‘Military report on Persia. Vol IV, part II. Fars, Gulf ports, Yazd and Laristan.’ [63] (73/206)
The record is made up of 103 folios. It was created in 1924. 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.
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63
kevici. ' '' ' - - .n '
CHAPTER ITT.
'OOBto
Ethnography.
empty
' eil3 ' on8 The origin of the Medo-Persians was probably the same as
11 made that of the natives of Tndia. At least as far back as 1000 B .C.,
the ancestors of the Persians and Indians were an Aryan race
of tie originating in the country afterwards known as Bactria, from
bd at which they migrated. One stream swept south-east into India,
another south-west into Persia. Plato describes the Persians
Fort on as originally a nation of shepherds and herdsmen, occupying
i fljji a rude country such as naturally fosters a hardy race of people,
capable of supporting both cold and hardships, and, when
needful, of enduring the toils of war. Over these ancient settlers
during a long course of centuries swept wave after wave of
UMt conquering invaders,., each of which left its mark on the
1. Tlie original race. The result is the Persian of the present day. of
i miiti whom those inhabiting the northern parts of the country natu-
)ly. It rally show more of the characteristics of the invaders from
' fit to Central Asia, while to the south-west the Arab element predo-
fct minates. The nomad mountain tribes are the only ones who
the in- have had a chance of preserving their individuality, though
simE the people of Ears pride themselves on the purity of their origin,
irouid which is proved by their complexion and features.
The Persian peasantry and nomad tribesmen are of good General Charac-
souls. physique, but townsfolk and most people of good family are ttristics *
locally the reverse. The Persians are not now-higli-spirited and warlike}
■■ent.of they are crushed by conquest and bad government, and their
eh are brains and manhood are being sapped by excessive consumption
is. of opium, and by vice. They are not frugal, but like to eat
and dress well, however poor they rnay be. Their best quality is
their cheerfulness.
Erectly Only a cursory study of Persian history is required to realise
the lamentable lack, or at any rate the feebleness, of the popular
spirit, and also the fact that Persia is not merely a house divided
against itself, but a- rickety structure, kept together by external
pressure, which every kind of domestic discussion tends to
rend to pieces. Wild semi-nomad tribes in even/ part of the
kingdom, are ready at any moment to disown allegiance to
the Central Government and can be restrained by nothing
About this item
- Content
Military report on Persia (volume IV, part II) covering Fars, Yazd, the Gulf ports and Laristan, dated 1922, and published by the Central Government Press at Simla in 1924. The report’s chapters cover:
- History , including a recent political history of Persia; military history; the Anglo-Persia War of 1856-57 (with sections on the battle of Khūshāb and the occupation of Bushire); a recent history of Fars; and operations at Bushire in 1918-19.
- Geography , with a general introduction and sections headed (a) Fars and the Gulf ports; (b) Yazd; and (c) Laristan. The section on Fars includes: descriptions of the Gulf Ports; a table listing the districts of Fars, with details of their boundaries, sedentary populations and administrative authority; details of the four principal rivers in Fars (the Khūr Khalīl, Rūd Shūr, Rūd Hilleh and Chāhkutāh); salt lakes in Fars; islands; principal towns; Bushire and its harbour, with details of harbour facilities (lights, buoys, pilots tugs and launches), landing places for troops, facilities in the town; minor ports. The sections on Yazd and Lariston contain details of the principal towns, with the latter section detailing harbour facilities and amenities at Lingeh [Bandar-e Lengeh];
- Population , or Ethnography , with sections headed (a) Fars and the Gulf ports; (b) Yazd; and (c) Laristan. The section on Fars contains descriptions (population, general character, tribal structures, agricultural activity) of the various nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes found in the various districts of the region. Brief sections on Yazd and Laristan are followed by an overview of the principal religions of Persia;
- Climate and Health , with a general description of the climate of southern Persia and sections headed (a) Fars and the Gulf ports; (b) Yazd; and (c) Laristan. The section of Fars contains details of the availability of drinking water for men and animals at Bushire. At the end of the chapter there is a description of the general medical conditions in Persia (drinking water, diseases) and a description of the medical dispensaries at Bushire and Bandar-e Lengeh;
- Resources , divided into sections on (A) supplies and (B) transport, and further subdivided into sections headed (a) Fars and the Gulf ports; (b) Yazd; and (c) Laristan. The section on supplies in Fars contains: details of the availability of a range of foodstuffs (including cereals, fruit, vegetables and meat), grazing, fuel (wood, charcoal), mills, storage of supplies, packing; a description of the general availability of supplies in principal towns, including Bushire. Transport lists the availability and characteristics of transport by mule, donkey, camel, cart and oxen. At the end of the chapter there is a veterinary note, detailing the prevalence of lameness and various diseases in livestock. A fold-out table (presumably Appendix F – see below) details the numbers of supplies and transport of agricultural produce available in the different regions;
- Military , including: a description of the Persian army; the numbers of available armed men in the different tribes of Persia; the South Persia Rifles; aviation facilities in Persia, an outline of the military ranks in the Persian army; military features (fortifications, guns) at Bushire and Bandar-e Lengeh; and additional notes on the migratory nature of the Qāshqaī tribe, and arms trafficking into Persia;
- Communications , including descriptions of the region’s railways, roads, telegraph lines, telephone lines, cables, and wireless stations;
- Political , including: a description of the administrative governance of Fars, Yazd and Laristan; coinage in Persia; weights and measures.
Appendices A to E are lists of the subdivisions or subtribes of: the Khamseh Arab tribes; the Bāserī tribe; the Bahārlū tribe; the Qāshqaī tribes; the Mamassanī. Appendix F, described on the contents page as a table of supplies and transport is presumably that included at the end of chapter 5.
The maps and plans, included at the end of the volume are: a general map of the area, a plan of Bushire, and a sketch map of the Khamseh tribe migrations. The plan of the customs wharf at Bushire and the sketch map showing Qāshqaī migrations are both missing from the volume.
- Extent and format
- 103 folios
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged into eight chapters (labelled I-VIII), followed by five appendices (A-E), and finishing with five maps and plans, as set out on the volume’s contents page (f.3). Each chapter is arranged by a series of headings and subheadings. The volume also has an alphabetically arranged index (ff.85-95). The contents and index pages use the report’s pagination system.
- Physical characteristics
Pagination: The report has a printed pagination sequence. Page numbers appear at the top and centre of each page in the main body of the volume, and in the top-right corner of rectos and top-left corner of versos on the volume’s index pages.
Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top-right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the last of the various maps and plans that are inserted at the back of the volume, on number 101. Total number of folios: 101. Total including covers and flysheets: 103. Note that the foliation sequence on the maps and plans does not follow the order that the maps and plans are listed on the volume’s contents page (f.3). Two of the plans and maps listed on the contents page are missing from the volume (Plan of customs wharf at Bushire, and sketch map showing Qāshqaī migrations).
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- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/C201/2
- Title
- ‘Military report on Persia. Vol IV, part II. Fars, Gulf ports, Yazd and Laristan.’
- Pages
- front, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:6, 1:119, 119a:119b, 120:192, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence