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‘Military report on Persia Volume I 1930’ [30r] (64/154)
The record is made up of 1 volume (73 folios). It was created in 1920-1931. 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.
47
Chapter ni.
POPULATION.
KhuRasan.
The population of Khurasan is about 3,000,000.
I
'Religion.
(a) Muhammadan —(i) Sunnis and Shiahs.*—The majority
of the population of Persia are Shiahs, though the Kurds
and Turkomans, who form about oiie fifth of the population }
are Sunnis. In Khurasan itself the only parts inhabited
by Sunnis are the Bakharz and Bujnurd districts. Ih
Bakharz, Sunni-Hazai'as Under their chief Saulat-us-
Saltaneh, who is of pro-Russian tendencies, are to he found,
while in the Bujnurd area the Turkomans and Kurds are
Sunnis.
The two factions—Sunnis and Shiahs* though harbour*-
ing a certain amount of latent antipathy towards each other,
unlike those of Afghanistan, live peacefully together and
do not show signs of open enmity.
(ii) The Babis (now known as the “ Bahais ”) are a sect
of comparatively recent origin whose founder (known as the
Bab) was Mirza Ali Muhammad, a young Saiyid of Shiraz*
who was born about 1820. He began to preach at Bushire
as a religious revivalist against the laxity and corruption
of the orthodox Shiah clergy. His fame spread rapidly,
and as he was considered a danger to the orthodox faith,
Was arrested at Shiraz, in 1845 and remained in captivity
during the greater part of his brief career (1844—1850).
His disciples, however, carried on active propaganda
throughout Persia which resulted in a series of revolts
against the Government. These revolts were ruthlessly put
down and the Bab was 'executed.
In 1852 a last attempt against the Government was made
by three Babis to assassinate Nasir-ud-Din Shah and this
led to a fierce outbreak of persecution.
In 1866 Mirza Husain Ali, entitled Baha Ullah, declared
himself to be the Bab’s successor and was recognised as
such by the majority of the Babis whose number had con
siderably increased. He died in 1892. He was succeeded
by his son Abdul Baha who died in 1921.
About this item
- Content
Military report on the Khurasan [Khurāsān] and Seistan [Sīstān] regions of Persia [Iran], with maps and illustrations. Produced by the General Staff, India, and published in Calcutta [Kolkata] by the Government of India Press, 1931. Marked for official use only.
The report includes chapters on:
- a history of Khurasan and Seistan
- the geography of Khurasan and Seistan (mountains, rivers, deserts, an alphabetical listing of towns) and climate (including assessments of the health risks associated with both regions)
- population (religion, tribes)
- resources (including crops, grazing, fuel, transport, and a note on horses and mules in Khurasan)
- armed forces (including a description of the Eastern Division of the Persian military, an Order of Battle, organisation, armaments, equipment, clothing, rations, training)
- aviation (detailing the organisation, personnel, equipment, aerodromes, etc., of the Persian Air Force)
- administration (municipal, police, justice, department of public instruction, revenue, roads and communications, census, post and telegraphs, sanitation)
- communications (railways, roads, types of motor transport in use, principal routes used by travellers from Meshed [Mashad] to Russian territory, telegraphs, telephones, wireless)
An appendix includes a veterinary note on conditions in Khurasan and Seistan. The volume also includes four colour plates illustrating different badges associated with Persian army and police officers, and a number of maps and diagrammatic maps.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (73 folios)
- Arrangement
A contents page at the front of the volume (f 6) and index at the rear (ff 64-66) 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 75; 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
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‘Military report on Persia Volume I 1930’ [30r] (64/154), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/7, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040937079.0x000041> [accessed 10 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/7
- Title
- ‘Military report on Persia Volume I 1930’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:3v, 5r:61v, 64r:67v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence