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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [174] (183/748)
The record is made up of 1 volume (371 folios). It was created in 1916. 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. .
Transcription
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174
YEMEN
4. Zebid, the ancient capital of the lowlands, now the residence
of a Kaimmakam and a centre of Turkish administration, has
always been, and still is, one of the most considerable towns of
Yemen. The population was given by Manzoni, in 1880, as 15,000;
Bury (1913), however, computed it at 8,000, and this latter figure
probably gives the more correct estimate at the present moment.
The town, quadrilateral in form, is surrounded by strong walls,
restored in recent times and in good condition. There are four
gates : on the north, the Bab esh-Sham leading to Beit el-Faqih;
on the east, the Bab esh-Shabariq, to Hais and Ta izz ; on the
south-west, the Bab en-Nahl; and on the south, the Bab el-
Qurtab. Zebid is still famous for its university and Sunnite
college which is housed in the Great Mosque, and there are three
other large mosques, besides a number of smaller ones. The bazaar
is characterized by Manzoni as ' the finest in Yemen', and is well
stocked with local produce of vegetables and fruit, besides imported
supplies. Outside the walls are the Beshi fort and barracks for
a considerable Turkish garrison. The town is on the Hodeidah-
Beit el-Faqih-Mocha telegraph line.
In the extensive tract of
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Zebid cotton and indigo are
cultivated as special products, but not to the same extent as
formerly; and the weaving and dyeing industries, for which at one
time Zebid was famous, have been largely transferred to Hodeidah
(see p. 157). The turbulent Zaranik, who occupy the district to
north, with the head-quarters of their chief at 9 miles
distant, much disturb the town's communications.
5. Beit el-Faqih, an ancient seat of learning, lies some 30 miles
east by south of Hodeidah. The population is about 5,000, but
was greater formerly when the town was the centre of the coffee
trade. It is garrisoned normally by a battalion, stationed there
to overawe the Zaranik tribesmen, whose incursions have ruined
the town's trade. Like Zebid, it was formerly also a centre of the
cotton and indigo production and of the weaving and dyeing
industries. (There is another town of the same name, distinguished
as el-Keblr ; it is about equidistant from Hodeidah on the north,
on the Loheia road.)
6. Hals, about 20 miles south-east of Zebid, lies at the junction
of two main roads, to Ta'izz and to Ibb, on the telegraph line
from Hodeidah to Mocha ; it is a small garrisoned town, much
decayed.
7. Sheikh Sa'id, important only as a telegraph station, is
situated on the extreme south-westerly point of Arabia, on the
Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, opposite the island of Perim, with which
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Arabia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: May, 1916) and contains geographical and political information of a general character concerning the Arabian Peninsula. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and War Office, from sources, including native information obtained for the purpose of compiling the volume, since the outbreak of the First World War. Separate chapters are devoted to each of the districts or provinces of the Arabian Peninsula and include information on the physical character, as well as social and political surveys.
The volume includes a note on official use, title page, and a 'Note' on the compilation of the volume. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following sections:
- Chapter 1: Physical Survey;
- Chapter 2: Social Survey;
- Chapter 3: The Bedouin Tribes: A. Northern Tribes, B. Tribes of the Central West, C. Tribes of the Central South, D. Tribes of the Central East, Supplement: Non-Bedouin Nomads;
- Chapter 4: Hejaz;
- Chapter 5: Asir;
- Chapter 6: Yemen;
- Chapter 7: Aden and Hadhramaut: A. Aden and the Interior, B. Hadhramaut;
- Chapter 8: Oman: A. The sultanate of Oman, B. Independent Oman;
- Chapter 9: The Gulf Coast: A. The Sultanate of Koweit [Kuwait], B. Hasa, C. Bahrain, D. El-Qatar, E. Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ;
- Chapter 10: Nejd;
- Chapter 11: Jebel Shammar;
- Chapter 12: The Northern Nefūd and Dahanah Belts;
- Chapter 13: Settled Tribes of the North-West;
- Chapter 14: Settled Tribes of the West;
- Chapter 15: Settled Tribes of the South;
- Chapter 16: Settled Tribes of the Centre;
- Appendix: Note of Topographical and Common Terms;
- Index;
- Plates.
The front of the volume includes a 'List of Maps' and a 'Note on the Spelling of Proper Names'. Maps contained in this volume are:
- Map 1: Arabia: Districts and Towns;
- Map 2: Orographical Features of Arabia;
- Map 3: Land Surface Features of Arabia;
- Map 4: Tribal Map of Arabia.
The volume also contains fifteen plates of photographs and sketches by Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Douglas Carruthers, Captain Gerard Leachman, Dr Julius Euting, George Wyman Bury, and Samuel Barrett Miles.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (371 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in chapters. There is a contents page, list of maps, alphabetical index, and list of plates.
- Physical characteristics
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 front cover, on number 1, and ends on the last of various maps which are inserted at the back of the volume, on number 371.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [174] (183/748), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E84/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037114035.0x0000b8> [accessed 3 January 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E84/1
- Title
- 'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:381, 384:726, ii-r:ii-v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence