1. 'Russo-Persian Relations, 1854-1875'

Description:

Abstract: The volume contains records of correspondence (abstracts, lists, copies and originals) concerning relations between Russia and Persia during the period 1837-1875. The papers are as follows:Papers relating to Russian proceedings on the island of Ashoorada [Ashuradeh] covering the years 1837-1854 (but compiled at an unspecified later date):abstract of correspondence covering the years 1837-1854 (folios 1-13);lists of dispatches and correspondence covering the years 1837-1852 (folios 14-21A).Papers relating to Russo-Persian relations, c1860-1862:abstract of a memoir on the general policy of Russia in the East by M. Sawarykielwiez (folios 22-33). The abstract is signed WHB. A note in blue crayon on folio 22 reads '?About 1860';letter from Charles Alison, Tehran to John Russell, Earl Russell, dated 14 June 1862, enclosing a translation of a draft [not transcribed] of a secret treaty between Persia and Russia proposed during the Crimean War (original manuscript copy and two typescript copies) (folios 34-37).Copies of secret dispatches from the British Embassy at St Petersburg to the British Government, dated 1874-1875, relating to Russian activities in Transcaspia and Central Asia, with copies of supporting correspondence (folios 38-146). Many of the dispatches are in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1 on the first folio after the front cover and terminates at 157 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. 21, 21A; ff. 74, 74A; ff. 114, 114A; ff. 115, 115A; ff. 116, 116A; ff. 127, 127A; ff. 130, 130A; ff. 131, 131A; ff. 132, 132A; ff. 136, 136A; ff. 137, 137A; ff. 139, 139A; ff. 140, 140A; ff. 141, 141A; ff. 146, 146A; ff. 151, 151A; ff, 152, 152A.

2. 'Statement showing the number of names of Arab Tribes of the Nejd [Najd] Territory'

Description:

Abstract: The statement gives the following information for each tribe listed:Name of the tribeName of its ChiefIts place of headquartersNumber of subdivisionsPopulationAmount of tribute paid to Amir Faisul ibn Turki al-Sa'udNumber of horses procurable by each tribeRemarksThe remarks relate to the expectation that the Chief of each tribe would each year give horses to Amir Faisul. The amount of horses is determined by the number of Jama (subdivisions) the tribe had; in return the chief would receive clothes, weapons and dates from the Amir. A further remark notes that those tribes who pay no tribute are expected to protect the Nejd [Najd] frontiers and to go on any expeditions that the Amir wishes them to.Physical description: The folio has to be folded out in order to be read.

3. 'Caucasus Boundaries'

Description:

Abstract: Title taken from manuscript annotation on verso; recto bears no title.Printed sheet depicting disputed territories in the Caucasus, particularly Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and southern Russia. Portrays hydrology, railways, settlements, place names, and international and internal boundaries; also depicts areas under dispute and three successive positions of the 'Denekin Demarkation Line'.The sheet bears the imprints '9172.28700.135.' and 'Malby & Sons, Lith.'Manuscript additions portray relief by hachures, amendment to the spelling of 'Denekin' to the more standard 'Denikin', and revision to the wording in the key.An attached folio (f 40a. Manuscript: ink on paper; 104 x 81mm) bears the note 'This map will be attached to the [?]print.'Physical description: Materials: Printed in colour, with manuscript additions in ink and pencilDimensions: 306 x 470mm, on sheet 345 x 510mm

4. 'Map to show territory which was Turkish prior to War 1914-'18 which it is proposed to include within Northern, Western and Southern Boundaries of Armenia.'

Description:

Abstract: Created by the War Office, 1920. The sheet bears the series designation 'G[eographical].S[ection].G[eneral].S[taff]. No. 2944', and covers a 300 mile by 500 mile area of eastern Turkey under consideration for ceding to Armenia in the aftermath of the First World War. Also includes parts of present-day Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq and Russia. Portrays, hydrology, relief by contours and spot heights, railways, settlements, place names, and ten categories of existing and proposed internal and international boundaries.The verso bears the manuscript note 'Armenia'.Physical description: Materials: Printed in colourDimensions: 557 x 890mm, on sheet 712 x 980mm

5. 'MAP SHOWING PROPOSED BAGHDAD RAILWAY'

Description:

