Shafaqna English- James Felix Jones (1813–1878), an officer and cartographer in the British Navy and an employee of the East India Company, was one of the leading figures in 19th-century explorations and geographic surveys in the Mesopotamian region (modern-day Iraq).
According to Shafaqna, James Felix Jones was widely renowned for producing highly accurate maps of Baghdad and its surrounding areas. His crowning achievement was the large and famous map of “Baghdad,” completed in 1846. This map was so precise that it remained the primary reference map of the city for decades.
Jones was later appointed to diplomatic positions. He served for some time as Britain’s political representative in Baghdad and was subsequently assigned to Bushire, one of Britain’s most important regional posts. It was in this role that he designed the map for Britain’s planned invasion of Iran.
One of his most important reports, titled A Voyage by Steamer to North Baghdad, was prepared in 1846 on behalf of the British government and published in 1857. This work, in addition to documenting the journey, contains notes on notable sites along the Tigris River and Jones’s detailed observations of the geography, monuments, cities, and daily life of the people he encountered. At the time of the voyage, Jones held the rank of lieutenant, though by the time he submitted the report, he had been promoted to commander. This report served as a vital intelligence resource for the British government, helping to assess trade routes, gauge the influence of rival powers such as the Ottoman Empire, and establish contacts with local tribal leaders.
In a section of this book, Jones describes the city of Samarra, providing a panoramic illustration of its landscape, including the shrine of the two Al-Askari Imams, the dome of Imam Mahdi’s crypt, and the minaret of the Grand Mosque of Samarra:
“Present-day Samarra, resting upon the cliffs that shape the left bank of the Tigris, is now enclosed by a sturdy wall, erected at the expense of the influential Shi‘a of India. When I visited in 1843, the foundations of this wall had only just been laid. Prior to this, the city had no protective barrier and was vulnerable to incursions by the nomadic Arabs, who camped outside the city and, if their demands were unmet, threatened to plunder it. But now the city is secure and largely free from such disturbances. Nevertheless, a major oversight has occurred: the wall does not extend to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the river, leaving the city’s waterway exposed to potential destruction by the nomads, who could thereby cripple the population by cutting off this vital artery.”
“Overall, Samarra is a modest and quiet city, whose importance owes primarily to its two magnificent domed shrines. The larger shrine is that of Imam Hasan al-Askari, which has recently been restored. I believe its dome was once gilded, similar to those in Kadhimiya, Karbala, and Najaf, but now, due to insufficient funds to restore its former glory, it is entirely white. The smaller dome, belonging to Imam Mahdi, is exquisitely delicate, decorated with striking enamel floral patterns in yellow and white on a deep blue background. Imam Mahdi, the final sacred Shi‘a Imam, is said to have gone into concealment at this very site. The large crypt above which this structure is built marks this sacred point, and it is believed that he will reappear from here at an unknown future time. For this reason, the site is highly revered among Muslims, especially Shi‘a, with pilgrims traveling from across Iran each year. I have heard that approximately ten thousand devotees visit annually, though I suspect this number underestimates the true figure. Pilgrims are not taxed, but the owners of caravanserais and residences pay two ‘piastres rigo’ per person to the government. The present city consists of around 250 households with a Sunni population of slightly under one thousand, among whom scarcely a hundred weapons are to be found. This year, the administration of the city has been entrusted to the current official, Sayyid Hussein, for 280,000 piastres rigo, roughly equivalent to £660 sterling (p. 12).”