Skip to item: of 144
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'Military Report on S. W. Persia, Vol. III. Bakhtiāri Country North of Kārūn River' [‎13r] (30/144)

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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

CHAPTER II.
General.
Bakhtidri Levies .—The proposal to raise levies among the
Bakhtiari, under the guise of road guards, or otherwise, to be train
ed by British officers under arrangements with the Khans, at
the expense of the Indian Government, has been frequently mooted,
and is mentioned with approval in Cuizon's “ Persia and the Persian
Question/' Major Sawyer in his report also mentions it with qualified
approval. It appears that it was thought possible that such troops
would be valuable auxiliaries in their own country in conjunction
with British troops operating against a Russian force. Even this
is questionable, and, outside their own country, they would prob
ably be of little use. Experience shows that Major Sawyer's hopes
have not been fulfilled. Further acquaintance with Europeans bas
not improved the manners of the Bakhtiari. He is a past master
in the art of boasting: his wild looks, his tales of valour, his reck
less rifle practice, his ostentatiously fierce demeanour when no
danger is expected, all mark the swashbuckler, and conceal an
intelligent appreciation of the probabilities and risks involved by a
recourse to arms, and a determination to save his own skin, even
at the expense of his personal or tribal honour.
The Bakhtiari in time of danger, as the present writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. has
observed, is a very difierent man from the Bakhtiari when danger
has passed. Tribal fights are not as a rule sanguinary, and even
when the Khans,rafter exhausting all the arts of bluff and cajolery,
are at last compelled to undertake operations against their more
warlike neighbours, such as the Kuhgalu, or Dirakwand, they find
it difficult to assemble more than 2,000 or 3,000 men, though ten
times that number are invariably reported, and by many believed,
to have been present. Anything of the nature of a pitched battle
is of the rarest occurrence," and the toll of killed and wounded is
small indeed, and generally includes women and children killed
by indiscriminate night-firing into camps.
The Bakhtiari shows all the unwillingness to come to close
quarters, and to fight without a line of retreat safely open to him,
which is typical of most Asiatics, and particularly of Arabs,
He is devoid of the spirit of self-sacrifice, and tribal sentiment
does not seem to be strong, though much talked of: generally
( 11 )

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
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

'Military Report on S. W. Persia, Vol. III. Bakhtiāri Country North of Kārūn River' [‎13r] (30/144), 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_100038368349.0x00001f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100038368349.0x00001f">'Military Report on S. W. Persia, Vol. III. Bakhtiāri Country North of Kārūn River' [&lrm;13r] (30/144)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100038368349.0x00001f">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100025472978.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_10_3_0030.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100025472978.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image