Full catalogue record in Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldRecord origin: Description in part based on Savage-Smith, E. and Rapoport, Y. (2013), An Eleventh-Century Egyptian Guide to the Universe, pp. 2-4.
"par le Sr. Sanson d'Abbeville."'Covers also portions of LibyaIsraelLebanon and Saudi Arabia.'Relief shown pictorially.Colored in outline.Includes ill."I.S.P. Sculp."
Abstract: Kamal ud-Din al-Damiri (circa 1341–1405) was a tailor-turned-scholar. He was born in Cairo and spent most of his life in Egypt. Hayat al-Hayawan (Life of animals) is his best-known work. It is found in two versions, referred to as the greater and the lesser. Shown here is the greater version. It includes more than 1050 entries on animals, arranged according to the Arabic alphabet. Some of the entries are long, others are shorter or duplicates. The longest entry, for example, is for the lion, and runs to 11 pages. Other entries are only a few words. Many include a digest of information about animals mentioned in the hadith and other Arabic literature and conclude with Islamic law provisions relating to the particular animal’s use in medicine or as a source of food. Duplication occurs when animals have synonymous names, or when the female or the young of a particular species are named differently. Mammals and birds figure most prominently in the work. The book was one of the works that the Ottoman sultan, Selim I, ordered printed when he occupied Egypt in 1517.Physical description: 446 pages ; 30 x 20 centimeters
Abstract: A War Office map, dated January 1907. The map shows the following railway lines: British; French; Anglo-Franco-German; the Baghdad Railway System; the Anatolian Railway; Turkish Railways; Egyptian 'State' Railways; and Russian Railways.The map also marks out the Ordu Territorial Districts [corresponding to the seven Army Corps of the Ottoman Empire]: Constantinople [Istanbul]; Adrianople [Edirne]; Salonica [Thessaloniki]; Erzingan [Erzincan]; Damascus; and Baghdad [Baghdād].Physical description: Materials: printed on paper.Dimensions: 225 x 335mm on a sheet 325 x 440mm.
Abstract: Created by the War Office. Bears the imprint 'G[eographical].S[ection].G[eneral].S[taff]. No. 2904'. Covers Syria together with the geographical region of Palestine, present-day Jordan and Lebanon, and parts of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq. Portrays hydrology, relief by spot heights and hachures, roads, railways, telegraphs, ancient canals (dry), settlements, place names and international boundaries (as at July 1914). Manuscript additions show supplementary map detail.Map produced from GSGS 2901 Eastern Turkey in Asia, Syria and Western Persia [Iran] [see, for example, Mss Eur F112/570, f 32], from where projection information has been obtained.The verso bears the annotation 'Syria'.Physical description: Materials: Printed in colour, with manuscript additions in pencil and crayonDimensions: 494 x 365mm, on sheet 582 x 468mm
Abstract: The volume chiefly comprises letters to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company from the Resident and Factor at Bussora [Basra], Samuel Manesty. The letters are dated 31 January 1793-21 June 1803 and the date each letter was received is recorded on the back of it.From 31 January 1793 to 2 August 1794 (ff 1-38), many letters are also signed by Harford Jones, who acted as Assistant Resident and co-Factor up to 1794. Between 3 January and 25 September 1796 (ff 51-192) there are letters which overlap with Manesty’s, written by [George] Nathan Crowe and Peter LeMessurier [Le Mesurier], who were appointed to run the Bussora Residency and Factory following the suspension from office of Manesty by the Court of Directors on 1 January 1796. The suspension was in connection with Manesty’s dispute with the Ottoman authorities originating in 1791, which had led him to remove the Residency to Grain [Kuwait] in 1793. Manesty had actually re-established himself in Bussora by September 1795, before Crow and LeMessurier arrived from Bombay [Mumbai], and he was officially reinstated in July 1796. However, Crow and LeMessurier only transferred back control of the Residency when they received orders to return to Bombay in September 1796.Letters dated 31 January to 27 April 1793 are written from Maghil [Al Maqal] ‘near Bussora’. Manesty left the city at the end of April 1793 and from 18 July 1793 to 5 March 1795 he writes from Grain (ff 2-43). From 9 October 1795 (f 45), following Manesty’s return in the previous month, his letters are written from Maghil or Bussora.The enclosures Manesty refers to are mostly not included in the volume, although his letters regularly incorporate extracts of his communications to the President in Council, Political Department [Bombay] and the Governor-General in Council [Bengal]. Manesty occasionally writes to individual members of the Court of Directors, lobbying for an increase in his pay and allowances and lamenting his pecuniary difficulties and unsettled claims upon the Company (see ff 356-359, ff 478-482, and ff 524-525).The letters concern matters including:The re-establishment of the Bussora Residency, notably Manesty’s detailed account, dated 28 August 1796 (ff 80-184), of his negotiations between