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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [280] (289/748)
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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280
THE SULTANATE OF OMAN
inhabitants believe that their own cultivation and their flocks and
herds would suffice for their subsistence if outside intercourse were
cut off ; but, as there are no local manufactures, a blockade of the
coast would certainly reduce them to great straits for clothing
The plain of Dhofar could be crossed with field-guns, but the track
along the coast, which connects the plain with the Murbat anchors^
would be difficult for artillery. g '
The principal settlements are on the coast, and are the following
arranged in order from E. to W. :
1. Murbat, a village of about 150 huts and houses, some of stone
on the shore about a mile to the N. of Has Murbat, which affords
a perfectly sheltered anchorage from the NE. monsoon; depth of
water from 6 to 7 fathoms at less than half a mile off shore. The
water-supply is from wells in the bed of
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Murbat, which comes
down to the sea 1 mile to the NW. of the village. The Vali of
Dhofar maintains a garrison here of 20 askaris, but the real ruler
of Murbat is the sheikh.
2. Dahariz, a village of about 100 houses of mud and stone,
inhabited by fishermen and cultivators, 4 miles E. of Hafah ; on the
W. side are cotton-fields and a grove of coco-nut palms.
3. Hafah, a village of about 150 houses of mud and stone, with
coco-nut plantations, about 2 miles E. of Salalah.
4. El-Hisn, the principal fort in Dhofar, about 100 yards from
the beach, half a mile W. of Hafah. It covers an acre of ground
and contains a substantial three-storeyed building ; the entrance
is on the E. side.
5. Salalah, the capital of Dhofar, half a mile inland, and about 6
miles from the W. end of the Dhofar plain. It consists of two
divisions, a quarter of a mile apart. The eastern division contains
about 150 houses, some with upper storeys, and a large mosque;
the western division consists of about 100 houses. All the houses
are of stone, and to the N. of each division is a cemetery sur
rounded by a low wall. The population belongs to the Al Kethir
tribe, and a few traders from Shihr reside here during the
summer months ; there is a garrison of 20 askaris. Cotton and
wheat are cultivated, as well as tobacco, sugar-cane, melons, and
a few fig-trees.
6. Risut, at the western extremity of the Dhofar plain, consists
of a mud-built bazaar of from 15 to 20 shops, which are permanently
occupied by traders ; and a guard of 10 or 15 askaris is always
posted here. In the trading season, between March and September,
the number of shops is increased to 40 or 50. There is a spring of
fresh water a mile and a half up a ravine behind the settlement.
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' [280] (289/748), 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_100037114036.0x00005a> [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