![‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎130r] (264/722)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0002d7/Mss Eur F112_376_0270.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎130r] (264/722)")
‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [130r] (264/722)
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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The Kalat A.tak, which, together with that of Daraghaz, was known in
Kalat Atak. former days as “ Kbawaran,^ was a very ancient cen
tre of population, and, to judge from local accounts
of the extent of the ruins still visible, a very important one. It has been
for centuries the battleground of Persians, Kurds, and Turkumans, and is
still held by Persia—but feebly and timidly, and rather through the for
bearance of her enemies than by force.
The circumstance of its present occupation is, however, a most important
one, and might have been turned to good account by Persia; for her position
there with her tenure of Sarakhs gave her constructive possession of the
valley of the Tajand—a tract said to have the finest capabilities—and
carried her border line nearly halfway to the oasis of Marv.*
The present settlements on the Atak occupy the same sites on the course
Population of Atak. o£ the strearas flowing from the Kalat range as the
ancient towns.
The villages now or very lately occupied are—
1. Khivabad, Gulingan
2. Tirmachi
3. ArcMnscan
On the Ab-i-Layun, which joins the Ahivard
stream. They were, till lately, occupied by Turku
mans under Kalat. A raid by the rival Khan
of Daraghaz drove them off. They are averse to
return ; though cultivation continues.
. On the Ab-i-Archingan ; occupied by settlers
from Persia.
4. Afardeh, or Ahivard
On an eastern bank of the same stream ; also
lately occupied by Turkumans.
5. Chardih, Dushakh
6. Mihna
7. Kara Chacha, Mupak
8. Karatigan
On the Ab-i-Kalat ; occupied by Turkumans.
. On the Ab-i-Mihna, or Ab-i-Sar Kud as it is
also called ; occupied by Turkumans.
On the Ab-i-Khur ; occupied by Turkumans.
Within the hill skirt, on the Ab-i-Mihna ;
occupied by Persian settlers.
9. Chacha ... Above Kara Chacha, on the same stream and
within the hill skirt. One hundred families have
been lately deported from Mashhad and settled
there.
Tbe total population of these villages amounts to 300 houses, or about
1,500 souls. It consists of families of various tribes taken from Kalat and
Mashhad, with some families of Tekke Turkumans, induced to settle there
by the Khan of Kalat.
The land is fertile and yields a good return; and the supply of water is,
of course, far in excess of present requirements.
Rice and wheat are the only crops now raised ; but
the soil and climate are said to be admirably suited to the growth of cotton
and of the mulberry for sericulture. The only manufactures of the district
are some striped silks and cotton plaids. The conditions of life are much
the same as in the Atak of Daraghaz; and the new settlers from Mashhad
* The cession of old Sarakhs to Eussia, and the fact that tbe Marv oasis is under Eussian
control, alter the circumstances.
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.
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- 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’ [130r] (264/722), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/376, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100107690762.0x000041> [accessed 31 January 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