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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [274] (283/748)
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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274
THE SULTANATE OF OMAN
about 150 houses, mainly of the Beni 'Auf and 'Abriyin tribes.
Much wheat and indigo are grown.
7. Birkat el-M6z, a large village about 6 miles W. of Izki, on the
northern edge of the plain of Oman Proper, at the point where
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Mi'aidin emerges from Jebel Akhdhar ; population about 1,400, of
which some 1,250 belong to the Beni Riyam, who occupy the chief
of its three quarters. There are extensive date-groves, and plantains
(to which the place owes its name) are numerous. Irrigation is by
felej. To the W. of the village is a watch-tower on a conical hill,
commanding the water-supply. Beyond it is a fort, known as the
Beit Rudeidah, and consisting of a rectangular enclosure with an
upper storey and towers at the corners; it was formerly held by
a relative of the Sultan of Oman, but at present is in the hands of
the Beni Biyam.
8. Muti, a large village on the right bank of
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Halfein, 4 miles
above Izki; elevation 2,300 ft. It consists of about 300 houses,
and is occupied by the Beni Riyam ; it possesses numerous date-
groves.
9. Izki (or Zikki), an important town on both banks of the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Halfein, about 12 miles below its head ; elevation, 2,150 ft.; popu
lation about 4,000. The quarter on the 1. bank contains some 450
houses of the Beni Riyam. The right bank is higher, and here is
the walled quarter of the Beni Ruwahah, with a compact and
massive fort, having walls 5 ft. thick, and standing on a cliff 200 ft.
above the bed of the
wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
. The opposite quarters are constantly
at feud, the one being Ghafiri, the other Hinawi in politics. The
bed of the
wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
is here broad, and contains extensive palm-groves
and other cultivation, especially on the left bank, which is low and
fertile. Irrigation is from springs, which are among the most
copious in Oman. Outside the settlement are several hamlets and
watch-towers.
The fort of Izki is of great strategic importance, for it dominates
the main artery of traffic between the coast and the interior by way
of the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Sema'il. In normal times it is held by the Sultan of
Oman, who maintains a Vali there with a garrison of 20 men;
$1,600 is collected annually as Za but the whole is absorbed in
the expenses of local administration.
10. Falaj el-'Awamir, a group of villages in the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Halfein
or in its neighbourhood, below Izki, all occupied by the Awamir
tribe. The two largest are Qal'at el-'Awamir, containing about
70 houses and a fort, and Hameidhah, a village of some 50 mud
houses and huts.
11. Manah, an important town, about 12 miles SSE. of Nizwa
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' [274] (283/748), 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_100037114036.0x000054> [accessed 9 March 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