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The record is made up of 1 file (388 folios). It was created in 17 Jan 1899-4 Apr 1904. 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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NOTES ON PERSIAN SEISTAN.
flowing into the bed of the former canal of that name, which used to take off
from the old Halmand, irrigates the Mahal of Siadak and adjacent cultivated
Ground The remaining water of the Rud ; i-Panan, and a large proportion of
the whole, runs to waste in the Naizar or Hamun near Jelalabad. ^
To sum up, the Rud-i-Seistan or the^ Rud-i-Sheb-i-Ab irrigates the
southern and south-western districts of Seistan, its two mam branch canals,
the Rud-i-Hasinld and Zahak, the Pusht-i-Ab or north-western portion of
the cultivated area, while Miankangi, or the land between the two branches
of the Halmand, now derives its supply of water from the Rud-i-Parian alone.
The water of the old Halmand or the eastern branch of that river, which at
present constitutes the frontier in that locality, is now used solely for the
irrigation of Afghan territory. ,
The canals of Seistan have never been used for purposes of water com
munication, but there is nothing to prevent
Canals for purposes of transport. ^ i ar g e r canals from being so utilized.
That they are never employed lor purposes o£ transport, is due probably to
the fact that there is no wood suitable for boat-budding found ,n Seistan, and
jv s j. • 1 . i-V,„ 1 .. d-l.v.V.nw available. is not buoyant and so rafts cannot
There is however nothing to prevent narrow boats or rafts, drawing not
more than 2 ' 6 " of water, passing along any of the main canals. For instance,
starting from the Band-i-Seistan, the village of Chilling loould be reached
by the Rud-i-Sheb-i-Ab, the Adimi and Zahak canals in Pusht-i-Ab
could be navigated to within the proximity of Nasratabad, while boats draw
ing not more than 3'could reach a point close to Jeklabad on the edge
of the Naizar, when the Helmand was moderately high.
COMMUNICATIONS.
The whole of the inhabited area of Seistan is, generally speaking,
absolutely flat and featureless, though there are scattered over the country a
few small hills or mounds, locally known as “ Tappa,”, from which, owing to
its extraordinary flatness, and, except in Miankangi, the entire absence of
trees, a considerable view of the surrounding country can be obtained.
These would be useful in the event of military operations as signalling
stations and in a country in which it is extremely difficult to find one’s way,
owing to the lack of prominent features, would furnish in many cases
excellent landmarks. As the country varies considerably in various parts of
Seistan, a short description is given of each of the divisions, already mentioned.
MianJcangi.—ln this district the ground, where not cleared for cultivation
in small tracts near villages, is covered with
Miankangi. tamarisk jungle, varying much in density
and height, but throughout forming a great obstacle to movement. Alternate
belts are met with, varying from 10 ' to 30' in height, apparently due to
the ground having been at some time cleared for cultivation and subsequently
neglected. View is consequently 'limited to a few hundred yards, and a
guide is always a necessity. The higher jungle would in many places prevent
the use of camel transport, until new roads had been cut, or existing paths
widened, as the tamarisk branches meet overhead, but mules and donkeys
could be employed until this was done.
About this item
- Content
The file contains papers relating to Seistan [Sistan] and Persia [Iran].
The file includes printed copies of despatches from the Agent to the Governor-General of India and HM Consul-General for Khorasan and Seistan (Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Martindale Temple), to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, with enclosed despatches from Captain Percy Molesworth Sykes to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (the Marquis of Salisbury). Skyes’s despatches regard matters including: Seistan; trade routes into South-East Persia; the boundary between Persia and Afghanistan, in relation to the River Helmund [Helmand] changing its course (in despatch No. 5, which includes four sketch maps, folios 12, 13, 14 and 15); Sykes’s journey to Birjand (in despatch No. 7, which includes a sketch map on folio 20); the ruling family of Kain, which also governed Seistan, Tabbas and Tun; Sykes’s journey from Seistan to Kerman [Kirman] (in despatch No. 11, which includes a sketch map); and the direct Kerman-Quetta caravan trade that Sykes was trying to establish.
The file also includes copies of the following papers:
- A despatch from Temple to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, enclosing a letter from Temple to Sir Henry Mortimer Durand (HM Minister, Tehran), with copies of enclosures, regarding the establishment of a Seistan and Kain consulate
- A letter from Charles Edward Pitman, Director General of Telegraphs, to the Secretary to the Government of India Public Works Department, enclosing a copy of a ‘Report on the Preliminary Survey of the Route for a Telegraph Line from Quetta to the Persian Frontier’ by H A Armstrong, Assistant Superintendent, Indian Telegraph Department, which includes six photographs of views along the route [Mss Eur F111/352, f 52; Mss Eur F111/352, f 53; Mss Eur F111/352, f 54; Mss Eur F111/352, f 55; Mss Eur F111/352, f 56; and Mss Eur F111/352, f 57], and a map showing the proposed route of the telegraph line [Mss Eur F111/352, f 59]
- Letters from Hugh Shakespear Barnes, Agent to the Governor-General in Baluchistan, to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, enclosing copies of the diary of the Political Assistant, Chagai, for the weeks ending 16 February, 28 February, and 8 March 1900
- Diary No. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of Major-General George Frederick Chenevix-Trench, HM Consul for Seistan (Diary No. 6 includes a sketch map, folio 86)
- A copy of a ‘Report on Reconnaissances Made while Attached to the Seistan Arbitration Commission’ by W A Johns, Deputy Consulting Engineer for Railways, Bombay
- A copy of the report ‘Notes on Persian Seistan’, compiled by Captain Edward Abadie Plunkett, and issued by the Government of India Intelligence Branch, Quarter-Master General’s Department
- Two copies of map signed by Plunkett titled ‘Persian Seistan-Cultivated Area’ [Mss Eur F111/352, f 270]
- A booklet entitled ‘Notes on the Leading Notables, Officials, Merchants, and Clergy of Khorasan, Seistan, Kain, and Kerman.’
- Printed copies of letters from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), relating to the maintenance of British interests in Persia, dated 4 September 1899 and 7 November 1901 (the former with an enclosure of a minute by the Viceroy on Seistan).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (388 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 390; 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. The file contains one foliation anomaly, f 301A
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Seistan' [198r] (395/782), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/352, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069721604.0x0000c6> [accessed 27 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/352
- Title
- 'Seistan'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:51v, 58r:58v, 60r:112r, 113r:125v, 147r:218r, 218r, 219r:269v, 271r:301v, 301Ar, 301Av, 302r:388v, 389v:390r, 389r, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence