First List of Names in Arabia. (N.W. and S.W.). [Together with] Second List of Names in Arabia. (N.E. and S.E.). [and] First List of Names in Trans-Jordan. [and] First List of Names in Syria. [and] First List of Names in Persia (South). [and] Second List of Names in Persia (North). [and] First List of Names in 'Iraq (Mesopotamia). [and] Second List of Names in 'Iraq (Mesopotamia).

ARABIAN PENINSULA; LEVANT; IRAN.

Published by London: [W. M. Clowes and Sons] for the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use,] 1922-37

About this Item

A collection of 8 pamphlets, all but one in their first editions, with lists of geographical names of the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant - including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Trans-Jordan, Syria ("the French Mandatory Territory"), and Iraq - as well as Iran. They were produced by the Royal Geographical Society for soldiers and surveyors working with maps. The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (P. C. G. N.) was a body of scholars and linguists who regularly met to discuss policies and practical issues such as the correct spellings of foreign geographical names for use in official documents and publications. In 1921 the Committee updated the RGS System of rules for spelling native names - first adopted by the War Office, and later used by the Admiralty in 1885 and throughout the First World War - which led to the creation of this series of lists. Major General Edward Gleichen (1863-1937), formerly Director of the Political Intelligence Bureau, was its first Chair (1920-37). The differences in vowel pronunciation among the Arabic colloquials, and between colloquial and classical Arabic, had generated a variety of alternative spellings for place names in the Arabic-speaking world. The introductions explain preferences for vowel renditions, acknowledging the use of alternative official spellings specific to the French mandatory territory in Syria. Some place names include the Hebrew or Greek counterpart, others illustrate the confusion that might arise from a lack of transliteration conventions, such as "Kethrabba" instead of "Kefrabbeh", as well as incorrect spellings in general use, reaching the number of seven for Dujail, near Baghdad. The lists also include approximate distances from major cities. For Iran, the introduction states that "Persian orthography is by no means fixed and consistent, and especially is there uncertainty about the identity and length of many vowels". The lists - which span a large territory including Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Bushire, Tehran, and Khurasan - specify that "the boundaries of the provinces [of Iran] are for the most part indefinite". Together 8 pamphlets, octavo. Text in Arabic and English. List of publications to last verso. Stitched as issued. Contents minimally toned, else fresh and clean, faint traces of central vertical fold: a fine collection.

Seller Inventory # 184807

Bibliographic Details

• Title: First List of Names in Arabia. (N.W. and S.W.). [Together with] Second List of Names in Arabia. (N.E. and S.E.). [and] First List of Names in Trans-Jordan. [and] First List of Names in Syria. [and] First List of Names in Persia (South). [and] Second List of Names in Persia (North). [and] First List of Names in 'Iraq (Mesopotamia). [and] Second List of Names in 'Iraq (Mesopotamia).
• Publisher: London: [W. M. Clowes and Sons] for the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use,] 1922-37
• Edition: 1st Edition