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'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III.' [‎54v] (113/982)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (487 folios). It was created in 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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100
BAK—BAK
4
to the levels of the plains about Ramuz and Shhshtar, the winter and early
spring provide a climate very similar to that of the Riviera. During these
months the Khans and a large proportion of the tribesmen move their
tents and herds down to these pasture-lands, their qishldq or winter quarters,
to escape the rigours of the climate in the highlands. The Khans themselves,
with a large following, make their first camp at Malamir and later
move down to Ramuz and the plain of Ab-i-Bid, 18 miles north-west of
Shushtar. The climate during the summer months in these localities is
intolerably hot; the thermometer registering on occasions as much as
120° Fahrenheit and more in the shade.
The heat and the multitude and variety of biting insects make travel
ling and camp life painful in the summer in the lower part of the country.
In general terms their language may be said to be Persian, but
the Lurs, of whom the Bakhtiari are a sec
tion, have a dialect of their own. This is a
mixture of Persian and Arabic, which is easily conceivable, owing to the
considerable intermarriage with Arab women. Rawlinson says that their
language is from the old Farsi, which was coeval with, but distinct from,
the Pehlevi tongue in the time of the Sassanian Kings.
AH Bakhtiari are Lurs, but all Lurs are not Bakhtiari. Who the
•pi,, , j tt- .l Lurs are and whence they came is one of the un-
Ethnology nnd H,story. of ^ ^ ^
were described^by Rawlinson as “ an unknown and interesting people.”
They appear to belong to the same ethnical group as the Kurds, their neigh
bours to the north ; though they consider it an insult to be confounded
with them, and call them “ Leks.” Most writers agree that they are of
aboriginal, old Aryan, or Iranian stock, who preceded Arabs, Turks and
Tartars in the land ; and that they have lived for centuries in their present
habitat. The expression “ Lur ” is used by modern Persians as a synonym
for a rude or depradatory person, while the word Faili ” means a rebel.
From the earliest days we read of this mountain country as a wild and inac
cessible region, inhabited by uncouth and formidable tribes. They set at
nought the authority of the Mrdesand Persians : they defied Alexander and
provoked Antiochus. The invading Arabs found them a hard nut to crack.
Between the 12th and 14th centuries, however (1155 to 1424 A. D.), they
were ruled over, from Isfahan to Shushtar, by a powerful Mussulman dy
nasty, known as the Fasluiah, under the title of Atabegs. Various travel
lers of olden days have referred to them. In the 17th century, Chardin
speaks of them “ as having no settled abodes, but living in tents with their
flocks and herds, of which they have an infinite number. They are govern
ed by a Khan, who, chosen from among themselves, is set over them by the
King oi Persia : to whom they pay both tribute and tithes.” In 1722, when
the Afghans sacked Isfahan, we hear of the Bakhtiari opposing them with
12,000 horsemen, who were, however, easily defeated by the invaders.
Shortly after, the Turkish Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of Mosul, thinking to take advantage of
the prevailing disorder, invaded the Bakhtiari country : though successful
in this, he was not able to remain in it. Nadir Shah made the same ex
periment, but with no great success. He tried to transfer a portion of the
tribe to Khorasan, but they fought their way back again. An experiment,

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Content

The item is Volume III of the four-volume Gazetteer of Persia (1910 edition).

The volume comprises that portion of south-western Persia, which is bounded on the west by the Turco-Persian frontier; on the north and east by a line drawn through the towns of Khaniqin [Khanikin], Isfahan, Yazd, Kirman, and Bandar Abbas; and on the south by the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .

The gazetteer includes entries on villages, towns, administrative divisions, districts, provinces, tribes, halting-places, religious sects, mountains, hills, streams, rivers, springs, wells, dams, passes, islands and bays. The entries provide details of latitude, longitude, and elevation for some places, and information on history, communications, agriculture, produce, population, health, water supply, topography, climate, military intelligence, coastal features, ethnography, trade, economy, administration and political matters.

Information sources are provided at the end of each gazetteer entry, in the form of an author or source’s surname, italicised and bracketed.

The volume contains an index map, dated July 1909, on folio 488.

The volume also contains a glossary (folios 481-486).

Compiled in the Division of the Chief of the General Staff, Army Headquarters, India.

Printed at the Government Monotype Press, India.

Extent and format
1 volume (487 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 489; 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. Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III.' [‎54v] (113/982), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/2/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034842504.0x000072> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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