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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. II. 1917' [373] (382/542)
The record is made up of 1 volume (269 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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AHWAZ-NAZIRI—AMAKA
373
war was connected with Amara by a boat-bridge. There was also
apparently a boat-bridge across the mouth of the Jehaleh Canal N. of
the town. Along the whole river frontage (about ^ m. in length)
runs an embankment or wharf faced with brick. The northern
quarter is the older and extends the whole way between the Tigris
and the Jehaleh. Here is a fine building which belonged to the
Dd'irat es-Samyeh, and here also were the Turkish barracks, the prin
cipal Government offices, and a large covered bazaar. In the
southern quarter are 27 well-built houses of recent date facing the
river; 15 of them were built by the es-Sami/eh, and the rest
by local sheikhs.
Climate and Hygiene. —In summer the heat is very great, but
dry, and the nights are comparatively cool.
Amara has the reputation of being the most healthy town in
Irak after Baghdad. In the surrounding country cases of leprosy
are said to be rather numerous.
Supplies and Commerce. —Wheat, barley, maize, rice, and sesame
are brought here from the surrounding country ; fruit and nuts can
be obtained in the town. Before the war there was a considerable
export of cattle to Syria and also to Basra. rice, and barley
were sent to Baghdad and Basra, the greater part of the being
shipped on to Bombay and the
Levant
A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
ports, and a considerable
quantity of the barley to Europe. Amara wool was also exported,
and is said to be of good quality. Skins and hides were sent to
Baghdad. The manufactures of the town are Arab cloaks, Kurdish
rugs, and Sabian silver ware. There are perhaps 150 or more shops
in Amara. The currency employed before the present war was
mainly Persian silver qrans.
Inhabitants. —The bulk of the population are town Arabs, but
there are large numbers of Lurs from Pusht-i-Kuh who work as
porters, and Arabs who appear to live a semi-nomad life in huts on
the edge of the city. The larger shopkeepers and merchants are
nearly all Persians and Jews. There is a colony of Sabian silver
smiths who live in a quarter of the town near the junction of the
Musharreh and Jehaleh canals, and a fair number of Christians, who
appear to be for the most part artisans and scavengers.
Administration and Authorities. —Amara under the Turkish
regime was the head-quarters of a Sunjaq of the same name in the
Vilayet of Basra. The town was administered by theMutessarif of
the Sanjaq, under whom was a municipal council. The garrison
usually consisted of one infantry battalion, one squadr on of cavalry,
and three or four field-guns. The had a head
office here, and there were Mamurs of the Customs, Public Debt, and
\
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume II, Irak, The Lower Kārūn, and Luristan (Admiralty War Staff Intelligence Division, May, 1917), covering the regions of the Shatt el-‘Arab [Shaṭṭ al-‘Arab], Kārūn, Luristan, and the Tigris and Euphrates up to Baghdad and Fellūjeh [Fallūjah]. 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.
The volume includes a note on confidentiality, a title page, 'Note', 'Abbreviations'. There is a 'Contents' which include the following sections:
- Introduction;
- River Routes (Shatt el-‘Arab, The Kārūn, The Tigris, The Euphrates, The Shatt el-Hai);
- Land Routes (The Region of the Shatt el-‘Arab, The Tigris Valley, The Region of the Lower Kārūn River of Luristan, The Euphrates Valley, Connexions between the Tigris and Euphrates Valley, The Arabian Desert);
- Railways;
- Gazetteer of Towns;
- Bibliographical Note and List of Maps;
- Transliteration of Names;
- Glossary;
- Appendices (A: Notes on Weather on the Tigris, B: The Control of the Tigris Water, C: The Control of the Euphrates Water, D: Oil-Fields of the Mesopotamia and Persian Frontier, E: Note on Mules);
- Index;
- Plates;
- Maps.
The volume includes eight plates that illustrate the volume. There are also three maps:
- 'Baghdad';
- 'City Map of Baghdad';
- 'Mesopotamia: Outline Map Showing Routes'.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (269 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged accourding to numbered routes. There is a table of contents at the front of the volume and an alphabetical index at the back. There is also a list of plates and two maps are house in a pocket and one is a foldout.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; 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 the folio.
Pagination: The volume also contains 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/17/15/41/3
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. II. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:374, 374a:374b, 375:530, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence