![‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎17r] (38/722)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0002d7/Mss Eur F112_376_0040.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎17r] (38/722)")
‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [17r] (38/722)
The record is made up of 1 volume (384 folios). It was created in 1886-1895. 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
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Prom Knelian to the Atak there are two passes—-one by Aughaz, said
to be very easy, and the other by the Dawand pass, a line nearly as good as
that by Naudih, but attaining a greater elevation, and consequently more
liable to be closed in winter; that portion of it also lying across the high
plateau is much exposed.
From Kuchan east there are no passes that can be considered practicable
for wheel carriages, or that could be rendered so with any amount of labour at
short notice.
’With the Nardm or Naudih and the Gurgan pass held, a force march
ing eastward from the sea would be compelled to make a march of some days
northward from the Atrak through a waterless country to turn the Atak
chain, and thence to march 355 miles through a country producing barely
enough to support the present nomadic population to Ak-Darband, whence
the country south and east for a great distance is uninhabited, insufficiently
watered, and very rough. The detour would add most materially to the
distance to be traversed, and would double the difficulties of supplies and
communication.
The Alburz mountains are said to abound in mineral wealth, particularly
in coal, lead, and iron. Coal is found in two places within 30 miles of
Tehran, while the whole of the Alburz may be regarded as a tine fuel district.
A lecture by Colonel Lovett, c.s.t., at the Royal Geographical Society,
in January 1883, shows clearly what has been done in regard to the survey
of the Alburz, and what remains for future surveyoi's to accomplish.— [Todd,
Fraser, Chesney, Clerk, Napier, Lovett.)
ALDAN G — Lat. , Long. ; Elev.
A village in the Alghur division of the Ghain district of Khurasan.—-
{Bellew.)
A LEI LI.
A section of the Turkman tribe inhabiting a tract south of that below
the Akhals, and on the frontiers of Daraghaz and Kalat in Khurasan A
large settlement of them, consisting of some 800 dwellings, is north of the
river of Haji Mamed (Aliabad) and about Kahka. They have hitherto
paid tithes regulai’lv to the Persian Government, and looked to the author
ities at Kalat for protection against raids.— {Stephen.)
ALGHtTR, or ALKUR—Lat. , Long. ; Elev.
A town in the district of Kain, Khurasan, and the chief town of the
Alghur buluk or subdivision. It is said to contain 300 houses.— {Bellew.)
ALGHtFR, or ALKtlR— Lat. , Long. ; Elev.
A luluk or division in the district of Kain, Khurasan, situated north of
Birjand. It is said to contain upwards of 300 villages and hamlets and
farmsteads (mazra) scattered about in nooks and dells amongst the hills.
Arwi and Zarwi are amongst the largest of the villages. Bellew's report
gives the names of foi’ty of {Bellew.)
ALGHftR— Lat , Long. ; Elev.
A range of mountains in the district of Kam, Khurasan, having an ele
vation of some 12,000 feet above the sea. It lies above the village of Ghibk,
which is itself 8,600 feet above the sea. To the north of this it is called
che Saghi, and to the south the Saman Shahi range. The Alghur range
gives its name to one of the principal buiuks or divisions of the Kain
district.— {Bellew.)
About this item
- Content
This volume is Volume I of the four-volume Gazetteer of Persia (1886 edition). It was compiled for political and military reference by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Metcalfe MacGregor, Assistant Quarter Master General, in 1871, and brought up to 31 July 1885 by the Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General’s Department in India. It was printed by the Government Central Branch Press, Simla, India in 1886.
The areas of Persia [Iran] covered are Astarabad, Shahrud-Bustan, Khurasan [Khorāsān], and Sistan. The boundaries of the areas covered by Volume I are as follows: the Afghan border from the River Helmand to Sarakhs in the east; and from there a line north-west to Askhabad, due west to the Atrak, which it follows to the Caspian Sea; then along the sea coast to Ashurada Island; then in a straight line to Shahrud; and from the latter south-east to Tabas hill, Sihkuha, and the Helmand, from where the river first meets the south-east border of Sistan.
The gazetteer includes entries on human settlements and buildings (forts, hamlets, villages, towns, provinces, and districts); communications (passes, roads, bridges, canals, and halting places); tribes and religious sects; and physical features (rivers, streams, springs, wells, fords, valleys, mountains, hills, plains, and bays). Entries include information on history, geography, buildings, population, ethnography, resources, trade, agriculture, and climate.
Information sources are provided at the end of each gazetteer entry, in the form of an author or source’s surname, italicised and bracketed.
The volume includes the following illustrations: ‘VIEW OF AK-DARBAND.’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 12v]; ‘PLAN OF AK-KALA.’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 14]; ‘ROUGH SKETCH OF ASTARÁBÁD, FROM AN EYE-SKETCH BY LT.-COL. BERESFORD LOVETT, R. E., 1881.’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 24]; ‘ROUGH PLAN OF BASHRÚGAH’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 40v]; ‘ROUGH PLAN OF BÚJNÚRD’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 48]; and ‘BUJNURD, FROM THE S. W.’ [Mss Eur F112/376, f 49v].
It also includes the following inserted papers (folios 51 to 60): a memorandum from the Office of the Quartermaster General in India, Intelligence Branch to Lord Curzon, dated 6 December 1895, forwarding for his information ‘Corrections to Volume I of the Gazetteer of Persia’, consisting of articles on the Nishapur district of the province of Khorasan, and the Shelag river.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (384 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged as follows from the front to the rear: title page; preface; list of authorities consulted; and entries listed in alphabetical order.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 388, 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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‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [17r] (38/722), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/376, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100107690761.0x000027> [accessed 24 March 2025]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F112/376
- Title
- ‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’
- Pages
- front, back, head, tail, spine, edge, front-i, 2r:12r, 13r:13v, 15r:23v, 25r:40r, 41r:47v, 49r, 50r:195v, 196ar:196av, 196r:357v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence