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'Military Report on S. W. Persia, Vol. III. Bakhtiāri Country North of Kārūn River' [‎11v] (27/144)

The record is made up of 1 volume (68 folios). It was created in 1909-1910. 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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—I—" 1 '' ' '
8
The next tributary of importance is that flowing through the
Tang-i-Darkash Warkash, 4 miles above Ardal: its components
drain an area of 2,500 square miles, and are the mainstay and cause
of the fertility of the Chehar Mahal.
At the northern exit of the short valley which the Darkash
Warkash stream has carved out across the main valley of Kaj,is a
village known as Behishtabad, on account of its sheltered position
and fertility.
Of the smaller tributaries, two deserve special notice ; one
joins the Kurang just above Dopulun in the middle of the Tang-i-
Ardal, a long winding gorge 1,000' to 2,000' deep by which the
main stream has cut a way for itself through the Inner Bange. It
is called the Dinaran, or the Ab-i-Gurab, as it rises in a beautiful
valley of the latter name at an elevation of 7,000'. This stream
flows first as a sluggish English meadow brook through a valley,
which, in early spring, is one bed of flowers and grass ; and leaving it
through a small Tang, flows at the foot of the lofty Kuh-i-Gerrah in
a deep impassable ravine, copiously increased by many springs and
torrents. There are indications that, many centuries ago, the
mountain-locked and well-watered valley of the Ab-i-Gurab must
have been as favourite a haunt for savage man as it is to-day. On
the other side of Kuh-i-Isbiana the Ab-i-Charl, the outflow of many
rock-springs, runs its brief course into the Kurang north-west of
Ardal, through a wooded valley, almost every flat square yard of
which shows signs of ancient cultivation. Along its right bank is
one of the most ancient high-roads of the world.
The Zindeh Rud .—The head-waters of the Zindeh Hud are con
tained between the Outer and Inner Ranges on the south-east slopes
of the Kuh-i-Rang. Not only from this mountain, but also from
several minor valleys, such as the Zarin, Dimeh and Qurban, large
gushing streams contribute their generous quota to the river,
which rushes through the Tang-i-Gazi into the plains of Faraidan
and Isfahan. The waters are all sweet, but the head-water basin
is called “ Surah,” for in its very centre is a large salt spring, yielding,
by evaporation, a plentiful supply of salt which is collected and sold.
The Kdrhunun works .—Separating the bed of the Kurang from
the Surab Valley, is a long low spur of the Kuh-i-Rang, known as
the Karkunun. Shah Tahmasp in the 16th century appears to have
initiated the work of cutting this spur in order to divert the head
waters of the Kurang into the Zindeh Rud. He began to tunnel but
was repelled by noxious vapours. There is, however, no trace of
a tunnel now. ’Abbas the Great, abandoning the tunnel scheme.

About this item

Content

It consists of a military report on S W Persia, specifically Bakhtiāri Country North of Kārūn River, created for the personal information of the officers of the Army in India. Compiled in the Division of the Chief of the Staff, Army Head Quarters, India by Lieutenant A T Wilson, 32nd Sikh Pioneers. Printed at the Government Monotype Press, Simla, 1910.

It includes a preface by Wilfrid Malleson, Assistant Quarter Master General, Intelligence Branch.

It is divided into the following sections:

  • geographical – boundaries, mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, and geology;
  • general – Bakhtiāri levies, bridge constructions, and revenue;
  • tribal – history, organisation, numbers, customs, land ownership, and taxation;
  • communications – via various routes, condition of tracks, and construction of a cart road;
  • climate;
  • strategical - possibility of collision with Russia and intervention by Great Britain, comparison of routes, recommendations, and composition of force;
  • routes – broken down into stages and incorporating comments on the road, climate, transport, fuel, supplies, water, grazing, and physical obstacles;
  • appendices – including documents relating to the Ahwāz-Isfahān road, tables of tribal sub-divisions and strength of the Haft Lang and the Chehār Lang, and biographical notices of certain Bakhtiāri Khāns by David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer, British Consul, Ahwāz [Ahvāz].

Also includes five maps:

  • folio 65: 'SKELETON MAP OF BAKHTIĀRI COUNTRY Showing routes and chief rivers';
  • folio 66: 'SECTION FROM 'ALWĀNĪYEH ('ARABISTĀN) TO KHARĀJĪ THE LYNCH ROAD, ROUTE NO. I. AHWĀZ TO ISFAHĀN';
  • folio 67: 'ISFAHĀN—DEH KURD—'ALĪ KŪH—CHARĪ—BĀZUFT—CHILAU' and 'ISFAHĀN—URŪJĀN—ARDAL—GURĀB—BĀZUFT—CHILAU';
  • folio 68: 'FARAIDAN—TANG-I-GAZĪ—GIL-I-SHĀH—BĀZUFT—CHILAU' and 'FARAIDAN—TANG-I-GAZĪ—PAMBAKĀL—BĀZUFT—CHILAU';
  • folio 69: 'BURBARŪD—KALEH HUMA—MAKHADĪ—BĀZNAWĪ—PUL-I-SHĪRAK—PUL-I-KUL—DIZFŪL' and 'FARAIDAN—TANG-I-GAZĪ—GALA GĀO—PĪR SAIYID—BĀZNAWĪ—PUL-I-KUL—DIZFŪL'.
Extent and format
1 volume (68 folios)
Arrangement

The item consists of a single report with five accompanying maps enclosed in a pocket on the inside back cover. A contents page at the front of the volume (f 4) and index at the rear (ff 61-63) both reference the volume’s original printed pagination.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 70; 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 file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Military Report on S. W. Persia, Vol. III. Bakhtiāri Country North of Kārūn River' [‎11v] (27/144), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/10/3, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038368349.0x00001c> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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