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‘Military report on south-west Persia, including the provinces of Khúzistán (Arabistan), Luristán and part of Fars.’ [‎62v] (129/470)

The record is made up of 1 volume (231 folios). It was created in 1885. 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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96
The villages of Fendan are partly inhabited by Armenians. Here
Muhammad Takf purchased vflla^es and acquired others and endeavoured tu
encourage agriculture and to settle his Iliyats on its fertile soil. Opposed
by the Persian government, his attempt was but partially successful. Its
inhabitants are inoffensive, with a fair reputation for courage. They and a
large body of men from Gulpaigan form the Fendan regiment [see page 20).
The actual personal property of Muhammad Takf was estimated at 1,500
buffaloes, 50 excellent Arab mares, some valued at £250, 50 good Ka J b stallions,
500 brood mares, 500 horses of Lur breeds, and about 10,000 sheep and goats;
of cash, he possessed little.
Jealous of his authority over the tribes and his supposed great wealth,
the Persian government broke his power, split up the tribes under various
chiefs, and forfeited to the crown the villages of Fendan. Lured by the most
sacred oaths on the Koran, he imprudently gave himself up to the Persians
and never afterwards returned to his hills. After his downfall Jafer Kiili
Khan, of the Haft Lang tribe of Bakhtfariwand, rose to chief power. At times
he was able to assemble 5,000 .well armed and desperate men. His main
stronghold is the Diz, 2 days* march from Shustar in a north-east direction,
a natural stronghold, 3 miles in circumference, with perpendicular,
inaccessible sides, well supplied with water and with a few acres of arable
land and good pasture.
He raised himself to power by a series of most atrocious murders and
acts of treachery. AVith the most determined bravery he defied the Persian
power and carried his plundering expeditions to the neighbourhoods of
Karman, Yazd, Shiraz and even Tehran; the name of a Bakhtiari suthced to
put to flight the boldest of the peasantry; his followers, the bravest and
most barbarous of the tribes, adhered to him so long as he led them to
plunder. His following, the Baidarwand and part of the Duraki tribes, en
camped during the winter near the Diz, in Shimbar and Andakau, among
the hills of Lali and about Gotwand on the Kanin.
Their summer quarters were in the plains of Bazuft and Chahar-mahal
and the neighbouring mountains. Jafer Kuli Khan built a small fort in Jella-
khan. He eventually obtained the support of the Persian government.
Next in political importance to Muhammad Taki was Kalb Ali Khan
of the Haft Lang tribe of Duraki, and considered to be the legitimate chief
of the Haft Lang. A few subdivisions of the Dfnarunis adhered to him.
He waged continuous war against Muhammad Taki and Jafer Kuli.
His Diz or fortress, the Diz-Shahi, near the river Dizful, a day’s journey north
east of the town (18 miles) is considered to be impregnable. It is a plain, 15
miles in circumference, the summit of a lofty hill with inaccessible sides ; water
is abundant, the soil fertile and grazing good; villages have been built upon
it {see page 201).
His followers were brave and warlike and noted marauders. The Haft Lang
are reported to be more cruel than the Chahar Lang and have frequently been
known to cut off the breasts of women taken prisoners, and even to proceed
to acts of more revolting and gross barbarity. Wars between Bakhtiaris have
always been wars of extermination, quarter being seldom received or offered.
He, himself, was a peaceable and trustworthy chief.
The anarchy that followed the fall of Muhammad Taki Khan led to
Present history and the rise of Husain Kuli Khan, the son of Jafer
administration. Kuli Khan, who began to make his power felt about
1 BAS during the reign of the present Shah. His chief opponents, the sons

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Content

Report marked strictly confidential, prepared in the Intelligence Branch of the Quarter Master General’s Department in India, by the Assistant Quarter Master General, Major and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Sever Bell, Royal Engineers. The volume was published by the Government Central Branch Press, Simla, 1885.

The contents of the volume are as follows:

  • part I, a narrative description of a journey from India to Muhammerah [Khorramshahr], through to the Luristán [Lorestān] hills, to Kúm [Qom]; from Kúm to Gulpaigán [Golpāyegān ], Chaman-i-Sultán [Chaman Solţān], Ali-Gúdar [Alīgūdarz], Imámzádá-Ishmail [Emāmzādeh Esmā‘īl], and the Zaindarúd River [Zāyandeh Rūd] to Isfahán; from Isfahán through the Kúhgehlú [Kohgīlūyeh] hills to Behbahán and Bandar-Dilám [Bandar-e Deylam]; from Bandar-Dilám to Bushire
  • part II, a detailed account of southwest Persia, compiled from Sever’s own observations and other available sources
  • part III, commercial considerations. A further section in this chapter on strategic observations, which is mentioned on the contents page and marked as secret, is not present in the volume
  • part IV, detailed road reports
  • appendix A, road reports, Isfahan to Shústar [Shūshtar], Shústar to Shíráz [Shīrāz], compiled in 1881 by Captain Henry Lake Wells, Assistant Director of Persian Telegraphs, with additional annotations by Bell
  • appendix B, a list of plant specimens collected in Luristán during April and May 1884
  • appendix C, extracts of a paper on the geology of the Turko-Persian frontier, written by William Kennett Loftus, June 1854
  • appendix D, meteorological observations at Bushire, from 20 March to 20 June 1885

The volume includes eight maps, two photographic plates, and illustrations throughout (topographical, architectural, anthropological). The two photographic plates and some of the maps are of an earlier date than the volume’s publication date of 1885.

Extent and format
1 volume (231 folios)
Arrangement

A contents page (f 7) and index (ff 222-226) refer to 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 233; 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 south-west Persia, including the provinces of Khúzistán (Arabistan), Luristán and part of Fars.’ [‎62v] (129/470), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/9, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048990082.0x000082> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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