February and October 1795 with the Bacha [Pāshā] of Bagdat [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā of Baghdad] for the restoration of the Factory and Residency at Bussora and re-establishment of relations. The negotiations were via their respective mediators, Coja Cawork Doud [Khawājah Kevork Dāwūd], the Company’s ‘broker and linguist’ (f 82) at the Bussora Residency, and the Mussaleem of Bussora [Mutasallim, Ottoman Governor of Basra]. The account details Manesty’s dispute with the Ottoman authorities, which developed following the murder in Bussora of a wealthy Jewish merchant in March 1791, the arrest of an Armenian subject, protracted sectarian clashes between Jews and Christians in Bussora, and the Ottoman authorities’ rebuttal of Manesty’s claims that Armenians came under British protectionManesty’s objections to Crow and LeMessurier, regarding control of the Bussora Residency and Factory in 1796The movement of, and events concerning, Company ships and private merchant vessels trading to, from and via Bussora, and the conveyance and landing of their cargoes, notably woollens imported to Bushire [Bushehr] and Bussora from BengalThe marine conveyance, via Bussora, of mail packets (official Despatches to and from to the Court of Directors in London and British government in India, and other mail), including: routes taken; delays; lost or missing items; and packets captured or stolenThe overland transmission of mail packets, via Aleppo, notably matters concerning: routes; security; couriers; and Manesty’s communications with the Company’s agents at Aleppo, including Louisa Abbott, who took on duties of the Agent (f 368) following the death of her husband Robert Abbott in 1799 until the appointment of John BarkerManesty’s management of the Residency and Factory, including: communications with the British embassy at Constantinople [Istanbul] and relations with Peter Tooke, Company Agent there; increasingly fractious relations with Harford Jones (appointed first Company Resident in Bagdat in September 1798) notably over the latter’s official status; and relations with the Ottoman authorities in Bussora and BagdatVarious events, and Manesty’s activities, within Ottoman territory and the seas between Bussora and India, in relation to the wars with France [French Revolutionary Wars 1792-1802], notably: the monitoring of French ships, and intelligence communications with British naval officers; surveillance of French emissaries such as Abbé Beauchamp [Pierre-Joseph de Beauchamp]; efforts to combat French influence in the Ottoman Empire and Persia [Iran], especially after the French invasion of Egypt in 1798 headed by General Buonaparte [Napoleon Bonaparte]; the activities of John Lewis Reinaud (former Assistant Resident at Bussora) to influence the Bacha of Bagdat against the French; Manesty’s highlighting of the potential threat to British dominance in India and recommendation that an English military force be despatched to protect British interests; the defeat of French forces by a British fleet at the Battle of the Nile, August 1798; the unsuccessful French siege of St Jean d’Acre 1799 [Akko or Acre]; the British fleet and army sent against the French in Egypt, March 1801; and the Convention for the Evacuation of Egypt and the Definitive Treaty of Peace between Britain and France [Treaty of Amiens, signed 25 March 1802]Affairs in the Persian Gulph [Gulf], notably trade relations with Muscat and efforts to avert the establishment of a French presence there, and Manesty’s proposals for stationing intelligence officers at Muscat and Bushire (f 373)Internal Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] affairs, including: political conflicts; relations with local tribes; and the Bagdat Bacha’s expeditions against the Whahabee Shaik [Wahhābī Shaikh] Abdul Aziz [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin Muḥammad Āl Sa‘ūd, Emir of Diriyah]Intelligence relating to the Company’s campaign in India against Tippoo Sultan [Tīpū Sulṭān, Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore], including reports of Tippoo’s defeat in May 1799 (f 406)The spread of plague in Ottoman Turkey from 1800 and Manesty’s actions in July 1802 to secure the British establishment at Bussora and preserve communications and trade between India and Europe following the arrival of plague at Bagdat, including requisition of the
Teignmouthas a floating Factory and removal of Bussora Factory staff to Maghil (ff 556-606)Harford Jones’s deteriorating relations with the Bacha of Bagdat in July 1801, and Manesty’s apparent efforts to restore the British reputation and the position of the Bagdat Residency (ff 498-516)The death of the Bacha of Bagdat (f 568) in 1802 and arrangements for his successor, Ali Bacha [‘Alī Pāshā]Manesty’s temporary embarkation of the Bussora establishment on the
Furyin June 1803, following a rupture with the Ottoman authorities [he does not elaborate, however the incident arose over the apparent ‘violation’ of the ‘honour’ of an allegedly Egyptian Christian woman] (ff 606-607).Physical description: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 608; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.The sequence contains one foliation anomaly, f 16a.
