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'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎546] (577/1050)

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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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546
DHU-DIB
DHUWAIYAN (B ilad A l)—
See Dawasir (Widyan).
BHUWANNAIN—
A Bedouin camping-ground in Dhafrah, the westernmost part of 'Oman. Dhuwan-
nain constitutes the second halting-place on the route between Bandar Radaim and
Liwah. There is probably a well here.
DIAK ( Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. )—
Aden Protectorate.
BIBAH—
A coast village of the Ras-al-Khaimah District in Trucial 'Oman, situated 1 mile
south of Bai'ah on the western shore of a sandy bay which is 6 miles in breadth and
open from north-north-east to east ; it is connected by a route, which runs via the
Qaliddi pass, with Ras-al-Khaimah Town on the other side of the'Oman Promontory.
Dibah is the frontier village, in this part, of Sharjah ; Bai'ah, the next to the northi
divided from Dibah merely by a small Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. coming down to. the sea, belongs to the
Ruus-al-Jibal district of the Oman Sultanate, Bai'ah is ordinarily included under the
name " Dibah " ; but it is really distinct from Hisn-ad-Dibah or Dibah proper and
should not be confounded with it. Dibah is held as a fief by Rashid-bin-Ahmad, a first
cousin of the Shaikh of Sharjah ; he resides in the place and is described as Wali : the
neighbouring village of Wamm is subject to his administration, and he receives the
Zakat on dates from the village of Muhtarqah in Wadj-al-Qaliddi. The population of
Dibah may be about 1,000 souls: there are 100 houses of the peasant class called Bayadlr,
50 of the 'Awanat tribe, 15 of Naqbiym and 10 of Sharqiyln. To the south of the place
are extensive date plantations containing, it is estimated, about 10,000 palms. The
water is good and the wells about 4 fathoms deep. Livestock are 20 camels, 50 don
keys and 700 sheep and goats.— {Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .)
BIBAH (H isn-ad)—
See Dibah.
BIBAH (R as)—
A projecting point of cliffs of moderate height, with a small islet cables northward
of it, and a channel with from 2 to 3 fathoms between the islet and the shore. In the
bay, one mile to the westward, is a white patch on the cliffs. The bay is about six miles
wide, and the depths decrease gradually from 15 fathoms to the sandy beach. The
town and fort are about 5 miles westward of Ras Dibah.—( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Pilot, 1908.)
BIBAI TOWN—
The capital and only town of the principality of the same name : it is situated on the
coast of Trucial 'Oman, 7 miles south-west of the town of Sharjah and 79 miles north
east of the town of Abu Dhabi. At sea 20 miles to the west-south-west of Dibai
town is 'Alaiwi, the easternmost and nearest of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. pearl banks.
Dibai stands on both sides of a creek, with a shallow and difficult entrance, which ex
tends for some miles beyond the town in a south-easterly direction,' there is a small
quay for vessels able to go inside. The town consists of three main quarters r of these the
principal is Dairah, which stands on a tongue of land about 20 feet high on the north
east side of the creek between it and the sea, and has a date grove'a mile in extent
behind it. Dairah contains about 1,600 houses,—inhabited by Arabs, Persians,
Baluchis and others,—and the main bazaar of 350 shops. The other two quarters'
Shandaghah and Dibai proper, lie on the south-west side of the creek, Shandaghah being
the nearer to the sea. Shandaghah is the residence of the Shaikh of the Abu Dhabi
Principality and contains some 250 houses all occupied by Arabs ; Indians are not
allowed to establish themselves here. Dibai proper contains about 200 houses and 50
shops, also the principal mosque and some ruins said to be those of a Portuguese fort •
the Indians are all collected in this quarter. Ferry boats ply between Dairah and
Bibai proper, and on Fridays the crossing is free to inhabitants of Dairah who go to

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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' [‎546] (577/1050), 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_100023909213.0x0000b2> [accessed 13 June 2026]

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