Abstract: Memorandum by John Gilbert Laithwaite, of the India Office, on the rules governing travel documents for Persians and Bahrainis travelling in the Persian Gulf. The document gives a brief historical overview on what procedures have been followed by the British and Persian governments since 1910. It discusses the issuing of passports and travel passes (Ilm-o-Khabar) for Bahraini merchants in Persia, Bahrain, and Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], with recommendations for preventing Persia from imposing sovereignty over Bahrain.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Sketch map showing the course of the river Karun from Muhammera [Khorramshahr] to Ahwaz [Ahvāz], based on a survey undertaken by Lieutenant Willoughby Baynes Huddleston of the Royal Indian Marine in November 1899. The map indicates: the nature and course of the river; soundings, measured in fathoms; the height of banks, given in feet; plains; villages; and other features, such as tombs and mounds. A note below the title of the map states that bearings were taken with a prismatic compass from the deck of the river steamer
Malamir, at a time of year when the river was at its lowest annual point.Other labels on the map: at the top, ‘No. 1’; at the bottom: ‘Exd C.J.A.’Physical description: Dimensions: 406 x 244 mm, on sheet 486 x 302 mm.Materials: Printed on paper.
Abstract: Black and white print of a sketch of a river scene at Muhammareh [Khorramshahr, Iran]. No date is given. However, the print was first published in the second volume of John Gordon Lorimer's
Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia(i.e. the
Geographical and Statisticalsection) in 1908, and this print is identical to the one found in that volume. The image is attributed to Major Percy Zachariah Cox.Physical description: Materials: Black and white print on paperDimensions: 100 x 148mm, on sheet 135 x 191mm
Abstract: Chart 1235 (September 1912 Edition)Hydrographic chart of southern Mesopotamia covering the lower Shatt al Arab (the combined mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers), the Bahmishir River [Rudkhaneh-ye Bahmanshir] (a secondary estuary of the Karun River [Rudkhaneh-ye Karun]) and the head of the Persian Gulf. Portrays hydrology, including depths by soundings and contours, sands and mud, vegetation, cultivation, railways, telegraph lines, settlements including significant buildings, and place names, and includes topographical notes and navigational aids, including buoys, lights and prominent buildings. Also shows an annotated sketch view, at an unspecified scale, of the mouth of the Shatt al Arab taken from the south.Includes insets of a northwards continuation of the Shatt al Arab to Al Basra [Al Basrah, Iraq] Anchorage, at scale approximately 1:95,000; the Karun River from Ahwaz, [Ahvaz, Iran] to its confluence with the Shatt al Arab at scale approximately 1:300,000; Adaban Anchorage at scale approximately 1:22,000; Muhammera [Khorramshahr, Iran] at scale approximately 1:17,000; and Al Basra Anchorage at scale approximately 1:15,000.The river entrances surveyed by lieutenants Walford Charles Taylor, Edmund Wilmot Danson and Edward Heath Dauglish, Royal Indian Marine under the direction of Commander Charles Steward Hickman, Royal Indian Marine, and Commander Frederic Henry Walter, Royal Navy, and the officers of Her Majesty's Ship
Odin, 1911. Shatt al Arab and Khor Abdalla created by Commander Willoughby George Beauchamp, Royal Indian Marine, 1899 and 1906. Bahmishir River from a sketch survey by Lieutenant Gordon S Gunn, Royal Indian Marine, 1890. Engraved by Malby & Sons. Published at the Admiralty 1898, with new editions 1899, August 1900, November 1900, 1902, 1904, 1907, 1911, January 1912, September 1912 and small corrections.The sheet bears the stamps:'Not to be used for navigation. For reference purposes only' in red on the map face.The number '279.12' in black in the upper right margin.Physical description: Materials: Printed on paperDimensions: 914 x 676mm, on sheet 996 x 689mm
Abstract: The volume is entitled
Summary of Events in Territories of the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Arabia affecting the British Position in the Persian Gulf, 1907-1928(printed by the Committee of Imperial Defence, October 1928).Includes sections on The Ottoman Empire, Persia, Arabia (Nejd [Najd]), Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], Muscat, and Bahrein [Bahrain].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1 on the front cover and terminates at 90 on the back cover. These numbers are written in pencil, are enclosed in a circle, and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. Foliation anomalies: ff. 1, 1A; ff. 86, 86A. Two folios, f. 3 and f. 4 have been reattached in the wrong order, so that f. 4 precedes f. 3. The following map folios need to be folded out to be examined: f. 87, f. 88.
Abstract: This volume consists of a précis issued by the Government of India which provides comprehensive details regarding the history of relations between the British Government and the tribes and rulers of 'Arabistan. The volume is divided into eleven sections as follows:I. British Interests in 'Arabistan;II. 'Arabistan: Internal Politics up to the death of Haji Jabir and genealogical table of Shaikhs of Mohammerah, 1527-1881;III. Shaikh Miz'als's rule, 1882-1897;IV. Shaikh Khaz'al's rule, 1897-1910;V. Shaikh Khaz'al and the Persian Customs;VI. Shaikh Khaz'al: Political Relations with British Government;VII. Piracies;VIII. Turko-Persian Frontier Question;IX. Shaikh of Mohammerah and Turks;X. Irrigation in 'Arabistan;XI. Acquisition and Tenure of Land in 'Arabistan with Annexes.Between folios 51-70, the volume contains a number of appendices including copies of various relevant agreements. On folios 69-70, the volume contains the Persian text of a concession granted to the Nasiri Company for running ships from Ahwaz to Shushtar.The volume was compiled by Lieutenant Arnold Talbot Wilson, Acting Consul for 'Arabistan. The printing statement reads, 'Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing, 1912'Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 70; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An original printed pagination sequence is present in parallel between ff 8-65.
