Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf

The present volumes, dealing with the ancient and modem tribes and peoples of the countries around the Persian Gulf, were compiled by the late Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles, of the Indian Army and Political Service, Consul-General of Muscat and Baghdad, etc. He took his notes, many of which were jotted down on odd bits of paper as he rode through the desert on his camel. His blindness, aggravated by serious internal troubles, and in spite of the heroic attempts which he made, made it impossible to set down in writing even a hundredth part of the vast store of Oriental learning which he had accumulated during his prolonged residence in India, Persia, Arabia, and Mesopotamia. The reader will note that the system of transcription of proper names used in these volumes is that which was generally employed by Orientalists and British Indian officials some forty or fifty years ago. Had Colonel Miles lived he would undoubtedly have abandoned this system and adopted that now commonly in use in India, England, and on the Continent; and it is very probable that he would have modified certain portions of his narrative and supplied full references to his authorities, both ancient and modern. After much thought his widow decided to publish the manuscript of his work as she found it. With it she has included the rough notes which he made on his travels in Mesopotamia, and added a good, full Index.