!['Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [‎273] (282/748)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000298/IOR_L_PS_20_E84_1_0282.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [‎273] (282/748)")
'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [273] (282/748)
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
DISTRICTS
273
the industry of its inhabitants. It is divided into an upper town
('Alayah) and a lower town (Sifalah) by the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Kalbu, the former
lying up-stream on the E. bank ; it is also traversed by the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
el-Abyadh, which joins
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Kalbu near the market-place. The
water-supply of the upper town depends on a stream known as
Daris, that of the lower town on one called Ghunduq. The houses
are of stone, many two storeys high, but the streets are narrow.
Though the city is unwalled, it contains a number of walled quarters,
the houses being intermingled with date-palms, fruit orchards, and
gardens; date-groves succeed one another continuously as far as
Eaddah, five miles down the
wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
.
The great fortress of Nizwa, in the upper town, is reputed the
strongest in Oman, though it does not occupy an elevated position
and is hemmed in on all sides by dwelling-houses. It consists of
a large quadrangular enclosure, the at one angle of which is
the citadel, known as the Qal'ah, a huge circular tower of solid
masonry without window or loophole, on which are mounted several
parapet guns. The walls are immensely thick and well preserved,
the whole construction resting on a solid base which rises to a con
siderable height above the level of the plain. The bazaar, which
is near the fort, is well supplied. The traders include coppersmiths,
braziers, dyers, makers of camel-saddles, potters, silversmiths,
cobblers, cameleen-weavers, carpenters, makers of (the
national sweetmeat which is largely exported and for which Nizwa
is famous), blacksmiths, sugar and treacle-makers, masons, mat-
weavers, &c. The most noteworthy part of the bazaar is the
copper-market; the metal is imported in bars and sheets from
Bombay, and the finished copper and brass work is distributed
throughout Oman.
The dominant tribes in the population are the Beni Riyam and
the Beni Hina, who are mutually jealous and distrustful. The Beni
Riyam occupy the upper town, and their position enables them to
cut off the water-supply from the lower town, the strongest quarter
of which is occupied by the Beni Hina. Of the other tribes repre
sented the A1 Bu Sa'id is the most numerous. Nizwa is normally
in the possession of the Sultan of Oman, who maintains a Vali in
the fort with a garrison of 30 men commanded by an l Aqld. About
13,000 is collected annually as Z but no balance is remitted
to Muscat. The Sultan owns date-groves, of an annual value
of $2,000, which are assigned to the Vali towards the expenses of
administration.
6. Farq, a large village on the 1. bank of the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Kalbu, 3 miles
below Nizwa, in the continuous belt of date-groves. It consists of
ARABIA I o
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [273] (282/748), 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_100037114036.0x000053> [accessed 18 January 2025]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100037114036.0x000053
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100037114036.0x000053">'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [‎273] (282/748)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100037114036.0x000053"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000298/IOR_L_PS_20_E84_1_0282.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000298/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
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