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‘Military report on south-west Persia, including the provinces of Khúzistán (Arabistan), Luristán and part of Fars.’ [‎173v] (351/470)

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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Route No. 4 A.
From Bandar-Dilam to Bushire.
Distances in
MILKS.
Time.
Names of towns, villages, &e.
Interme
diate.
Total.
A.M.
16th June 1884.
2-30
Bandar-Dilam
...
...
Longitude 50° 9' E.
Latitude 30° N.
Remarks.
In traversing this country guides are
most necessary, as the track is very ill.
defined ; they must be changed fre
quently ; they are obtained from the
Khans and headmen of villages under orders from their Khans.
Skirting the above, the track traverses a sandy plain ; track, wide and its surface hard.
The plain, liable to bo inundated, is
here sticky and soft.
The shore line from Ras-at-Tamb to
Itas Barkan forms a deep blay called the
Duhet Dilarn, with soundings Measurements of the depth of a body of water. under 8
fathoms; the shore is everywhere quite
low ; the 3 fathom line is generally 3 to
4 miles off.
The surface of the plain hardens.
Small village half a mile to the left;
barometer 29*45" (50') ; temperature 68°.
The poorest of grasses scantly covers the
mud flat ; in places it is muddy.
The grass improves in quality, and the
soil is here and there tilled.
Traverses the dry bed of a nullah or creek
8' deep and 300' wdde ; a little wheat is
here cultivated, and the plain becomes
better covered with grass. On St. John’s
map this creek is erroneously shown to be
the mouth of the rivers rising in the
hills between Dugambuzan and Fabliau
[see pages 337, 338).
6-15 Ltjlatain | Small villa ge surrounded by cultiva
tion; soil, sandy ; road, a hard track;
water from wells of good quality. A
heathery plant grows plentifully ; there are a fair number of villages in the vicinity.
4-30
4-45
5-15
8
Hisae
of Hisar is close at hand.
8-30
Three good wells ; halt 15 minutes to
water the animals ; each well is provided
with a masonry drinking trough ; water
10' to 15' from the surface. The village
A garden and well; a good halting
place during the heat of the day ; trees
occur round the villages only.
The road ascends gently over a slightly broken up flat.
The shore line from Ras-at-tamb, west of Hisar to Sabz Pushan, 2 miles north-west of
Coast Kal’a Haidar, has low hillocks all along it, covered with shrubs.
There is a shore reef within 2 cables ; 4 fathoms are 1 mile off
shore, and 10 fathoms 4 miles off.
From Sabz Pushan to Ras as Shat, the north-west point of the Bushire indentation, the
soundings Measurements of the depth of a body of water. are 10 fathoms, 3 miles off, abreast Ras as Shat, and the same depth 6 miles off
shore farther to the northward ; 15 fathoms being 4 to 9 miles off at the same parts. There
is little or no shore reef and no outlying danger. There is no shelter from the prevailing
winds at this part of the coast.—(Persia?* Gulf Pilot).

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.’ [‎173v] (351/470), 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_100048990083.0x000098> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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