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'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎498] (529/1050)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (523 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. .

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498
DHABI
fort of the Shaikh at a little distance inland behind the town; not far from it, on tlie
outskirts of the town proper, is the separate bazaar of the Indian traders. The anchor
age* for large vessels is totally unsheltered and lies more than two miles off the shore.
At the back of the town are some stunted date trees and water is obtained from wells 5
35 years ago most of the drinking water of the place used to be fetched from Dibai, but
recently potable water has become obtainable in the vicinity of the town, especially
at a place 3 or 4 miles from it; pits are dug in which the water collects at 4 to 6 feet
below the ground level. Immediately to the south of the town is the large shallot
lagoon of Khor-al-Batin, and to the east a creek connected with it, both of which are
described in the article on the Abu Dhabi Principality,
The population of the town may be about 6,000 souls, about J Bani Yas and the rest
other tribes. The Bani Yas sections are A1 Bu Falah, 40 persons; Qubaisat, 380 j
Maharibah, 300; A1 Bu Falasah, 200; Qumzan, 250; A1 Bu Hamir, 300 j Rumaithat, 500 J
Mazarl, 300; and Hawamil, 500. The other tribes are Al Bu Mahair, 500; Sudan^
375 ; Marar, 200 ; Thamairat, 120 ; Al Bin Nasir, 120 ; Al Bu 'Amim, 120 ; Khamarah
(said to be originally from Khamirin Persia), 375 ; Halalamah, 75 ,* Dahailafc, 200; and
Baharinah, 120. To these must be added a Persian community of about 500 persons
and 65 Hindus.
The inhabitants of Abu Dhabi live almost entirely by pearl diving and fishing or in
a few cases by petty trade ; they have no ordinary cultivation and Very few dates. Par
ticulars of shipping are given in the article on Abu Dhabi Principality, About 750
camels belong to the place, and there are 85 horses ; but of the horses all except 5 belong
to the Shaikh and his family. Trade with the interior is insignificant, being only with
the Baraimi Oasis and with the Bani Yas and Manaslr tribes. There are over 70 shops
of all sorts in the Abu Dhabi bazaar ; 40 are kept by Persians, 19 by Hindus and 10 by
Arabs. Pearls are the sole export. The Hindus import cloth, rice, coffee and sugar
besides dealing in pearls.
British interests are represented here by the Hindu trading community, all from Tattal
in Sind, the majority have their families with them, and most of them take leave to India
at intervals of about a year. In the pearl season the number of Hindus is about
doubled. No Muhammadan Indians do business at this place.— {Gazetteer of the Per
sian Gulf.)
Abu Dhabi (Latitude 24° 29' N., Longitude 54° 21' E.), standing at the
western extreme of the country of 'Oman, is the principal town of the great Bani Yas
tribe, and is under an independent Shaikh, who claims the sovereignty over the coast
westward to Khor al-'Odaid. His authority is nominally recognised also by the Bedou
in of these parts. The Bani Yas are a fine lot of men, and the Shaikh is very friendly to
the British. They wear their hair long over the shoulders, twisted up in plaits. Abu
Dhabi was formerly the chief centre of piracy in these waters.
The fort is small, with six towers close together, on one of which is the flagstaff. A
small tower stands on the beach where there are also several conspicuous stone build
ings, one of which is on the low north-western sandy point of the town ; the rest of the
town, extending nearly 2 miles along the shore, is date mat huts. It has about 20,000
inhabitants, with some Banyans amongst them, and it sends 600 boats to the pear,
fishery. After the pearl season the fishing boats are to be found at every island, creek
&c., between Abu Dhabi and Khor-al-'Odaid.
There are a few stunted date trees, about a mile inland of the town.
The Coast is very low white sand, the only landmarks being the fort and Jabal Fataisa,
a low hill in an island in the backwater, 6 miles southward of the fort. This hill, frofl 1
seaward, first appears of a dark colour, but on approach the white sand of the
I lower part becomes visible.
Reef. —A reef, 1| cables broad, extends 3J cables west-south-westward from about
1J cables north-westward of the north-western sandy point of the town; it has from 3
feet to one fathom water and a bank, with from 1| to 3 fathoms water, extends Ij miles
northward and north-westward. The channel between the reef and the shore has
a least depth of 2 fathoms.
Anchorage. —Large vessels anchor in from 4 to 5 fathoms water, with Abu Thabi fori'
bearing 122° true, distant about 2 to 2J miles ; this position is open to seaward.

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Content

Volume I of III of the Gazetteer of Arabia. The Gazetteer is alphabetically-arranged and this volume contains entries A through to J.

The Gazetteer is an alphabetically-arranged compendium of the tribes, clans and geographical features (including towns, villages, lakes, mountains and wells) of Arabia that is contained within three seperate bound volumes. The entries range from short descriptions of one or two sentences to longer entries of several pages for places such as Iraq and Yemen.

A brief introduction states that the gazetteer was originally intended to deal with the whole of Arabia, "south of a line drawn from the head of the Gulf of 'Aqabah, through Ma'an, to Abu Kamal on the Euphrates, and to include Baghdad and Basrah Wilayats" and notes that before the gazetteer could be completed its publication was postponed and that therefore the three volumes that now form this file simply contain "as much of the MSS. [manuscript] as was ready at the time". It further notes that the contents have not been checked.

Extent and format
1 volume (523 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: This volume's foliation system is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎498] (529/1050), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/16/2/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023909213.0x000082> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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