Abstract: The map shows a region encompassing parts of Russia, Persia, Arabia and the Ottoman Empire, indicating the routes of proposed and existing railway lines. The map also shows hydrology, topography and major cities and towns.The map is Plate 2 in 'Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman' (Naval Intelligence Department No. 694), 1903, and bears the printing statement, 'Weller & Graham, Ltd. Litho, London.'.Physical description: Materials: Printed on paperDimensions: 196 x 240mm, on sheet 244 x 405mm

6. 'Russia and India in 1903'

Description:

Abstract: A short book on Russia and India by the Conservative Member of Parliament, Sir Charles Edward Howard Vincent. The volume includes sections on the Russian Army, the Indian Frontier Question, the Indian Army, Indian Princes and the Empire, British Trade in India, and Fighting Plague at Bombay. The volume was published by P S King & Son at Orchard House, Westminster, London, 1903.Inserted into the volume, probably for promotional purposes, is a flyer advertising a book from the same publisher, entitled 'Parliament: Its Romance, Its Comedy, Its Pathos' (folio 17).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 33; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

7. ‘Bagdad Ry’

Description:

Abstract: The file contains correspondence, reports and memoranda relating to the Baghdad Railway, and papers relating to Britain’s relations with Persia [Iran], and to a lesser extent, the Persian Gulf.Papers relating to the Baghdad Railway include the following memoranda: ‘Memorandum on the Baghdad Railway, and possible British participation therein’; ‘Memoranda containing a Brief Account of the Negotiations relating to the Baghdad Railway, 1898-1905’; and ‘Report (with Maps) on the country adjacent to the Khor Abdullah, and places suitable as Termini of the proposed Baghdad Railway’ (which includes two maps: Mss Eur F111/360, f 32 and Mss Eur F111/360, f 33).The file also includes:Copies of printed despatches from the Marquess of Lansdowne (Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to Sir Charles Louis des Graz, Secretary of the British Legation, Tehran, dated August 1902, reporting conversations between himself and the Shah of Persia and the Atabeg-i-Azam (also spelled Atabek-i-Azam) concerning Britain’s relations with Persia, including the increase in the Persian Customs TariffHandwritten notes by George Nathaniel Curzon relating to Persia (folios 43 to 50)Newspaper extracts from The Times, dated January 1902 and May 1903, relating to British interests in Persia and the Persian Gulf, and Russian relations with Persia (folios 54 to 63).The file includes a copy of a letter from Sir Nicholas Roderick O’Conor, British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, to the Marquess of Lansdowne, enclosing an extract from the Moniteur Orientalof 15 August 1905, regarding the working of the recently completed section of the Baghdad Railway from Konia to Eregli and Boulgourlou, which is in French. The file also includes a copy of a letter from Joseph Naus to Sir Arthur Hardinge, HM Minister to Persia, 3 May 1903, relating to the export of cereals, which is also in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 64; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

8. 'Minute by His Excellency the Viceroy on Russian Ambitions in Eastern Persia'

Description:

Abstract: The file consists of a Minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council regarding Russian ambitions in Eastern Persia. These include: the absorption of Persia, the connection of Russian territories by railway with the Indian Ocean, and the acquisition of a fortified naval base in the Persian Gulf.Curzon examines how far Russian ambitions would negatively affect British interests, and how far they should either be acquiesced or opposed.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 132, and terminates at f 134, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

9. 'The Middle Eastern question or some political problems of Indian defence'

Description:

Abstract: The volume, written by Valentine Chirol and printed in London by John Murray in 1903, is based on a series of letters written by Chirol during a journey through Persia and the Persian Guf, that appeared in The Timesin 1902 and 1903.The main topics are: the concept of 'Middle East'; the Baghdad Railway; the British role in the Persian Gulf; the Russian influence over Persia; the border of Afghanistan; the North-East Frontier of India, and Tibet. An appendix at the back of the volume contains copies of international treaties, and documents in French on the Baghdad Railway.The volume contains numerous illustrations and three maps:'Sketch Map of the Borderlands of India';'Sketch Map of Asia showing railway expansion';'Sketch map of Persia and adjoining countries'.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

10. 'Notes on the statements made in William Gifford Palgrave's book Narrative of a Year's Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia'

Description:

