!['Mesopotamia' [‎31v] (62/152)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000198/IOR_L_PS_20_C190_0062.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Mesopotamia' [‎31v] (62/152)")
The record is made up of 1 volume (76 folios). It was created in Feb 1919. 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.
52
EOONOMTG CONDITIONS
not more than 15 ft. can get up as far as Kurna. 1
Native craft used on the Shatt el-Arab are mostly
b?IIavis, long, narrow boats which can be sailed, rowed,
or, as is more usual, punted or towed, and which can
carry a load of 50 tons.. The only places of importance
on the Shatt el-Arab are the Persian port of Muham-
mera, at the junction of the Karun River with the
Shatt el-Arab; Basra,the seaport of Mesopotamia; and
Nahr Umar, which is on the right bank. 20 miles above
Basra, and has heen developed as a port since the
British military occupation.
7 he Tigris, from the point of view of navigation,
can most conveniently be considered in two sections:
first, the section between Kurna and Baghdad, which
is at present the upper limit of steam navigation;
secondly, that between Baghdad and Mosul.
The distance from Kurna to Baghdad, following
the general direction of the river, is under 300 miles;
but the frequent bends make the distance by water
about 448 miles. Owing to the river's winding course,
the silt deposited during the season of flood forms
banks which, when the water is low, constitute a great
hindrance to navigation.
In high-water season, steamers of not more than
5 ft. draught can navigate the Tigris from Kurna to
Baghdad; and the difficulties of navigation are mainly
those caused by the swiftness of the current, which,
according to some authorities, reaches 6 miles per hour
at the height of the flood. At low water, vessels
drawing more than 3 ft. cannot navigate the section
between Ezra s Tomb and Kale Sale, where the
river has been much damaged as a waterway by native
cultivators, who have thrown out brushwood groynes
in order to assist irrigation or to reclaim the land,
and have done other damage by cutting irrigation
channels at the concave sides of the bends. Sir
William Willcocks, who was called in to advise the
' For the terms of the agreernent of 1P1B, under which the
navigation of the river was to be surveyed by a special Com-
mission, see above, p. 31.
About this item
- Content
This volume is a confidential handbook on Mesopotamia prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office, dated February 1919. There is a table of contents which includes the following chapters:
- I: 'Geography Physical and Political', including 'Position and Frontiers', 'Surface, Coast and River Systems', 'Climate', 'Sanitary Conditions', 'Race and Language' and 'Population';
- II: 'Political History', including 'Chronological Summary', 'Introduction', 'Early period of Turkish Occupation, 1638-1834', 'Later period of Turkish Occupation, 1834-1914', and 'Commercial Developments';
- III: 'Social and Political Conditions', including 'Religious', 'Political', 'Public Education' and 'General Observations';
- IV: 'Economic Conditions', including 'Means of Communication', 'Industry', 'Commerce', 'Finance' and 'General Remarks'.
There is also an appendix which includes tables of 'Exports to Principal Countries from Baghdad', 'Imports from Principal Countries to Baghdad', 'Principal Exports from Basra' and 'Principal Imports to Basra'. This is followed by a section entitled 'Authorities' which is a bibliography of references used for the preparation of the volume. This section is divided into 'Historical' (including 'Confidential Sources'), 'Economic' ('Official' and 'General') and 'Maps'. There is a pocket at the back of the volume to house maps, but there are no maps present.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (76 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Pagination: The volume contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the 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.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Mesopotamia' [31v] (62/152), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C190, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023514036.0x00003f> [accessed 24 July 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023514036.0x00003f
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_100023514036.0x00003f">'Mesopotamia' [‎31v] (62/152)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023514036.0x00003f"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000198/IOR_L_PS_20_C190_0062.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_100000000884.0x000198/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/C190
- Title
- 'Mesopotamia'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:75v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence