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'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol. II. Geographical and Statistical. J G Lorimer. 1908' [‎241] (268/2084)

The record is made up of 1 volume (1952 pages). It was created in 1908. It was written in English and Arabic. 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. .

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BAHRAIN PRINCIPALITY 241
consequently they are unimportant^ except commercially. The 'Utub,
the Sadah and the Dawasir are the most influential tribes in Bahrain ;
the first on account of their connection with the ruling family, the Sadah
by virtue of their sacred origin, and the Dawasir because they are com
paratively wealthy, united, and obedient to their chiefs, and partly,
perhaps, that as the most recent immigrants from Najd they enjoy a
pertain prestige. The remainder of the Sunni population are mostly
settled on or near the coast, and depend chiefly on the sea, and in a lesser
degree on cultivation, for their subsistence.
The races inhabiting Bahrain are generally insignificant in appearance
and there is nothing remarkable in their character. The pearl diving
sections of the community seem to be distinguished by weak eyes and
raucous voices. The huts in which the bulk of the rural population live
are constructed of date or reed mats and have gable roofs.
In concluding this paragraph we may notice that, though negroes are
numerous in Bahrain, a mixture of Arab and negro blood is here less
frequent than in the ports of 'Oman and Trucial 'Oman. The analysis of
population given above shows that there are nearly 5,000 free negroes
and 6,000 negro slaves in the principality, and these figures are probably
much below the mark as it has been impossible, except in the larger
places, to distinguish negro families from the communities among whom
they live or by whom they are owned. The reason given for the non-^
mixture of blood is that in Bahrain a full-blood negro slave is more valuable
than a half-caste son. The services of slaves are hired out by their
masters for the pearl fishery, and in winter the slave and his family are left
to support themselves. In some cases the slave is married to a free
woman with whom his master has no concern ; but in others the master
provides the slave with a slave wife and takes possession of the offspring.
Agriculture and domestic animals. —The agricultural products of
Bahrain are chiefly fruits, lucerne and a few vegetables ; the last, includ
ing brinjals, cucumbers, carrots, leeks and onions, are almost the only
non-arboreal crops. The supply of vegetables is sufficient for local con
sumption and none are imported. Plant growth generally is rank, but
the produce is poor. The citrons of Bahrain are, it is true, the best in
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and there is a kind of small and luscious banana; but
the date palms are here of a dull green and have a poor and stunted
appearance, while the other fruits, whether almonds, apricots, figs, grapes,
limes, melons, peaches or pomegranates, fall below mediocrity. There are
some tamarinds, and the mango and mulberry are seen, but are rare.
R

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Content

This volume is Volume II of the Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , ’Omān and Central Arabia (Government of India: 1908) compiled by John Gordon Lorimer. The volume is a geographical dictionary with a series of alphabetically arranged articles relating to the physical and political conditions of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and its surrounding areas.

Pages i-iv are an 'Introduction' to the volume written by John Gordon Lorimer at Strathmartine, Dundee, on 24 December 1908. Details are given within the introduction concerning the content and arrangement of principal and subordinate articles and explanations of estimates of distance and time and other statistical information.

Lorimer's introduction identifies the principal articles as:

  • '’Omān Sultanate' (pages 1382-1425);
  • '’Omān (Trucial)' [ Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ] (pages 1425-1451);
  • 'Qatar' (pages 1505-1535);
  • 'Bahrain Principality' (pages 233-253);
  • 'Hasa Sanjāq' (pages 657-679);
  • 'Kuwait Principality' (pages 1058-1077);
  • 'Najd' (pages 1313-1351), supplemented by articles on 'Najd (Southern)' (pages 1351-1359), 'Qasīm' (pages 1485-1503) and 'Shammar (Jabal)' (pages 1732-1748);
  • '’Irāq (Turkish)' (pages 759-882);
  • '’Arabistān' (pages 115-151), suppplemented by articles on '’Arabistān (Northern)' (pages 151-157) and '’Arabistān (Southern)' (pages 157-165);
  • 'Persian Coast' (pages 1455-1468);
  • 'Makrān (Coast of Persian)' (pages 1130-1155).

All articles have a similar form. The English and Arabic place or tribe name appears in the right or left margin, followed by the text of the article split into sub-sections and with topographical information arranged in tables. Arabic words are given in the text next to their equivalent transliterated into Latin script, with the transliteration system employed appearing in 'Appendix S' in Volume I, Part II (IOR/L/PS/20/C91/2, pages 2737-2741).

