Abstract: The correspondence in this file relates to the expected visit of two Chinese Muslims to Afghanistan following their stay in Angora. The upcoming event is highlighted in a letter from Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen (HM Ambassador to Turkey) to Viscount Halifax (Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) on 6 June 1939, and later recorded in a letter from William Kerr Fraser-Tytler (HM Ambassador to Afghanistan) to Viscount Halifax in January 1940, after the visit occurred.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 7; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence concerning the 1939 Turkish earthquake. It largely consists of: copies of letters from the Under Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department, to the Counsellor, British Embassy, Angora [Ankara], Turkey, forwarding enclosed correspondence regarding expressions of sympathy and contributions towards the relief fund from various Indian municipal committees and councils, the Arya Samaj of Peshawar Cantonment, and Muslims of Navalgund and surrounding villages; and letters in response from the British Embassy, Angora.It also includes a copy of a telegram from HM Consul-General, Lourenço Marques [Maputo], Mozambique, to the Foreign Office [?], and a letter to the Turkish Ambassador from Philip Nichols, Foreign Office, regarding a donation from Muslim Indians at Lourenço Marques to be transmitted to the Turkish Relief Fund.The file includes copies of a letter in French from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the British Ambassador to Turkey, 6 March 1940 (folios 19 and 31).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 59; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file mostly consists of correspondence relating to the Idrisi [Idrissi] Sayid of Asir in Southern Arabia. It includes: India Office correspondence with the Foreign Office, the War Office, and the Foreign Department of the Government of India; and internal India Office minutes and reference papers. The file also includes copies of Foreign Office correspondence with the following: the War Office; the Treasury; the Political Resident, Aden; and Sir Reginald Wingate, High Commissioner, Cairo.The papers largely relate to the following subjects:The cost of purchasing arms and ammunition for the use of the Idrisi of Asir in military operations against Turkey.The contention of the Secretary of State for India in Council that the whole of the expenditure on munitions for the Idrisi should be regarded as part of ‘extraordinary’ military expenditure on the war with Turkey, which is chargeable in its entirety to the British Exchequer, rather than to Indian revenues.The purchase of land in Egypt for Saiyid Mustapha el Idrisi [Sayed Mustafa el Idrisi], in recognition of his services to the British Government in acting as an intermediary between his cousin the Idrisi of Asir and the Government of Aden.The monthly subsidy paid to the Idrisi of Asir.The employment of Lieutenant Fazluddin [Fazal-ud-din] of the Indian Medical Service as Medical Officer for the Idrisi, including correspondence concerning staff to assist him, and the extension of his appointment.The pension contribution payable to Lieutenant Nasiruddin Ahmed, who served as Liaison Officer to the Idrisi.Physical description: Condition: large pieces are missing from the edge of folio 278, including some of the text of the document.
Abstract: Comprises a general purpose base map with overprints in red, blue and black. Sheet trimmed around the neatline and mounted on paper. Relates to the Treaty of Sèvres (1920).The base map portrays hydrology, relief by spot heights and gradient tints, roads, railways, settlements and place names. Railway information current to early 1890s.The red overprint portrays suggested post-war boundaries of Turkey, the Zone of the High Commissioner (Zone of the Straits) and lands to be ceded to Greece and Italy. The blue overprint depicts territory in which the Greeks form fifty per cent or more of the total population. The black overprint annotates land to be ceded to Greece together with a legend and explanatory note. The overprints are dated approximately 1920 and bear the imprint '1056-1'. A small pencil annotation occurs within the area ceded to Greece.Physical description: Materials: Printed in colour, with manuscript additions in pencilDimensions: 240 x 188mm, on sheet 340 x 218mm
