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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [359] (368/432)
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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KHANIKIN—KIRKUK
359
many officials. On the W., N., and NE. the low hills stand close
round the town, hiding it from view in these directions until one is
near it.
At the northern end the citadel stands on a large flat-topped
mound, 130 ft. in height, with the quarter near the Mosque of 'Ali at
its base. The Chaldaean community has a new cathedral built by
the French Roman Catholic mission. The town contains two arched
bazaars and several khans, as well as public baths which are reported
to be very bad. Owing to the sheltered position of the town, the
climate is excessively hot and not very healthy in summer.
Supplies and Commerce. —The town is said to contain apparently
about 500 shops, but the local authorities claim that there are
upwards of 1,800. Wheat, barley, a little rice, beans, melons,*
cucumbers, and a few grapes are grown in the country round Kirkuk.
There are several flour-mills on the bank of the river. The inhabi
tants were reported in 1903 to own 30,000 sheep in the pastures near
the town ; but the live stock of the district may have been diminished
owing to the constant raids of the Hamawaud between the years 1906
and 1909. Water can be obtained after rain or the melting of the
snow from the Hasa Su, but there is generally little or no water in
the river bed, and most of the rather scanty supply comes from
wells. There are oil springs at Baba Gurgur, 5 m. N W. of the town.
Kirkuk is a centre for the purchase of Arab horses, which are
exported.
Some cotton is grown in this region, and the chief exports of the
place are oil, wool, gall-nuts, wheat, barley, fruit, gum, and a little
wine. The chief occupation is that of drapers and mercers, and the
chief imports are cotton goods, Kirkuk being a distributing centre for
Kurdistan. Fruit trees include the vine, lime, olive, fig, apricot,
and mulberry.
Inhabitants. —The inhabitants are of many races and religions.
The principal are Turkoman, Kurd, and Arab. There are also
Armenians, Chaldaeans, Syrians, and numerous Jews, who are said
to own 200 houses out of 4,000. An equal number of houses is
said to be inhabited by the Christians of various sects. Arabic and
Kurdish are spoken indifferently in the bazaars, and Turkish is
understood by most.
The town itself has been strongly held by the Turkish Government,
which has maintained fair order within the walls.
The Sunni element is probably considerably stronger than the Shiah.
There is said to be a fanatical population in the quarter round the
Mosque of 'Ali to the N. of the town ; but the Moslems of Kirkuk
have been given a good character for honesty and generosity, at any
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