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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎66v] (141/799)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (391 folios). It was created in 1908-1910. 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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encampment of Pishder Kurds. This tribe are said to own 300 villages in the
neighbourhood of Kala-Dize, which was reached on the following day.
117. Kala-Dize (Hamadie). —Though the centre of a kaza, is a wretched little
place, but the district appears to be very fertile, and its produce (liquorice, cotton, &c.)
will become very important when the province is developed. A means of export i
ready to hand at all seasons by raft on the Lesser Zab. In the house where I stayed
were lying some slabs of walnut, indicating the existence of very big trees not far off.
I did not happen to pass them.
118. Kaimakam, of Bania Merchant of Indian extraction. . —From Kala-Dize the journey was continued to Eania
(about four hours), in the company of the newly-appointed kaimakam, wLo was making
his official entry. He seems a capital fellow, very intelligent and well-informed, and
entirely free from the humbug and delusions which are common to his class. He is a
Leaz from Trebizond, age probably not more than 30 ; had been exiled to Rhodes under
the old regime. He is the only official met in the course of this tour in any way
deserving of mention.
11 9. DerbendPass. —The Kala-Dize and Rania plains are separated by a formidable
ridge which is pierced by, and only by, the Derbend Pass, through which the Lesser
Zab flows from one to the other. It is a striking “ defile half a-mile long and 300 yards
wide, with steep rocky sides. In places the road is rock-hewn, and on the cliff is a
cuneiform inscription ” (Murray). The importance of this pass to the traffic between
Irak and Persia is obvious.
120 . Bania Merchant of Indian extraction. Plain. —The Rania Plain, which is fairly level, well watered, and
extremely fertile, is about 25 miles long by 12 miles wide, and would appear to be an
ideal place for the cultivation of cotton. The proximity of cheap river transport must
not be overlooked.
121 . Bilbas Kurds. —Rania was left on the 6th September, and after a brief visit
to Mohamed Agha, chief of the Bilbas Kurds (who was found holding his court in a
huge bower of branches on the edge of a cliff overhanging the River Gomaya, a
picturesque figure surrounded by a score of servants all profusely armed), the journey
was continued to Keui-Sanjak, which is eight and a-half hours going from Rania.
122 . Keui-Sanjak has a population of 15,000 Moslems and Jews and a few
Christians. The bazaar was unspeakably filthy, but seemed to be well stocked from
Mosul, Bagdad, and Tabreez. Goods from the last-named place are mostly Russian, and
include cheap crockery, cotton, prints, &c., but this is as far westward as Russian trade
has yet penetrated. I was the guest of the kaimakam.
123. Altun Keupru. —From Keui-Sanjak to Altun Keupru was two rather dreary
and uneventful stages via Ilinjakh, Badespi, Hur-hur, and Hashka. Altun-Keupru is
a little town of 600 houses on an island in the Lesser Zab. There is nothing
remarkable about it except its, bridge, which was built in the time of Sultan Murad,
with a central arch some 60 feet high. The mudir with whom I was staying has a
curious residence over the bridge gateway with balconies overhanging the river. The
place is important from its position on the high road between Mosul, Kerkuk, and Bagdad,
and as the starting-place for the Zab “ Keleks ” which go from here direct to Bagdad.
It was noticed that no less than fourteen were loading up on the 10th September, which
seemed a large number for the season.
124. Erbil (ten hours from Altun Keupru) was reached on the 11th September).
The present town takes its name from Arbela, where Alexander defeated Darius,
though the actual battle-field appear to have been to the north-west beyond the great
Zab. The following paragraph is taken from Murray :—
“ Erbil, the seat of a kaimakam, a military post, and an important road centre.
Most of the town is built on an artificial mound which rises 100 feet above the plain,
and is crowned by the ruins of a castle. The outer houses are so built as to form a
continuous line of defence, and the streets within are narrow, winding, and dirty. Water
is supplied by a kariz, or underground channel. The population includes a Jewish
community, but there are no Christians.”
125. From Erbil the journey was continued via Ain-Kawa (a large Christian
village, formerly Nestorian, now Chaldean) to Efraz (where the Great Zas was crossed
by ferry), and thence to Berderesh, which is the centre of a nahie, and the most
important place in the rich Ashair-i-Sabao plain. Most of the villages hereabouts seem
to be “ owned by Mosul notables on the system described in paragraph 90. Products
chiefly : barley, wheat, rice, cotton, sesame.
126. Acra. —The centre of an important kaza. The approach to the town is
remarkable—a succession of undulating earth-scraps and then a gorge, narrow at first,

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, maps and notes, relating to negotiations over the proposed Berlin to Baghdad Railway in the period 1903-1907.

The discussion in the volume relates to the economic, commercial, political and military considerations impinging on British strategy for the international negotiations over the development of a railway to Baghdad in particular.

Further discussion surrounds the motivations and strategies of British competitors in the area; included in the volume are four maps.

The principal correspondents in the volume include the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Lord Lansdowne, Sir Edward Grey), His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople (Sir Nicholas O'Connor), the Under Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Charles Hardinge, Sir Thomas Henry Sanderson), and for India (Earl Percy, Sir Arthur Godley), the Viceroy of India (Lord Curzon of Keddleston), the Secretary to 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. (Sir Richmond Richie) and the London Manager of the Imperial Bank of Persia (George Newell).

Extent and format
1 volume (391 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 2764 (Bagdad Railway) consists of five volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/56-60. The volumes are divided into five parts with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 392; 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 329-358; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front cover.

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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎66v] (141/799), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/57, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026492731.0x00008e> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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