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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [40] (49/432)
The record is made up of 1 volume (214 folios). It was created in 1917. 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.
40
EIVEK ROUTES
Lesser and Great Zabs, see Route III F, and this route under
m, 150^.
Navigation. —Native sailing-craft do not usually go above Samarra,
the current being too strong in h.w. In Lw. they could reach
Tekrit by carrying half-cargoes. Practically all the river-traffic in
this stretch is down-stream, and is carried on by means of the
large rafts known as Jceleks (see vol. i, p. 166). Times taken by
these rafts vary greatly according to the condition of the river,
the wind, &c. A raft in May (h.w.) 1910 descended the river from
Mosul to Samarra in about 30 hours' travelling (exclusive of stops).
At the end of August (l.w.) the journey has taken 70 hours' travelling
(exclusive of stops). The numerous rapids, rocks, and islands make
night-travelling dangerous, at least when there is no moon.
In the l.w. season it might perhaps be possible for steamers of
3 ft. draught to navigate the river as far as the Hamrln Hills. A
German archaeologist at Qal'ah Sherghat said in 1910 that he had
found a place below Qal'ah Sherghat where in the low season there,
was not more than half a metre (about 19 in.) of water anywhere
in the river. This may have been due to shingle ledges forming
rapids (see e, g. under m. 63).
Native raftmen asserted in 1910 that at each of the fords across
the Tigris in this section there is always a part in which the water
is breast high.
Steamers could probably go considerably higher than the Hamrln
Hills in a full river, except perhaps at the highest of the flood, when
the current at rapids might be too strong for them. In 1839 one of
Chesney's steamers, the Euphrates (3 ft. draught), ascended the river
as far as Sultan Abdallah (m. 144).
Motor-launches could probably be used throughout this section
even in low water.
The navigation of the river is apparently subject to fairly frequent
modification, as the main volume of the water may shift from one
channel to another, and shingle ledges may be altered as the result
of the annual floods.
The rocks are the most serious danger to navigation, and rafts are
not infrequently wrecked in the descent of the river. The rapids
formed by shingle ledges are generally easy in the h.w. season. For
rocks, see m. 19|, 201, 2If, 24i, 69^ 97, 98, 131^, 149, 150, 152|.
For rapids, see m. 47, 63, 66, 76f, 92-|, 110-|, 149^, 154^, 159^.
See also m. 162|.
Fords and Perries. —For fords see under m. 5^ 21f, 36, 87, 88
113^, 165. These fords, which are passable in l.w. only, have pebbly
bottoms.
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume III, Central Mesopotamia with Sourthern Kurdistan and the Syrian Desert (Admiralty War Staff Intelligence Division, January, 1917), covering the Tigris and Euphrates from Baghdad and Fellūjeh [Fallujah] to Mosul and Meskeneh [Maskanah], the Lesser Zāb, the country east of the Tigris towards the Persian frontier, and the routes running westward from the Euphrates valley across the Syrian Desert. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and War Office, and appears to be based on official and unofficial publications and maps which are cited in a bibliographical section in the volume. This volume was supplemented with corrections and additions in June 1918 (see IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/5).
The volume includes a note on confidentiality, a title page, 'Note', 'Abbreviations'. There is a page of 'Contents' which includes the following sections:
- Introduction;
- River Routes (The Tigris and the Lesser Zāb, The Euphrates);
- Land Routes (The Tigris Valley with Region to East, The Euphrates Valley, Connexions between Tigris and Euphrates Valleys, The Syrian Desert);
- Gazetteer of Towns;
- Bibliographical Note;
- Transliteration of Names;
- Glossary;
- Appendix;
- Index;
- 'Sketch Map of Routes', which includes 'City Map of Baghdad' (f. 212) and 'Mesopotamia: Outline Map Showing Routes, Volume III' contained in a pocket.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (214 folios)
- Arrangement
This volume is arranged according to numbered routes. There is a page of contents and an alphabetical index. There are two maps housed in a pocket.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 (except for the front cover, where the folio number is located on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. ).
Pagination: The volume also has an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/4
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:422, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence