!['Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎236] (245/568)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_2_0245.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎236] (245/568)")
'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [236] (245/568)
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.
236 CUREENCY, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
coinage had been reduced to insignificance in the occupied area in
southern Irak, though Persian coins had still a small circulation in
bazaars.
The English equivalents of Indian coins are as follows ;
1 Pie . . . . = i Farthing.
3 Pie = 1 Pice
4 Pice = 1 Anna
16 Annas = 1 Rupee
15
Rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
3
Id.
Id.
1 5. 4:^,
£1.
Maria Theresa dollars [riyals, worth about 1-| rupee) were imported
from Aden and Masqat for the purchase of camels in Arabia.
Exchange. —The rate of exchange for the was variable ; it
might fall as low as 105^ (£T105^ = <£100 sterling) in the date season,
and rise to 110 or higher in winter. The exchange also fluc
tuated (see further below, p. 237), but in their accounts merchants
used a fictitious hook-qran fixed at 344 to the The Baghdad
money market was controlled by sarafs (compare p. 206). The
money-changer's business was made very lucrative by the number of
different coinages in circulation. Merchants wishing to dispose of
their foreign money usually purchased drafts allowing coins to return
to the country of their origin, these drafts having a rate of their
own different from that of the coinages.
Mosul
Mosul has a piastre of its own, the valuation of which is as
follows:
40 Mosul paras = 1 Mosul
25-| Mosul piastres = 1
137^ Mosul piastres = 1
Arabistan
Currency. —The following Persian coins were current in Arabistan
before the war:
The siyahpul, a copper coin of variable value ; it has been known
to stand at ^and of the q at the same time in different
parts of Arabistan.
The shahi, nickel, -£ 0 of the qran.
The qamari, nickel, of the qran
The qran or hazar (at Shushtar and Dizful sometimes called
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' [236] (245/568), 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_100023472674.0x00002e> [accessed 22 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472674.0x00002e
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_100023472674.0x00002e">'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎236] (245/568)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023472674.0x00002e"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023043183.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_41_2_0245.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