Abstract: The file contains a Confidential Foreign Office report entitled 'British Relations with Khazal, Sheikh of Mohammerah'. The report contains a detailed history of the relationship between the British Government and Shaikh Khaz‘al bin Jābir bin Mirdāw al-Ka‘bī, the Ruler of Mohammerah (present day Khorramshahr). An annex to the report contains copies of numerous written assurances given to the Shaikh by British officials between 1902 and 1914.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 14; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence and documents related to passport and visa regulations in the various Shaikhdoms of the Gulf, primarily in Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat.The majority of the correspondence is between Charles Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain; the Political Agency in Bahrain; the Political Residency in Bushire and other British officials, both in the region and in London.The file also contains a limited amount of correspondence in Arabic, including letters to the Political Agency in Bahrain from Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim, the Emir of Qatar.On folios 134-135, the file contains a Foreign Office memorandum entitled 'Travel Documents for Persons proceeding to, and for Natives of, Certain British Protectorates and Certain Arab States'.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 292; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 9-260; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The volume contains letters, telegrams, memoranda, reports, and a newspaper cutting concerning the affairs of Ibn Sa'ud and the Najd. The correspondence is mostly between Percy Cox, the High Commissioner of Iraq; Arthur P. Trevor and then Stuart G. Knox, who were respectively, Political Resident and Acting Political Resident in Bushire; James C. More, Political Agent in Kuwait; Clive K. Daly, Political Agent in Bahrain; Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for the Colonies (later the Duke of Devonshire, Victor Cavendish), in London; the Government of India, in Calcutta and Simla; the Foreign Office and India Office, in London; and Ibn Sa'ud.The main subjects covered are the payment of Ibn Sa'ud's subsidy and the defining of the Najd-Iraq border and the Najd-Kuwait border, including the Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] and Ojair [Uqair] talks.Other subjects include:the fall of Hail [Ha'il] to the Ikhwan;trouble in Bahrain between Najdis and Persians, including several papers to do with negotiations on this matter between Knox and Syed Hashim, Ibn Sa'ud's envoy;conflict between the Ikhwan and Ruweilah [Rawalah] tribe;enquiries into the business of a Dr Mann, visitor of Ibn Sa'ud;and administrative matters concerning Daly's leave and cover provided by Harold R. P. Dickson.Physical description: Foliation: The numbering starts on the first folio, begins 1A through to 1D, and then runs consecutively to 251. The numbers are written in pencil in the top right corner of the recto of each folio.
Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the:Shaikh of Kuwait's date gardens on the Shatt al-`ArabTurkish demand that Kuwaitis should take out Turkish Nationality Certificatesregistration of Shaikh Mubarak's property at Faddaghiyaoffer of a cash salary to Shaikh of Kuwait as QaimaqamThe principal correspondents in the volume include the Political Agent, Kuwait, Stuart George Knox; the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Mubarak al Sabah; and the Political Resident in Turkish Arabia, John Gordon Lorimer.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 309; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-308; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to three main topics.The first main topic discussed is the Shaikh of Kuwait's date gardens on the Shatt al-Arab (ff 3-162). The discussion in the volume relates to the Shaikh's concern about the repair of embankments and the actions of Turkish soldiers in dismantling the embankments in proximity to their fort. Included in the volume is a hand-drawn plan (folio 135) of the fort, garden, embankments and marshlands in relation to the Shatt al Arab waterway.The second main topic discussed is registration of Shaikh Mubarak's property at Faddaghiya (ff 163-311). The volume includes the Arabic version with English translation (ff 165-182) of the preliminary agreement between Shaikh Mubarak al-Sabah and Abdul Wahab bin Qirtass concerning 'the property known as Fadhagiya' as well as the final deed relating to the purchase. Also included is an Arabic copy (folio 251) of 'receipts passed for land revenue paid by Shaikh Mubarak on his Faddaghiya estate'.The third main topic discussed is the dismissal of the Mudir of Fao for overstepping his authority.The principal correspondents in the volume include the Political Agent, Kuwait (Stuart George Knox; William Henry Irvine Shakespear); the Political Resident in Persian Gulf (Percy Zachariah Cox); the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department (Sir Louis Dane); the First Assistant Resident, Bushire; HBM's Consul at Basrah; and the Ruler of Kuwait (Shaikh Mubarak bin Sabah al-Sabah).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 340; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.Pagination: the file also contains a hand written pagination sequence (ff 3-339).
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of letters, notes, pedigrees, news extracts and telegrams. The correspondence is mainly related to the ruling family in Kuwait. Reports were sent between the Political Agency, Kuwait and the Political Residency, Bushire regarding the following: political and social news in Kuwait; events concerning the al-Subah family (death, marriage or illness); news of Shaikh Mubarak’s coalition with Shaikh Khaz‘al against a number of tribes in the region; and reports on incidents taking place at Mohammerah, as well as news of the status of a number of Islands, such as Warba, which were claimed by the Shaikh of Kuwait.The file contains extracts from the Bahrain and Kuwait News, Residency reports about Shaikh Mubarak’s dispute with his pearl towashes (pearlers or pearl merchants), and an article (folios 219-224) on Shaikh Ahmad’s visit to London in 1919. It also contains a number of pedigrees of the al-Subah family.The file also includes correspondence related to the number of gun salutes due to chiefs in the Persian Gulf.The main correspondence is between the Political Agency, Kuwait, the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department, and the British Consul at Mohammerah.Due to the random arrangement of the papers in the file, the earliest paper (dated Nov 1904) is found at f 144, and the latest (dated Oct 1922) is found at f 135.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 230; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-227; these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled.