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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎253] (262/568)

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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. .

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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
im
'"-v ...yf
253
Diarbekr to Jezlret-ibn-'Omar, or 20-15 miles shorter than by the
route via Nisibin.]
Nisibin—Mosul (170-180 miles).
On the direct route from Nisibin to Mosul Demir Kapu Khan
(about 130 miles) see above, p. 262, B II (ii).
There is a caravan-route from Nisibin to Mosul Jezlret-ibn-
'Omar (bridge over Tigris), Zakho (bridge over Khabur), and the
Zakho Pass across the Jebel Abyadh to Mosul (170 miles). It is not
passable for wheels throughout.
Another route goes by Feishkhabur (ferry over Tigris) and joins
the Zakho—Mosul road at Simel (total distance about 145 miles).
This is passable for wheels between Nisibin and Feishkhabur.
(2) River-route.
About 335 miles. Downstream traffic only. Rafts are said
to take 4-20 days.
(iii) Mosul—Baghdad.
On the direct route by the right bank of the Tigris (about 240
miles) see above, p. 252, B II (a) (iii)-(iv).
Route via Erbil, Altun Koprti, Kirkuk, and Kufri (about 295 miles).
Passable for wheels. Before the war wheeled vehicles had to be
ferried across the Zabs. The Turks have now a temporary bridge
on the Great Zab, and apparently another on the Lesser Zab. The
stone bridge over the latter river at Altun Kopru is impracticable for
vehicles.
From this route branch roads leading to the Kurdish highlands
and across the Persian frontier. See pp. 274-5 below.

(c) Aleppo—Mosul via Deir ez-Zor, Tel es-Sawwar (or Shedadi),
Ain el-Ghazal (or Beled Sinjar), and Tel Afar. About 400 miles.
The route by Tel es-Sawwar and 'Ain el-Ghazal is passable for light
wheeled vehicles. The Aleppo—Baghdad road is followed down the
Euphrates valley to Deir ez-Zor, where there is a stone bridge across
the river, believed to have been completed since the war. There are
ferries across the Khabur at Tel es-Sawwar and Shedadi. Water is
scarce in summer on the steppe between the Euphrates and Tigris.
[Damascus—Mosul via Deir ez-Zor, about 600 miles. Compare
B 1 (b) above.]
C. Feom the Direction op Anatolia Peninsula that forms most of modern-day Turkey. and Armenia
The ranges of the Taurus here form a barrier across which there
are at present only a few routes of any importance.

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
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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎253] (262/568), 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_100023472674.0x00003f> [accessed 9 June 2026]

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