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‘Military report on south-west Persia, including the provinces of Khúzistán (Arabistan), Luristán and part of Fars.’ [‎117r] (238/470)

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. .

Transcription

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223
Route No. 1 — contd.
From Muhammerah to Tehran, Sfc. —contd.
(
Time. Names of towns, villages, Ac.
Distances
in MILES.
Interme
diate.
Total.
A.M.
10-15
10-35
10-40
10-55
Remarks.
By zigzagging ascends over an undula
tion ; road steep, in places £ to ^ ; soil
clay; barometer at its top 23'75" (6,520')'
Foot of the undulation
Barometer, at foot of the range border
ing the I >izful river to the south, 23 - 8 ,r
(6,470').
Commence its ascent; steep, in places
i t<>
Top of pass (Gardan-i-Razan) ; baro
meter 23*45'' (6,930').
Descends skirting the hill side ; the first
descent is steep and stony, shortly improv-
mcr in gradient to £ to y^, the hill side becoming clayey and gravelly. This is its general
character, but difficult stretches of rock frequently occur ; the rock is hard and angular, cherty
in appearance with veins of quartz and felspar ; the play is tenacious and of a white colour.
The average width of the path, where not over rock, is 10'; over rock it is a narrow 2 track.
Small village situated high up a deep
ravine ; road now descends -the rocky,
stony ravine, fording its stream three
times ; the stream is 12' to 15' wide, 2 r
deep ; current rapid.
Foot of pass ; barometer 24‘8" (5,350').
By good mu!e road traverses the well
cultivated, valley of the Ab-i-Dizful; soil
clay ; wheat growing, 2 '' high.
A large village (50 houses), 1,000 yards
to the east, lying to the east of a long
narrow mound on the right bank of the
r-iver
The general run of the valley here is
140° and 340°. Rearing the river the
valley becomes very swampy, and for 1
mile horses and mules found the greatest
difficulty in traversing it, sinking over
their fetlocks into the sticky clay at each
step.
Fords the river Diz, 3' 6 " to 4' deep ; cur
rent swift, 250' to 3C0' wide. There are
here the remains of a masonry bridge, of
which four ai'ches only are now standing.
Bevond the bridge the river valley is swampy; barometer 25’0" (4,870'). The river is
generally fordable except after rain.
Large village of 120 families, the resi
dence of Abbas Khan, the Chief of the
Yauramudi (Yar-Ahmadi) tribe of Lurs.
The valley of the Diz is here from 5 to
10 miles broad ; it is flat and swampy in places ; soil, clay, growing fine wheat and barley.
Villages are numerous, and from £ to 1 mile apart along the line of the stream. The houses
are of mud ; roofs, flat, of tree rafters, covered with mud ; a few poplars surround each
village ; otherwise the district is treeless. Firewood is very scarce.
11-45
AzizabAd
...
Noon.
12
...
p.ir.
12-25
KilangAne
• •4
1-20
19
1-55
Chula nchItl An
23
375
(elevation 4,920').

About this item

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.’ [‎117r] (238/470), 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_100048990083.0x000027> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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