expended
on a great number of points.
Till Khorasabad there would be practically no supplies along the
route with the exception of the stretch from about 16 m. before
Beledruz and the stretch between Beledruz and Mandali. A certain
amount of live stock, however, might be purchased from nomads.
After the rains in the spring there would probably be an abundant
supply of grass and grazing for animals, but later in the summer
it would be extremely scarce. Fuel would be scarce or practically
non-existing until the Persian border was crossed, after which there
would be a certain amount of small shrubs and bushes, becoming
more plentiful in the later stages. The water for the first 73 m.
is rather brackish, more particularly in the summer months. In
Kirmanshah road goes in a general ENE. direction. It is
throughout good and passable for all arms.
Kirmanshah. (see Gazetteer o/ vol. ii). Supplies
abundant. Water and forage plentiful. Fuel from the
mountains.
EOUTE 28 b
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