!['Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎233] (242/568)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_2_0242.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎233] (242/568)")
'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [233] (242/568)
The record is made up of 1 volume (282 folios). It was created in 1918. It was written in English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac. 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.
CHAPTER XIII
CUKRENCY, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Currency and Exchange
Baghdad and Basra
Turkish Currency.— Before the war the Turkish coinage in Irak
was not enough for the needs of the country and had to be supple
mented by foreign coins, chiefly Indian and Persian. Since 1914
the circulation of Turkish coins in the area occupied by the British
has become unimportant, the principal currency being the Indian
coinage and notes introduced by the Expeditionary Force. In April
1^17 it was reported that Turkish coinage had been practically
eliminated, Turkish lirahs circulating in bazaars, but not to any
great extent.
The Turkish lirah, or pound (<£T), has an intrinsic value of about
18s. 0|d, and before the war was ordinarily taken as approximately
equivalent to 185. The par of exchange was 110 per cent. f£TI10 =
£100 sterling).
In the calculation of sums of money the is resolved into
piastres. In Irak before the war there were several different
valuations of the piastre, which were used in different kinds of
transactions. There are no piastre coins, although, as will be seen,
two kinds of piastre practically have equivalents in the coinage
(see (c) and (/) below). The varieties of the piastre were as follows :
{a) The ' gold ' piastre, at 100 to the lirah. This was used for the
payment of taxes and other transactions with State departments.
(6) The mejidiyeh piastre, at 102-6 to the lirah. The Imperial
Ottoman Bank kept its accounts partly in the gold piastre, partly in
the mejidiyeh.
(c) The silver or sagh piastre (also called at 108 to the
lirah. This is the piastre commonly used by merchants in transac
tions, partly owing to its close correspondence with the silver coin
known as the qurshsagh (value about 2d.), partly for convenience of
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Naval Staff, Intelligence Department: November 1918). This is an updated and expanded edition of A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: August 1916) (IOR/L/MIL17/15/41/1). This is an introductory volume containing matter of a general nature giving an account of conditions in Mesopotamia, for the most part as they were before the First World War.
The volume includes a note on official use, a title page and 'Note'. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following chapters and sections:
- Chapter 1: Boundaries and Physical Features;
- Chapter 2: Climate;
- Chapter 3: Minerals;
- Chapter 4: Fauna and Flora;
- Chapter 5: Hygiene;
- Chapter 6: History;
- Chapter 7: Inhabitants;
- Chapter 8: Religions;
- Chapter 9: Administration;
- Chapter 10: Irrigation of Irak [Iraq];
- Chapter 11: Agriculture and Land Tenure;
- Chapter 12: Commerce and Industry;
- Chapter 13: Currency, Weights, and Measures;
- Chapter 14: Communications and Transport;
- Vocabularies;
- Index.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (282 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in numbered chapters. There is a contents page and an alphabetically arranged index.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; 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'. of the folio.
Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [233] (242/568), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023472674.0x00002b> [accessed 20 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472674.0x00002b
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472674.0x00002b">'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎233] (242/568)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472674.0x00002b"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_2_0242.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/2
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:556, 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