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‘Military report on Persia Volume I 1930’ [22r] (48/154)
The record is made up of 1 volume (73 folios). It was created in 1920-1931. 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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
The political importance of the city is enhanced by the
fact that it is one of the most important of the holy cities
of the Shiah Muhammadans.
Thousands of Shiah pilgrims visit this shrine every year
from Central Asia, Afghanistan, India, and various parts
of Persia, During the spring, summer, and early autumn
there are usually about 10,000 of them in Meshed, but in
the winter, when climatic conditions make transport diffi
cult the town is practically deserted by pilgrims.
Large numbers of students of Muhammadan theology
undergo their preliminary training in Meshed before pro
ceeding to join one of the numerous religious institutions in
Iraq. Meshed has a considerable trade with Russia, India,
Afghanistan, and Asia Minor, and acts as the distributing
centre for the Province. Its chief industries are carpet
making, shawl and silk weaving, and stone working.
The carpet industry is growing very rapidly and
Meshed has now become one of the chief centres of the
carpet trade in Persia.
To the north, east, south-east, and south of the town
a belt of walled vineyards and fruit gardens extends out
wards from a half to one mile from the walls.
To the north-east there is a fertile plain which varies
from 10 to 15 miles in width, which is dotted with many
villages surrounded by cultivation.
To the South-west the mountain wall approaches to
rather less than two miles from the city, the intervening
apace being sandy, little cultivated and much intersected
by qanats (underground water channels).
From the south to the south-east of the city lie low
rocky hills at distances varying from 5 to 15 miles.
In the surrounding districts most of the villages are
protected by mud walls with circular projecting towers.
Such walls are generally in a broken down and dilapidated
state, and would provide but poor protection against rifle
fire. Some villages to the north are protected by high
raised mounds which are supposed to be the sites of Atish-
kadehs (Fire Worshippers’ temples), many of which have
strong cells or chambers which would serve as casemates.
Such posts, improved, and combined with an outer line of
defence would provide formidable obstacle to a force with
only light guns.
About this item
- Content
Military report on the Khurasan [Khurāsān] and Seistan [Sīstān] regions of Persia [Iran], with maps and illustrations. Produced by the General Staff, India, and published in Calcutta [Kolkata] by the Government of India Press, 1931. Marked for official use only.
The report includes chapters on:
- a history of Khurasan and Seistan
- the geography of Khurasan and Seistan (mountains, rivers, deserts, an alphabetical listing of towns) and climate (including assessments of the health risks associated with both regions)
- population (religion, tribes)
- resources (including crops, grazing, fuel, transport, and a note on horses and mules in Khurasan)
- armed forces (including a description of the Eastern Division of the Persian military, an Order of Battle, organisation, armaments, equipment, clothing, rations, training)
- aviation (detailing the organisation, personnel, equipment, aerodromes, etc., of the Persian Air Force)
- administration (municipal, police, justice, department of public instruction, revenue, roads and communications, census, post and telegraphs, sanitation)
- communications (railways, roads, types of motor transport in use, principal routes used by travellers from Meshed [Mashad] to Russian territory, telegraphs, telephones, wireless)
An appendix includes a veterinary note on conditions in Khurasan and Seistan. The volume also includes four colour plates illustrating different badges associated with Persian army and police officers, and a number of maps and diagrammatic maps.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (73 folios)
- Arrangement
A contents page at the front of the volume (f 6) and index at the rear (ff 64-66) both reference the volume’s original printed pagination.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 75; 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 each folio.
Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Military report on Persia Volume I 1930’ [22r] (48/154), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/7, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040937079.0x000031> [accessed 15 January 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/7
- Title
- ‘Military report on Persia Volume I 1930’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:3v, 5r:61v, 64r:67v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence