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'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎680] (735/1050)

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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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680
HADHRAMAUT
C urrency^
The coins in use are :—
Copper. Ruba (quarter) Khumsiah = +0*005 florin.
„ Khumsiah — +0*02 „
Silver. Haraf = 8 Khumsiah.
„ Ouqiah — 2 Haraf.
„ Qirsh = 7 JOuqiah.
Gold. None.
There is also a coin, current in some districts, called Buqshah, worth i Khumsiah ;
and a copper coin, current only at Shehr, the Diwani, worth J Khumsiah.
The five-franc piece, in place of the Qirsh, is popularly current all over the Hadhramaut^
and the 10-cent pieces of the Dutch East Indies are largely in use.
Money has a high purchasing power in the Hadhramaut, or, what is the same thing,
everything of native production is incredibly cheap ; the only dear articles are horses and
arms. With the exception of that of the Jemadar of Shehr, there are no great fortunes
on the Hadhramaut; his resources may be placed at several millions of florins, invested
mostly, however, in India. The tribal " Lord " of Saiyun possesses a fortune of some
hundreds of thousands, mainly property in the country, and there are some few
individuals with fortunes nearing 100,000. Amongst the Beduins money is rare.
W eights and M easures.
The weights are as follows:—
Qaflah -}- 2J Grammes.
Oqiah = 10 Qaflah.
Rati — 12 Oqiah (16 Oqiah at Mukalla and Shehr).
Rafah = 12 Rati.
Farasilah == 2 Rafah.
Bahar = 12^ Farasilah.
Jabir = 2 Bahar.
The measures of length are :—
Shibr =4-16 Centimetres.
Dhir'aa = 3 Shibr.
Saqit = 5 Dhir'aa.
Farsakh = 80 Sagit.
Distances are reckoned by Khatwah (an hour's march, on the level, over ordinary
ground, of about 3J miles) and by Marhalah (a day's march of from 8 to 9 hours).
The measures of capacity are :—
Shatr — i litre.
Musra or Mudd = 2 Shatr.
Rab'ai = H Mudd {pi Musra).
Sa'a = 4 Rab'ai.
Qahawil = 2 Sa'a.
The Qahawil is not in use at Mukalla and Shehr, where another, the Mikyal=8 Qurs
or Musra {pi. of Mudd).
D omestic L ife and A ppliances.
The houses in the Hadhramaut are often well ventilated and comparatively clean.
A point that at first strikes the traveller is the form and character of the larger houses of
well-to-do townsmen. Often of several stories in height, they are mainly built of sun-dried
brick on a foundation of one or two stories of hewn stone, clay being used instead of
mortar. The upper stories are usually whitewashed on the exterior, and this gives the
towns a striking and bright appearance when seen from a distance. The house is usually
approached through a courtyard surrounded by a wall two yards or so in height. The
entrance door is often very solid and ornamented in arabesque or with iron nails or
polished brass, and usually carries a knocker. The door leads into a passage, with
cellars and storerooms to right and left, and conducts to a courtyard at the back around
which are the kitchen and other domestic offices and in the case of the larger houses a
private well.
The bulding narrows and the walls become thinner at each succeeding story ; there is
usually a balconi, at each floor, on the right and left, surrounded by a low wall of masonry

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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' [‎680] (735/1050), 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_100023909214.0x000088> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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