Abstract: The statements were originally intended to form Appendix 12 of Colonel Pelly's Riyadh report No.57 dated 15 May 1866 and were produced following a request from the British Government for Pelly to go through William Gifford Palgrave's book and verify the truth, or otherwise, of accusations, assertions and claims made by Palgrave about the places he visited and people he met.The principal statements that Pelly addressed were as follows:That the native agent at Shargah [Sharjah], an Armenian named Hajee Yacoob, was encouraging the slave trade whilst operating as a representative of the British Government. This claim was refuted by Pelly firstly as Hajee Yacoob was a musselman, secondly as he had recovered more slaves than 'any other man in the Gulf' and thirdly as succesive residents considered him to be a most energetic and reliable man who was not as Palgrave supposed responsible for the suppression of slavery in Shargeh but was in fact the arbitrator of the maritime truce there.That Palgrave and his companion had travelled openly as Christians and been welcomed as such. Whereas Pelly had witness testimonies, including from his agent at Muscat, that Palgrave had disguised himself as a mussulman and used assumed names in order to travel and had even been seen worshipping in mosques.Claims as to the extent of the territories of Oman, that Bahrein and Qatar (amongst other places) paid tribute to Oman, that Said Saeed [Thuwaini bin Said] divided his territories up between his three sons in his will, alleged tensions between these sons and claims relating to Said Soulem [Salim II bin Thuwaini], son of Said Saeed, being a young boy. Several of these claims such as the extent of Oman's territories and the way in which they were divided up following Said Saeed's death were refuted through treaties and agreements that already existed such as Lord Canning's of 1861 which separated Muscat and Zanzibar, and a loan agreement of 1856 in which Persia agreed to lease some places to Oman. The remaining claims were refuted by Pelly's personal and detailed knowledge of Muscat and through Said Torki [Turki bin Said],son of Said Saeed who was a guest of Pelly's in Bushire at the time of his writing the responses to the statements, including that Said Soulem was actually a grown man, not a young boy, and had recently been accused of murdering his father,Also included in the file are a draft version of the statements and a copy of the witness statement of Mr Rozario, agent at Muscat, regarding Mr Palgrave passing himself off there as a mussulman called Aboo Mahmood and that he had observed him attending mosques and outwardly observing the fast.Physical description: Foliation: The file has been foliated in the front top right corner of each folio with a pencil number enclosed in a circle.

11. ‘Confidential. Persia’

Description:

Abstract: This part consists of a printed summary of British policy regarding Persia, from 1834 to 1904, featuring extracts from Foreign Office correspondence. Also included are extracts from speeches given in the House of Commons by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs respectively, as published in The Times.The summary is divided into sections. The contents page includes an introductory statement and a table of contents, which lists the sections as follows:(1) The integrity of Persia(2) Railways, tramways, roads, telegraphs in Southern Persia(3) The customs of Southern Persia(4) Seistan(5) British interests in the Persian Gulf(6) The Sheikh of Mohammerah(7) The new Persian tariff(8) The acquisition by Russia of a Naval Station on the Persian GulfThere is a handwritten note on the front of the document which states ‘This is not final copy’.Notable correspondents include the following: the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the British Minister at Tehran (Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, succeeded by Arthur Henry Hardinge); HM Chargé d'Affaires to Tehran (Robert Charles Kennedy; Cecil Arthur Spring Rice); HM Ambassador to Russia, St Petersburg (Sir Charles Stewart Scott); the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (Count Karl Robert Nesselrode); the Shah of Persia, Nassir-ud-Din (Nasser Al-Din Shah Qajar); the Mushir-ed-Dowleh of Persia (Prime Minister to the Shah); the Russian Ambassador to London (Count Alexander Konstantinovich Benckendorff).Physical description: The document is paginated and in page number order, and is arranged into sections on particular subjects.

12. Handwritten report regarding the Shat el Arab [Shatt al Arab] watercourse

Description:

Abstract: Handwritten report, in Lewis Pelly's handwriting about the history of the Shat el Arab [Shatt al Arab] watercourse from the point where it commences at the uniting of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through to where it flows into the Persian Gulf.The reports goes on to describe the agriculture along the watercourse; the deserts beyond; and information about Basrah [Basra] including architectural descriptions and the ruined city of Zobeir [Zubayr].The report also includes accounts of attacks on the area by nomadic Bedouins who travel the area in winter searching for pastures; the development of a settlement, trade and a Government at Khote [Kuwait], including a description of Pelly's visit there en-route to Riadh [Riyadh]; and giving detailed descriptions of the Sheikh, conversations about Pelly's proposed trip and details of the hospitality Pelly received there.The report concludes by recounting a story told by Sheikh Sabba [Sabah II bin Jabir Al-Sabah] of two slave girls and their families' efforts to find and be reunited with them.The report itself is undated, but would have been written sometime after Lewis Pelly's trip to Riyadh which took place February to March 1865.Physical description: 40 folios