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'Collection of journals and reports received from Captain the Hon G C Napier, Bengal Staff Corps, on special duty in Persia, 1874' [‎15] (28/396)

The record is made up of 1 volume (194 folios). It was created in 1876. 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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15
any of the surrounding rocks. They have the appearance of
having been forced into their present position by volcanic action.
Beyond the gorge and near its mouth are the ruins of an old fort
built entirely of red sandstone on a low hill of the same rock.
Thence the valley widens and continues with varying width for
ten miles to Gur Sufeed, a grazing ground of a nomadic tribe
which winters in the plain of Semnoon. It is extensively culti- Hyats.
vated and affords rich pasturage. Every little glen had its camp
of black tents. Both men and women were well clothed, the
latter unveiled and wearing a good deal of jewellery in the shape
of strings of gold coins and beads. The tents were spread with
felts'and home-made carpets, and appeared clean and weather-proof.
Cattle, horses, and large flocks of sheep grazed on the marshy
pastures and on the hill slopes. The tribe pay no revenue, giving
only a small percentage of their young men to the Shah's army,
Sth July. To Khing, 20|- miles. —From Gur Sufeed the route
follows the valley to its head, and thence crossing a narrow low
ridge passes into the valley or plateau of Jash, so named from an
old domed tower said to have been built by a Guebre king. The jash I findsig
tower is octagonal, 20 feet high, and very massive. There were pifies granary
no carvings or inscriptions. From the Jash valley the road
leads across a rough hilly tract of country into the basin of a
small stream flowing from the east to a pass leading down to
Mazanderan, known as the Anaseran pass, and said to be very Anaserau.
rough and difficult; following the stream to its source a steep
ascent leads on to the plateau of Khing, an elevated tract sup
ported by a great spur, running out from the ^Nezwar peak of
Alburz into the plain near Semnan or Semnoon. Both the Jash
valley and the plateau of Anaseran are cultivated in parts, and
the wheat crops were fine; the whole area is however insignificant.
The enclosing hills showed nothing but soft rocks, sandstone
conglomerates, gravel and shale, but in the bed of the Khing
stream were many boulders and pebbles of granite, quartz, and
other older formations.
The plateau of Khing is a good specimen of the summer
quarters of the nomads, with an elevatiom of 9,400 feet and open
to every breeze, it has a perfect climate. The sun's rays even at
midday in summer were not too powerful. There is a perennial
spring of good water sufficient not only for countless flocks and
herds of cattle, but also to water several miles of rich pasture
winding through green uplands, which rise in easy undulations for
many miles on either side.
July 9th. To Roodhar, 13 miles. —Descending from the Khing
plateau, the track reduced to a mere foot-path, crosses the glen ot
Daz-garrah, which drains into the plains near Damghan. The level
bottom of the glen has a length of about one and a half miles, and
a breadth of half a mile, is well watered and cultivated. It ends
in a narrow defile with high precipices on either side, a perfect
natural fortress.
On an overhanging spur is a picturesque Imamzadah with a
group of weather-beaten cypress. Crossing a spur the route
b 2

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Content

The volume, marked 'Strictly Confidential', is Collection of journals and reports received from Captain the Hon. G C Napier, Bengal Staff Corps, on special duty in Persia. 1874. It was printed in London by George E Eyre and William Spottiswoode, printers to Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1876.

The volume contains ten documents written by George Campbell Napier, and compiled by the Political and Secret Department of the 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. . The documents included are as follows:

1. Report of the proceedings in regard to the Khaff [Khvāf] raid (folios 5-9);

2. Diary kept during tour in Khorassan [Razavi Khorasan] (folios 10-59);

3. Observations on the topography of the Eastern Alburz tract, with notices on a few places of interest on the Persian Border (folios 60-80);

4. Memorandum on the condition and external relations of the Turkoman tribes of Merve [Mary] (folios 80-92);

5. Reports on events in Herat and Turkistan. Diary for March 1875 (folios 92-97);

6. Report on the present situation in Seistan [Sīstān] in relation to late arbitration (folios 97-103);

7. Report on the Perso-Afghan border (folios 103-125);

8. Notes on the political condition of the population of Eastern Khorassan (folios 125-132);

9. Notes on the condition of the districts, chiefships, and tribes of the north-eastern frontier of Persia (folios 133-172);

10. Memorandum on the relations of Russia and Persia with the Turkoman tribes of the Attrek Frontier (folios 172-178).

At the back of the volume (folio 194) is a fold-out map of the northern frontier of Khorassan, with parts of Irak [Iraq] and Mazandaran [Māzandarān].

On the inside front cover and title page are hand-written notes, each reading 'Turkish Dept'.

Extent and format
1 volume (194 folios)
Arrangement

The documents in the volume are arranged chronologically.

There is a table of contents (folio 3v) that refers to the page number.

At the back of the volume (folios 179-192) is an index, arranged alphabetically and referring to page numbers.

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 on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. ).

Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Collection of journals and reports received from Captain the Hon G C Napier, Bengal Staff Corps, on special duty in Persia, 1874' [‎15] (28/396), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/228, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023939590.0x00001d> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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