Abstract: The volume contains a chronological list of brief summaries of papers relating to the activities of the Indian Expeditionary Force D (also known as the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force) between 1 and 15 December 1917. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: letters, telegrams, notes, reports, tables, and memoranda.An index to the contents of this volume and a summary of the contents can be found at folios 3-17. The volume concerns:Appreciations [reports] and intelligence summaries from the Directorate of Military Operations dated 2 December 1917 (ff 49-50), 9 December (ff 156-157)Reinforcements for Force D, including supplies of medical officers, horses, mules, and railway staffCaptured arms and ammunition (ff 159-165)Movements of Turkish [Ottoman] and German troopsExchange of prisoners with Turks at BerneSupplies to Force D, including the problems of supplying petrolAttack on the enemy on 3 December on Jebel Hamrin [Jabal Hamrin]The possibility of postponing the dredging of the Shatt-el-Arab [Shatt al-Arab]Transfer of the 7th division in Mesopotamia to EgyptOccupation of Qurah Tappah [Qarah Tapah], Qizil Robat [As Sa‘diyah], and KhanaqinSupply and transport shipsReports from the Royal Flying Corps of machines in service and pilots availableConcerns over supplies reaching the Turks from Koweit [Kuwait]A scheme to supply frozen meat to British troopsCorrespondence between Mr A Monteath and the Admiralty on the subject of the Thomson Cherry Commission enquiring into shipping between India and MesopotamiaA proposal to form a Directorate of IrrigationPost offices and returned lettersSentences given to members of the Ghadr [Ghadar] party captured in Baghdad.The following tables appear:Distribution and composition of Force D, including details of: lines of communication; general organisation; and names of General Officers and Brigade Commanders (ff 18-31)Ration strength of Force D on 3 November 1917 (ff 42-46), 17 November (ff 111-113), 10 November 1917 (ff 137-140)Weekly return of sick and wounded dated 17 November (f 65), 24 November (ff 152-153)Distribution of the Turkish Army on 4 December 1917 (ff 70-72), 11 December 1917 (ff 180-182)Distribution of Force D on 11 November 1917 (ff 76-80)State of supplies on 1 December 1917 (ff 86-87, 116-117), 8 December (ff 187-189), 9 December (ff 268-269)Monthly distribution report of motor vehicles on 1 October 1917 (ff 128-134)Strength return for Force D on 27 October 1917 (ff 97-99), 9 December 1917 (ff 190-192), 3 November (ff 262-264).Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 276; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-274; these numbers are printed and are located in the bottom centre of the recto side of each folio.Dimensions: 21 x 33cm
Abstract: The file contains the views of the Aga Khan (Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah), and M A Ali Baig on the political situation in Egypt, based on a series of interviews held during a visit to Ismailia [Al Ismā'īlīyah], Suez, Port Said [Būr Saʻīd], Tanta, Alexandria, and the camps of the Indian troops, from 19 December 1914 to 12 January 1915.It is divided into the following sections:the attitude of the Egyptian people – regarding Britain, Turkey, and the First World War;the Moslem Egyptians;the Copts;the Greeks and other races;the Egyptian aristocracy;the aspirations of educated Egyptians;the Protectorate;the new Sultan;the Ministers and their Advisors;the Nationalists;the Egyptian press;the Caliphate;the Jehad Fetwa;the Effect of Earl Kitchener's policy;the Indian Troops;Conclusion.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 55, and terminates at f 59, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 55-59; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume comprises information about the Bashi-Bazouks and other irregulars including the following:remarks – discusses the notoriety and character of the Bashi-Bazouks, and their involvement in the Bulgarian atrocities during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877. A brief assessment of Turkish and Russian military is included, alongside a summary of current British interests in Asia Minor, and the involvement of William Ferguson Beatson with the Bashi-Bazouks during the Crimean War (1853-1856);Egypt – notes British interest in the country, and the announcement of intentions to send a force from India to occupy and hold Egypt in the event of an attack;the Turkish Irregulars – notes the use and advantage of using large irregular forces;Major-General W F Beatson – provides a biography of the man with remarks on his character, and details of his military career;papers relating to General Beatson's Indian Career - contains extracts, an inscription, and a quote dated 1848-1860.The front cover (f 1) contains an inscription to General Sir Garnet Wolseley (who served in the Crimea Campaign) with the author's compliments, dated July 1877.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 12; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.