Abstract: This volume contains Arabic translations of four works related to the Ottoman commercial code originally published in Turkish: The Commercial Code, Appendix, Sources of Court Judgments, and Commentary. The Ottoman commercial code and updates of it were based on the French code of 1807. The importance of the code lies in the fact that it represented a break with the tenets of sharia (Islamic law) and prepared the way for promulgation of criminal and civil codes and reorganization of courts. Publication of the translation was a project of the translator, Niqula al-Naqqash, and printer-publisher Ibrahim Sadr, proprietor of both al-‘Umumiyah Press in Beirut and of the bookstore known as al-Misbah Press (The Lantern Press). The works were separately published between 1880 and 1885. Niqula and his brother, Marun, were men of varying interests and talents in the arts, politics, and administration. Niqula rose to prominence in the provincial Ottoman government and became a member of the imperial parliament. He was closely allied with the Maronite hierarchy and was the spokesman of the patriarchate. Marun is recognized as the founder of modern Arabic drama, a project in which his brother collaborated. Niqula himself tried his hand at playwriting, bringing out Al-Shaykh al-Jahil (The miserly shaykh) in the late 1840s. Their nephew, Salim ibn Khalil al-Naqqash, helped to establish the theater in Egypt.Physical description: 72 pages ; 21 centimeters
Abstract: Qanun al-jaza’ al-Humayuni (Ottoman criminal code) is a compilation of criminal law by Salim Baz (1859−1920), a Lebanese judge and member of the state council. The historian Stanford Shaw has written regarding the Ottoman legal system that the “most difficult aspect of the judicial sphere was its lack of unity.” Salim Baz set out to correct this deficiency, at least for the Arabic-speaking legal community. He drew upon many sources, including newspapers and magazines, to link amendments and court rulings to the texts of the laws as found in such sources as jara’id saniyah, ‘adliyah, and mahakim (the imperial, justice, and court gazettes). The Ottoman justice system underwent many changes during the period of reform and reaction in the 19th century. The most prominent focus of change was the need to balance Shari’ah (Islamic) law with modern criminal, commercial, and maritime codes imported from Europe. Changes also had to be made in the millet, the religious confessional system governing Christians and Jews, the treatment of foreigners, and the respect traditionally accorded to local practice in the sprawling empire of many cultures. The law governing antiquities provides one example of the how the authorities sought to modernize and bureaucratize legal and administrative practice. Excavation for the purpose of discovering antiquities was regulated, according to a directive issued in 1913−14. The new law forbade the practice of unlicensed excavation, export, or sale of antiquities by citizens and foreign persons and specified punishments for infringements of the law. The book contains a detailed table of contents and a useful alphabetical index. Salim Baz compiled other commentaries on Ottoman law, and he produced a history of the communal violence in Mount Lebanon of 1860.Physical description: 362 pages ; 24 centimeters
Abstract: Kitab al-Tuhfah al-Saniyah fi-Tarikh al-Qustantiniyah (The book of sublime marvels of the history of Constantinople) is a historical miscellany, which opens with a brief history of the city of Constantinople from earliest times to the author’s own day. It includes descriptions of noteworthy features, such as impressive buildings, gardens, cemeteries, bazaars, and opulent residential quarters. This portion of the work might be considered a guidebook for Arab visitors. The author expresses his admiration for the city and praise of the sultan in a way that seems aimed at binding the Arab reader to Ottoman imperial authority. The book follows traditional literary practice by referring to the city by its historical name, Constantinople (Ataturk officially renamed the city Istanbul in 1930). This first section of the book is followed by a genealogy of the Ottoman dynasty reaching back to the time of Adam. The third, and by far the longest, section of the book is a catalog of mankind’s achievements in government, industry, and the arts up to the 19th century. It is arranged in alphabetical order and is intended for the general reader. The book is dedicated to Sultan Abdülaziz (reigned 1861−76). Virtually nothing is known of the author except that he was a Maronite Christian from the historic Lebanese town of Dayr al-Qamr. The book was published by al-Ma’arif Press in Beirut.Physical description: 209 pages ; 20 centimeters
