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'Military Report on S. W. Persia, Vol. III. Bakhtiāri Country North of Kārūn River' [‎12r] (28/144)

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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commenced the cutting, on which he is said to have employed from
40,000 to 100,000 men. His successor "Abbas II, tried the simul
taneous experiment of damming the river so as to raise its level, and
of mining the rock, under the direction of a French Engineer. Both
schemes were failures, and the cutting remains unfinished. The idea
was an ambitious one : the waters of the Karun at Shushtar would
not be appreciably diminished thereby, but it is probable that the
Zindeh Hud at Isfahan would not be materially increased, owing to
evaporation and the numerous minor demands en route, and the cost
of labour, at all events in these days, would be prohibitive ; tunnel
ling would be practicable under European direction, and no doubt
cheaper.
The Diz River. —To the north-west of the Kuh-i-Rang, as
already noticed,. the water system is at right angles to that in the
Bakhtiari country. The Ab-i-Diz consists of two main streams,
one flowing from near Burujird, and draining Silakhur, and called
in this report the Ab-i-Burujird, for want of any generally re
cognized name; the other called, for the same reason, the Ab-i-
BaznawT, taking its rise in the upper portion of Faraidan.
The Ab-i-Burujird passes through the Outer Range by the mag
nificent gorge named after the ruined fort of Bahrain, which
commands its mouth. The Ab-i-Baznawi, with its two main
tributaries, the Guvah and the Gaukun, also bursts by deep and
tortuous rifts "through the Cuter Range.
Lakes. —A notable feature of the Bakhtiari country is the pretty
lakes it contains. At its south-east end are two lakes close together
at an altitude of 8,000': the Siligun, really a double lake, divided
in the middle by a low mound, 30 feet above the water, is to the west,
and the Chighakhur Lake, 10 miles to the east. Their overflows
drain in exactly opposite directions, eventually finding their way
into the Karun. To the north-west at the inner foot of Shuturun
Kuh is Lake Irene, so named after the daughter of the discoverer,
Major H. A. Sawyer. It is 2J miles long and about 1 mile wide,
and very deep, lying in an almost deserted valley.
A small salt lake is found on the southern slope of the Zarda
Kuh not far from the Chari Pass.
Geology. —The mountain ranges of the Bakhtiari country are
for the most part of cretaceous limestone, with granite and igneous
outcrops here and there. In several places evidences of recent
volcanic action are visible. The valley in the centre of which lies
Lake Irene, below Shuturun Kuh, was found deserted by Major
Sawyer in 1889 on account of frequent earthquakes, the effects of
121.B. B

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' [‎12r] (28/144), 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_100038368349.0x00001d> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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