“The political situation in Baghdad and Mesopotamia is intimately concerned with that in the Persian Gulf” (p.3). A rare manual, printed for the use of officers serving in the Mesopotamian Campaign of the First World War. It largely concerns lower Mesopotamia, but also contains valuable information on Eastern Arabia and the Persian Gulf.
The first chapter is a history of the region, from the British expedition to Mohammerah in March 1857 to the start of WWI. After outlining how Britain won a monopoly over trade in the Gulf in the 19th century, it stresses the challenge posed to her superiority by Turkish and German advances. It then details the political relations between the Ottoman Empire and Mesopotamia, Kuwait, Al Hasa, and Najd.
The following seven chapters — geography, population, resources, military, maritime, administration and communications — primarily focus on Mesopotamia, giving a highly detailed account of a landmass covering much of present-day Southern Iraq and part of the Khuzestan Province of Iran. There are also important sections on the strength of the Turkish army and navy.
Four appendices follow the main text. Appendix A “Note on the Qatar Peninsula and Dohah” (p.179-180) is without doubt the most important. It comprises an early description of Qatar, its chief town, Doha, and its ruler, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani (1880-1957). The Sheikh is described as “a rich and powerful chief, who has a following of about 2,000 fighting men.” (p.179). He is also said to be “friendly toward the British … [and] would no doubt be glad to be rid of the Turks.” (p.180). The last comment proved to be somewhat prescient, as the Sheikh forced the Ottomans to abandon their garrison in Doha on the 19th of August 1915, just 6 months after this manual was prepared.
This appears to be the first issue of the first edition, produced in early November 1915. There are at least two other issues of the first edition, published in December 1915 and the Sping of 1916. A revised version of Field Notes. Mesopotamia. was also issued, in February 1917. Though expanded (featuring 36 routes instead of 14), it did not include the section on Qatar.
Rare. OCLC locates just three copies, at Oxford, the Huntington and NYU Abu Dhabi. There is also a copy in the India Office Records at the British Library (IOR/L/MIL/17/15/49).
