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Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf
Gazatteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia: ‘At once the most thorough, detailed and neglected account of the history of Central and Eastern Arabia ever written’
H.V. Winstone, Captain Shakespear: A Portrait (London, 1976)
John Gordon Lorimer
‘At once the most thorough, detailed and neglected account of the history of Central and Eastern Arabia ever written’
H.V. Winstone, Captain Shakespear: A Portrait (London, 1976)
Lorimer’s Gazetteer is a full and detailed compendium of historical, geographical, statistical and sociological information on the entire Gulf area.
The author, an Indian Civil Service official, Resident of Bushire, drew on his personal knowledge of the countries of the Gulf and on confidential information, the whole range of Residency reports, commercial agencies’ reports and obscure publications of various types.
‘Volume II, issued for restricted circulation by the Government of India in 1908, is a geographical dictionary presenting a detailed account of physical and political conditions in the Gulf.
Volume I (edited by L Birdwood, after Lorimer’s death), issued in 1915 is a history. For each of the areas, which are examined separately, there are sub-divisions in the form of ‘Periods’. There are chapters on: the general history of the area; The Oman Sultanate; Trucial Oman, Qatar; Bahrain; Hasa; Kuwait; Najd; (Turkish) Iraq; Arabistan; Persian Coast and Island and Persian Mahran. With a portfolio containing genealogical trees, maps etc.
For historians it would be difficult to discover any individual publication that presents so much accurately compiled information as Lorimer. The historical material ranges from the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500 followed by other European powers, and describes their commercial and political activities until about 1907. On the history of the local states the content is comprehensive, including Iran, Turkish Iraq, the Wahhabis, the Jabal Shammar chiefs, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States, etc. In addition, there is much on naval history in eastern waters and the slave trade. The detailed data on pearling, fishing, date production, shipping, the religious sects, genealogies and tribal information are indispensable to sociologists and indeed to anyone who claims to know anything about the region. For persons working there Lorimer would be an invaluable vademecum.
This book was made generally available for the first time in 1970. It has been twice reprinted since then.
4,968 pages, 2 volumes printed as 8 volumes, many plates
Set Price £1,250 / $1,950
ISBN: 0716523809
