IOR/L/PS/20/C101/12

Volume IV, Part II of a series of publications on ‘Routes in Persia’ produced by the General Staff, India.

The volume, entitled Mobilisation Routes in Persia, has a military focus, and covers routes in an area in central and southeast Persia spanning Fars, Laristan, Kerman, and Yazd. The volume is divided into three parts:

• Part I, covering main routes ‘leading from probable bases to probable objectives’, numbered I to IV
• Part II, covering minor routes, numbered 1 to 6
• Part III, covering lateral routes connected with main routes nos. 1 and 2, numbered 1(a) to 1(s) and 2(a) to 2(k).

Each route is described with information including:

• The distance of the route in miles, divided into stages
• ‘Authorities’, i.e. the accounts of earlier travellers used to compile the description
• Topographical information, such as terrain, landforms, hydrology, and vegetation along the route
• Road conditions and accessibility to pack animals and motor vehicles
• Remarks of a military nature, e.g. the accessibility of routes to military forces, suitable positions for artillery, and the availability of supplies, water, transport, and camping grounds for troops
• Climatic conditions on the route at different times of year
• Settlements, agriculture, and constructions along the route, with some information on local populations
• Other human activity along the route such as trade and telegraph stations
• Occasional political information such as local chiefs and garrisons
• Alternative routes where available and intersections with other routes.

At the rear of the volume are:

• An index containing an alphabetical list of place names mentioned in the volume with corresponding page numbers (ff 270-306)
• A map displaying the routes described in the volume (catalogued as IOR/L/PS/20/C101/12, f 308).

The volume was printed in Simla [Shimla] by the Government of India Press in 1923. Another copy of this volume is catalogued as IOR/L/MIL/17/15/12/10.