!['Seistan' [‎220r] (439/782)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003bc/Mss Eur F111_352_0459.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Seistan' [‎220r] (439/782)")
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
notes on pbbsian seistan.
ThU accounts tor the unkempt and uncared for appearance of Seirtan
n c it oVraonpp nf trees and lack of well-built houses.
^The only"exception is the property of Agha Mir Said Ah, the chief Said
. w “n 7 SecuM'in the tenure of hie for which he pays no taxes, and which
^ , i *. t t t a.i ip Tjocal Government, he devotes his spare time to
^n^rinten inf the b Lu!vatmn ol de tract of land between the villas of
Khahkdad Kala-i-Kohna, Al.ahad, and Luf. Here, alone ... Se.stan, can be
seen fields’ regularly laid out, well-irricated.and free from tamoriek an<J
drifts, and in short resembling the cultivation of omhaod oountr.es. « forma
a striking proof of how fertile Seistan would soon become, if the land were
better administered. , • i fpnnnd
’ under two main bends, the one .ermea
t( Sufidbar **, sisrnifyingj wheat and bariey
only, and the other “ Sabzbar which in
cludes all other products, chief amon^ which
ire cotton, opium, melons, “mash”, tobacco, millet, ‘ jawaii, and a fow
^effetahles such as carrots, turnips, onions, etc. . , , , ,—
Sowing is usually begun in November, the first seed to be put down being
wheat; this operation extends until late in January, when the sowing of
barley is commenced, which continues until about the end or ^ e )ruary. he
proportion of wheat to barley is said to he about three to one. Operation:!
ire then suspended until the Persian New Year, or Naoroz, which rails on . he
Jlst of March, after which the various kinds of ff Sabzbar J are sown, cot.on
md melons being the first.
Thin Iflcfa until the end of Mav. and
The cultivation is classed
Cultivation divided under two
heads): Sufldbar and Sabzbar.
1 1 L. A rw r\ Tnna
commences. # .
The ploughman or cultivator does not himself reap his crop, but employs
a “ daraogar ” or reaper, who after cutting
Daraogar or reaper. 2 q handfuls for the owner of the corn, is
allowed to cut and lay aside one handful for himself. The operation of reap
ing usually lasts for about six weeks, when the reaped corn is collected in
open spaces near the village, called “ Ja-i-Kharman”, or “ Place of the
harvest and surrounded by a rough fence of tamarisk known as ‘‘ting”.
Here it is left untouched, watched over by the “ Mishkar ” or “ Watcher
appointed by the Government, until the “ Sar Mushrif ” comes to the village,
and puts patches of mud over the mounds, on which he places his seal.
There are four “Sar Mushrifs” or Head Agents in Seistan, one for each
district, the Nahrui and Sharaki “Mahals” being counted as one. Under
these officials are the Mushrifs or sub-agents, of whom there is usually one
for every five ploughs throughout the country.
When the corn in the whole of a “Mahal” or district is notified as
ready to he assessed, the '‘Sar Mushrif” makes a tour of the whole, and,
with the “ Mushrif ” in each locality, divides the corn.
Tables shewing exact amounts due to each individual from the produce of
. . . each plough, are misleading, as the operation
Division Of harvest irregular. of dividin? the corn i8 conducted in an irre
gular manner, and a Seistani, when stating the share of any person, will
generally add, “and as much more as he can get.”
The division of the harvest, or “ Kharman Kashi ”, takes place much as
follows -On arriving at the village, where the harvest is ready, the “ Sar
Mushrif ” proceeds to the partition, for which a “ kel ” or large measure, hold
ing usually six Seistani seers or slightly less than one Indian seer, is used.
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Seistan' [220r] (439/782), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/352, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069721605.0x00002a> [accessed 1 July 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100069721605.0x00002a
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100069721605.0x00002a">'Seistan' [‎220r] (439/782)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100069721605.0x00002a"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003bc/Mss Eur F111_352_0459.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003bc/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
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