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‘Military report on south-west Persia, including the provinces of Khúzistán (Arabistan), Luristán and part of Fars.’ [‎127r] (258/470)

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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Route No. 2.
From Kum to Gulpatgan.
Authority — Major M. S. Bell.
Distance—112 miles.
Time.
Names of towns, villages, &c.
I
A. M.
3rd May 1884.
6-30
Kum (elevation 3,470')
Long. 50° 54' E.
Lat. 34° 41' N. ...
oil produces good crops of barley
on the left bank of the river, hei
[umerous irrigation canals and ri
7-25

7-35
7-50
8-25
Distances in
miles.
diate.
Remarks.
Barometer 26'o5''.
Leaves the town by the eastern gate, on
the north side of which, fronting the city
wall, is a long strip of water 100' wide.
The road is wide, stony, but in good order;
Crosses three irrigation cuts, 6' to 8' wide,
by low bridges, and passes over rough
ground amongst undulations of clay.
Road, stony and undulating, skirts the
right bank of the Ab-i-Khonsar.
Traverses a stony uncultivated plain
with rocky outcrops here and there.
Road crosses the continuation of the
undulations met at 11-35 a.m. on the
1st instant.
The uncultivated plain, called Hawar-i-
Daghan, stretches for some distance to the east ; it grows the poorest of grasses and many
weeds. River 800 yards to the right. The country is treeless and grows no shrubs.
1 | 11-25 | DAghAit (elevation
3,860').
15
15
Small village on the Ah-i-Khonsar,
and to the south of a low range of hills ;
where the land is irrigated by canals from the river, good crops of barley and wheat are pro
duced. There are some fine mulberry trees here and many fruit trees. The houses are of mud
with mud domed roofs. The water is brackish and curdles soap. There were seen about the vil
lage about 75 donkeys, 300 or 400 sheep, besides a few cows. These graze on the plain passed
over.
I P. M. 1 I
I 1-15 ' | ... I ... [ Barometer 26'1''; temperature 75°.
General Remarks .—The road throughout the stage could, with very slight improve
ment, be converted in a cart-road.
a.m. 4th May 1884.
Barometer 26'T'; thermometer 64°.
The small village of Dhugrfn lies on
the left bank of the river, 2 miles to the southward.
Gradually rising, the road enters the low hills, which are rocky, steep, and barren.
I ... j ... 1 Barometer 2d'7'' (4,190'). Road undu-
I lates ; it is generally a broad track with a
At times it is a mule track capable, however, of being readily widened ; crosses
1 5-45 ] DAghAn
,. 1 ... 1 15 ]
| 6-40 |
1 ... | ...
6-50
hard surface,
a small stream.
Soil, a loose shale, as a rule.
j 7-25 I 1 ... I ... I The river is judged to be If miles to the
| southward, and is bordered on its right
bank by low hills ; soil, a large grained black sand ; country barren, treeless, and a mass of
low hills ; wild flowers are fairly numerous ; the low thorn bushes afford a scant grazing
for camels, here of poor physique and size ; road 30' wide, surface hard; gradients gentle.

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.’ [‎127r] (258/470), 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_100048990083.0x00003b> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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