![‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎32r] (68/722)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0002d7/Mss Eur F112_376_0072.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎32r] (68/722)")
‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [32r] (68/722)
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
of Great Ashurada, a wooden pier lias been constructed, alongside which
small crafts and cutters can lie with ease.
On the Ghaz shore there are no landing places at all; and communication
with this part of the coast is therefore unfavourable, both from the sticky
mud of which the bottom is composed, and from the shelving nature of the
shore, which does not permit of even small craft approaching it closely.
bishing in the Astarabad Bay, as well as in all other Persian waters,
is farmed out to Armenians. The most common fish are the white dolphin
and sturgeon of two species.
It is possible to coast along the whole of the southern shore of the
Caspian, hugging the land the whole way. From the light ship the course
is west and by south for 4)6 miles, the depth being from 20 to 40 feet. The
village of Farakhabad can be recognized by a tower of defence situated on
the shore. From Farakhabad to Mashhad-i-Sar, course S. W. 75°,* distance
22^ miles, depth of water from 50 to 55 feet; from Mashhad-i-Sar
to the Chapkal roadstead, course N. W. 75°, distance 124 miles.
From Safid Rud to Enzeli the course is along the shore N. W. 82°, dis
tance 36 miles; the depth rapidly increases in proportion to distance from the
shore. From Enzeli to Astara, course N. W. 25°, distance 63 miles. From
Enzeli to the^western extremity of Nargm the course is N. W. 7 W , distance
170 miles. Following the same course, and passing the Baku group of
islands, a greater or less depth of water will indicate any deviation of the
course to east or west. Above the latitude of the Kura rocks the remarkable
depth of 18 fathoms is met with with a rocky bottom, which shows a slight
deviation of the course to the west. If this deviation should be considerable,
the abovementioned deep water will be left to the.east, and then it will be
necessary to be on the look-out for the Kura bank and St. Ignatius. In case
of doubt, or when encountering strong easterly winds, it is best to make for
the Kura rock, and, having determined its position, continue the course
according to circumstances. From Enzeli to Apsheron the course is N. W. 15°,
and the distance to the latitude of the Shakhof sandspitis 171 miles. Off the
island of Los the depth of water in the course is about 35 fathoms, and, as
the Shahkof sandspit is approached, the depth gradually decreases to 9 or 10
fathoms. From the Ashurada light ship to Astara the course is N. W.
704°, and the distance 268 miles ; to the Kura rock, N. W. 61 distance
254 miles ; to the north-west bank, N. W. 57|°, distance 263 miles, leaving
the Kura bank 5 miles to the north, and passing its meridian in a depth of
about 25 fathoms, from which spot to the north-east bank is 12 miles. If
the depth on the meridian of the Kura bank should be less than the above,
it indicates either that the course has deviated to the north or that the ship
is near the shore. As, however, the sea between the Kura bank and the Kura
rock is quite free from any danger from hidden rocks, it is best to keep
some few degrees lower so as to pass near the Kura rock; and, when the
shore is seen, to change the course as much as may be necessary to the north.
The course from the Ashurada light ship to Baku is N. W. 44°, and the
distance to the island of Nargin, directly on which the course lies, is 27 8
miles. The bank of Makarof, 9 feet high, is left 4| miles to the west. As
soon as a ship passes the latitude of this bank, the Baku towns of Ushi and
Apsheron are sighted, on which the course can always be directed. The
course to Apsheron is N. W. 41°, and the distance to the sandspit of
Shahkof about 260 miles.
Lastly, if it is desired to go from the Ashurada light ship to the eastern
side of the napthian rocks, a course N. W. 36° must be held. As the
latitude of these rocks is approached, it is necessary to cast the lead and to
* Russian compass measurement, which is taken from the first point given in the directioa
•f the second: thus, S. W. 75° means 75° measured from south towards west.
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’ [32r] (68/722), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/376, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100107690761.0x000045> [accessed 31 January 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- 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