IOR/L/PS/20/C202/4

A volume in a series of official publications entitled ‘Military Report on Mesopotamia (Iraq).’, compiled by the General Staff, British Forces in Iraq.

This volume covers an area referred to as ‘Area 7: Tigris’. This area contains the lower section of the Tigris River, running north from Bagh-i-Shahi [Qasr Baksayah] to Muhammarah [Khorramshahr].

The volume is divided into eight chapters:

1. ‘History’ – sketching the history of the area beginning with the Ottoman conquest of Mesopotamia ‘from Mosul to Fao [Al-Faw]’ under Sultan Sulaymān I in the sixteenth century

2. ‘Geography’ – detailing on rivers, water navigation, and a scheme for future irrigation by canals, and describes types of ships on the Tigris operated by the Government, local firms, and other ‘natives’ [inhabitants of the lower Tigris region]

3. ‘Climate’ – including descriptions of temperature, rainfall, ‘General medical and sanitary conditions’, and conditions affecting military and aviation operations

4. ‘Resources’ – including descriptions of the area’s main agricultural products and the methods by which they are cultivated, livestock, labour availability, minerals, domestic and foreign commerce, and the availability of supplies at different towns in the area

5. ‘Ethnography’ – describing the population of the area, including ethnicity, sex, and geographical distribution, and gives generalised profiles of different ethnic groups, noting their origins, relationships with other groups, religion, and languages

6. ‘Tribes’ – including descriptions of the tribes present in the region focussing on their armed forces, their potential for anti-British ‘disturbances’, and punitive measures recommended for different tribes depending on location

7. ‘Personalities’ – containing a list of notable individuals in the region, with biographical notes concerning their political affiliations and previous interactions with the Ottoman and British military authorities

8. ‘Communications’ – describing the communication routes in the area, including water, railway, and land, as well as existing telegraph, telephone, and postal services.

The report also contains seven appendices:

• ‘Appendix A- Muqata’ahs [areas of land leased out by the Ottoman Government for taxation purposes] of the ‘Amarah Liwah’
• ‘Appendix B- Glossary of Topographical and other Terms’
• ‘Appendix C- Weights and Measures’
• ‘Appendix D- Notes on Date Cultivation’
• ‘Appendix E- Schedule’
• ‘Appendix F- Extracts from Notes on Gardening by the Agricultural Officer’
• ‘Appendix G- Arab Time’.

The report contains three maps:

• ‘Key Map to Boundaries of Military Report Areas in Mesopotamia’ (catalogued as IOR/L/PS/20/C202/4, f 100)
• ‘Supplementary Sheet to Tribal and Communication Map of Area No. 7 shewing Maqata’as’ (catalogued as IOR/L/PS/20/C202/4, f 101)
• ‘Tribal & Communication Map of Area No 7’ (catalogued as IOR/L/PS/20/C202/4, f 102).

The report was compiled in 1923 by the General Staff, British Forces in Iraq.