Topics of information contained within the articles include: boundaries and sub-divisions; physical character and main features (for example, mountains and rivers); climate and seasons; natural products (vegetable, animal and mineral); agriculture and crops; livestock, including transport animals; inhabitants, with reference to racial and tribal distinctions, religious differences, mode of life, character, language, customs, dress and arms, and estimates of populations; trade (internal and external), with notice to currency, weights and measures, shipping, manufactures and industries, and miscellaneous occupations; communications by land and water, with descriptions of routes and estimates of transport; administration and government, especially police, justice, military resources, taxation and finance, and political constitution; and, international position and foreign interests, especially British and their representation in the country. Lorimer refers readers to the Appendices of Volume I, Part II (IOR/L/PS/20/C91/2, pages 2205-2741) for fuller details concerning: meteorology, health, date cultivation, transport animals and livestock, religions and sects, trade, sailing vessels, fisheries, pearl fisheries, and postal and telegraphic communications.

There are fifty-six folios lacking page numbers that contain illustrations. The images are labelled as follows:

  • 'Wādi Bani Habīb in Jabal Akhdar'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'A Creek near Basrah from the Shatt=al=’Arab'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Bridge of Boats, Baghdād'. Photographer: Major G Arbuthnot;
  • 'The Hanaini well, Bahrain Island'. Photographer: John Calcott Gaskin;
  • 'Ancient Tumuli, Bahrain Island'. Photographer: John Calcott Gaskin;
  • 'Village of Qatārah Baraimi Oasis'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'The ’Ashshār creek in Basrah Town'. Photographer: Mr Albert Charles Wratislaw;
  • 'The British Consulate. Basrah, from the Shatt=al=’Arab. (Consulate building on the right of picture)'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Parade of British and Persian troops at Rīshehr, 1905';
  • 'Part of the town of Būshehr';
  • 'The Sea Front, Būshehr Town';
  • 'The British Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , Būshehr';
  • 'Bridge at Buziyeh'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'The Fort [Qasr al-Ḥuṣn] of the Shaikh at Abu Dhabi'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'The Shaikh of Sharjah's Fort at Dhaid, Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. '. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Dizfūl Town'. Photographer: Major G Arbuthnot;
  • 'Dohah in Qatar'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'A Canal in the Fallāhiyeh District'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'A Creek at Fāo'. Photographer: Mr W D Cumming;
  • 'Muti at the head of Wādi Halfain'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Near the village of Qārah in the Hasa Oasis'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'The village of Qārah in the Hasa Oasis'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'Desert bewteen the Hasa Oasis and Qatar'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'The Imāmzādeh of Haidar Karār at the place of formation of the Hindiyān River'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'The Hindyān River near Zaidān'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'General View of Hofūf'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'The Na’āthil Quarter, Hofūf'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'Hormuz - View from the old Fort'. Photographer: Raja King Deen Dayal & Sons;
  • 'Crowd at Rās=al-Khaimah'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Rās=al-Khaimah, looking towards Ruūs=al=Jibāl'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Kumzār'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'The foreshore Kuwait, showing boat harbour'. Photographer: John Calcott Gaskin;
  • 'Camel riders of the Shaikh of Kuwait'. Photographer: Raja King Deen Dayal & Sons;
  • 'Lingeh';
  • 'The Tīs Valley in Persian Makrān'. Photographer: Mr R H New;
  • 'Country between the Bīr and Kair Rivers in Persian Makrān'. Photographer: Mr R H New;
  • 'Mouth of the Tīs valley looking seawards'. Photographer: Mr R H New;
  • 'The British Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , Manāmah, Bahrain'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'An Arab of the Manāsīr tribe'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'The Cemetery, Maqlab. (From A Photograph in the Possession of H Gabler, Esq, I E T D)';
  • 'Eastern end of Masqat Town, British Consulate on the left, Sultan's palace on the right'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'West end of Masqat Town from Sultan's Palace. & Fort Mīrāni'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Centre and Western end of Masqat Town with part of the Harbour'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'View of Wādi Mi’aidin from Sharaijah'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'River Scene Muhammareh'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Two Views of Muhammareh Town'. Photographer: John Calcott Gaskin;
  • 'Persian Battery at Muhammareh'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'View at Haz’=Dhabi, Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. '. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • '’Oqair Port'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;
  • 'Salt Rocks on Qishm Island near Namakdān'. Photographer: Raja King Deen Dayal & Sons;
  • 'The "Earl Canning" lying in Elphinstone inlet, Ruus=al=Jibal 1868. [Head of Inlet.] From A Photograph in the Possession of H Gabler, Esq, I E T D)';
  • ' Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Samail near Hisn Samail'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Eastern Face of Jabal=ash=Sham';
  • 'The port of Sur'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'Bilād=as=Sur'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;
  • 'The Fort of Wakrah, Qatar'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox.
Extent and format
1 volume (1952 pages)
Arrangement

Following the title pages and 'Introduction', entries are arranged in alphabetical order from '’Abādilah' to 'Zubair Town'.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence 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 folio with text, on number 1034. It should be noted that f. 192 is followed by f. 192A.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol. II. Geographical and Statistical. J G Lorimer. 1908' [‎241] (268/2084), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C91/4, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023515712.0x000045> [accessed 20 January 2025]

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