Abstract: Jesuit scholar Louis Cheikho was born in Mardin, Turkey, and educated at the Jesuit school in Ghazīr, Lebanon. He remained associated with the seminary and its successor institution in Beirut, Université Saint-Joseph, throughout his life. Cheikho studied in Europe and eventually gained a world-wide reputation as a Semitist and authority on Eastern Christianity. Al-Machriq, the journal he founded in 1898, is a principal resource for scholars in these fields. It is supplemented by Melanges de l’Université Saint-Joseph and Proche-Orient Chrétien from the same publishers. The work presented here, ‘Ilm al-Adab (Literary essays by classical Arab authors), is the second of two volumes containing commentaries of leading authorities on rhetoric and public discourse, such as Averroes, Avicenna, and Ibn Khaldūn. The second half of the work is devoted to poetics. Cheikho opens the subject by discussing comments by Averroes on Aristotle. From there he covers the various goals of the poet, such as praise, persuasion, apology, and ridicule, giving examples of each. Despite his stature as a scholar, Cheikho has been criticized for some aspects of his work, which is seen by some as marred by parochialism and bias. ‘Ilm al-Adab is carefully printed with complete vowel pointing, footnotes, and indexing.Physical description: 1 book, volume 2 ; 20 centimeters
Abstract: Reports from HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran, Reginald Hervey Hoare, and the British Ambassador in Turkey, Percy Lyham Loraine, along with newspaper cuttings from
The Times,
The Near East and Indiaand
The Evening Standard, reporting on the Shah of Persia’s [Reza Shah Pahlavi] visit to Turkey, including to Angora [Ankara]. The reports focus on: the Shah’s movements and meetings; speculation regarding the discussions that took place between the Shah and Turkish officials, including the prospect of an agreement between Persia [Iran], Turkey, Iraq, and Afghanistan; press coverage of the visit. The file includes one item in French, a newspaper cutting from the Persian newspaper
Le Messager de Teheran(f 5A).The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 44; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence and papers concerning relations between Persia [Iran] and Turkey. Subjects covered include: the signing of treaties of friendship and neutrality between the two nations in 1932; the proposed visit of the Shah of Persia [Reza Shah Pahlavi] to Angora [Ankara] in 1934; the visit of a Turkish delegation to Persia in 1936, for talks on a number of issues including security, frontiers, judicial assistance, extradition, commerce and customs; newspaper cuttings from
Le Journal de Tehran, dated 1937, reproducing a number of treaties, conventions and agreements between the Governments of Persia and Turkey, for ratification in the Persian parliament (ff 22-38); the rectification of the Perso-Turkish frontier, including a report by J P G Finch (with map) entitled ‘Turco-Iranian Frontier: Rectifications of January, 1932, and May, 1937, in the area of Marbishu [Mārmīshū]’ (ff 9-15).The file’s principal correspondents are: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran, Reginald Hervey Hoare, Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen, and Horace James Seymour; HM’s Ambassador to Turkey, George Russell Clerk and Percy Lyham Loraine. The file contains a number of items written in French, being copies of treaties and communiqués exchanged between the Governments of Turkey and Persia.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 78; 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.
Abstract: The volume consists of individual copies of the
Arab Bulletinnumbers 1-65 produced by the Arab Bureau at the Savoy Hotel, Cairo. They deal with economic, military, and political matters in Turkey, the Middle East, Arabia, and elsewhere, which – in the opinion of British officials – affect the ‘Arab movement’; the bulletins cover a wide range of topics and key personalities.Tables of content can be found at the front of each issue. A small amount of content is in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 618; 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.
Abstract: The file contains papers, mostly India Office minute papers and correspondence, relating to the deportation from the Hejaz of certain Indians for anti-British and pro-Turkish activities (as part of the silk letters movement), and their internment in Malta.The file includes correspondence between the India Office and the following: the Government of India Foreign and Political Department; the High Commissioner for Egypt, Sir (Arthur) Henry McMahon; the Foreign Office; the Colonial Office; and the War Office. The file also includes correspondence between the High Commissioner for Egypt, Sir (Arthur) Henry McMahon, and the Foreign Office, and between the High Commissioner for Egypt and the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political Department.The file includes photographic copies of the silk letters, which are written in Urdu (folios 63 to 66).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 157; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.