Abstract: This file consists of an agreement between the British Government and the Persian Government [a provisional agreement that was never ratified; it was later known as the Anglo-Persian Agreement], dated 9 August 1919. In the agreement, which consists of six clauses, the British Government agrees to continue to 'respect absolutely the independence and integrity of Persia'. It promises to supply – at the cost of the Persian Government – the services of whatever expert advisers may be required for reforms by the several departments of the Persian administration, as well as military officers, munitions and equipment. For the purpose of financing the aforementioned reforms, the British Government offers to provide a substantial loan for the Persian Government. The British Government also states that it is prepared to co-operate with the Persian Government 'for the encouragement of Anglo-Persian enterprise' in railway construction and other means of transport. The agreement concludes with a statement that both Governments agree to the appointment of a joint committee of experts for the examination and revision of the existing customs tariff.The agreement is followed by another agreement which concerns a loan of 2,000,000
lfrom the British Government to the Persian Government. This agreement is followed by an extract from a contract between the Persian Government and the Imperial Bank of Persia, regarding a previous loan of 1,250,000
l, dated 8 May 1911.The file concludes with two letters from Sir Percy Zachariah Cox, Acting British Minister at Tehran, to His Highness Vossug-ed-Dowleh [Woṯūq-al-dawla, Prime Minister of Persia], both dated 9 August 1919. In the first of these letters, Cox states that the British Government is prepared to co-operate regarding the following issues: the revision of existing treaties between the two powers, Persia's claims to compensation for damage suffered at the hands of other belligerents, and the rectification of the Persian frontier. In the second letter, Cox states that the British Government will not claim for the cost of the maintenance of British troops that were sent to Persia to defend its neutrality during the First World War, while on the other hand the Persian Government will not claim from the British Government an indemnity for any damage caused by British troops in Persian territory.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 205, and terminates at f 206, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, minutes and resolutions, cited in, or enclosed with, an extract from a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 23 June 1849.The item concerns the manufacturing and transportation of tents to be used by Her Majesty’s Mission in Persia [Iran]. The request for these tents was originally made in January 1846 by Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, HM Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Persia. The request is carried out between 1848 and 1849, with the tents being manufactured in Bombay and transported to Tehran via Bushire [Bushehr]. In particular, the item relates to:Details about the tents (number, design, fabric, dimensions, cost etc.) and how they should be packaged for transportThe tendering process at Bombay, including applications made by numerous manufacturersArrangements made for the transportation of the tents, including the difficulties arising from the combined weight of the finished productsA request that Major Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, inspects the tents on their arrival at Bushire, as payment by HM Government will only be made if the tents arrive at Tehran in good condition.A report of the committee charged with inspecting the finished products in Bombay can be found at folio 545.Principal correspondents include: Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Farrant, HM Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran; the Military Board, Bombay; Major David Davidson, Commissary General of the Army; Captain Elgate Whichelo, Deputy Commissary General; Commodore Stephen Lushington, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy; and the Government of Bombay.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft No. 714/49’, ‘Collection No. 16 of No. 56’, and ‘Examiner’s Office’. The collection number was originally ‘28’, but this has been crossed out and replaced with ‘16’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 522, and terminates at f 552, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Major Samuel Hennell, British Resident in the Persian Gulf; Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Tehran; Captain Whichele, Deputy Commissary General to Bombay; and the Bombay Military Board.The item concerns a shipment of tents from Bombay [Mumbai] to the Persian [Iranian] Mission in Tehran, via Bushire [Bushehr]. The item includes a packing list for the tents, complaints about the tent doors, and a note that some of the tents had been stolen en route.The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft No 214 of 1851’ and ‘Collection No 26 of No 111’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 308, and terminates at f 320, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. These political letters appear in IOR/F/4/2302/118727. The correspondents are: the Government of Bombay; Major Samuel Hennell, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; Alexander Hector, a British merchant; and Mirza Mahmood [Mīrzā Muḥammad], British Agent at Shiraz. It is the forty-first in a series of fifty-one items on the Persian Gulf.The item concerns:Intelligence about disorder in Shiraz and speculations about the instigatorsEvents at Tehran immediately following the death of Mahomed Shah [Muḥammad Qājār, Shāh of Persia [Iran]]A dispute between Alexander Hector and the port officials at Bushire [Bushehr] who refused to take charge of 5,000 muskets which he was importingSettlement about the amount payable by Sheik Houssein [Shaikh Ḥusayn] at Bushire due to him having delayed a boat and assaulted one of the ownersConcerns about cossids carrying British messages being seized between Shiraz and Isfahan.The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Collection No 3 of No 4’, ‘Coll[ection]: 17’ and ‘Draft no 465 of 49’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 628, and terminates at f 644, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, extracts from a Bombay [Mumbai] Political Consultation, 28 May 1845. The papers contained in this item are partial enclosures to a Political Letter sent from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 10 June 1845. A copy of this Political Letter can be found at IOR/F/4/2122/100076, alongside details of further enclosures.The item relates to a letter, dated 9 May 1845, to the Government of Bombay from the Government of India, relaying the Governor-General's approval of the proceedings of the former with regards to the departure to Tehran of two of the Arab men accused of murdering Bebee Asselo ([Bibi Asilu], widow of the former Native Agent at Shiraz). A copy of this letter is forwarded to Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5061, Draft 29/46, Coll[ection]: 23, Vol: 7’, 'Collection No. 6 of No. 62' and ‘Examiner's Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 490, and terminates at f 492, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: Military report compiled by Captain LS Fortescue of the General Staff of the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force and printed in Calcutta at the Superintendent Government Printing, India, 1922.The volume begins with a statement defining the geographical area covered by the report. The report is divided into ten chapters, plus appendices, each concerning a different subject, as follows:Chapter 1: HistoryChapter 2: GeographyChapter 3: Climate, Water, Medical and AviationChapter 4: EthnographyChapter 5: Administration (including a table of provinces with administrative details (folios 123-30)Chapter 6: Armed Forces of the Persian GovernmentChapter 7: Economic ResourcesChapter 8: TribesChapter 9: PersonalitiesChapter 10: CommunicationsAppendices: Glossary of terms; Weights, measures and coinage; Bibliography; Historical sketch (Chapter 1) continued from June 1920 to the end of 1921At the back of the volume (folio 302) is a map to illustrate the report.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 303; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, 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.
Abstract: Map showing the road from Tehran to Bushire (also spelled as Abushehr). As well as roads, the map indicates hydrology, hills, mountains, and telegraph lines.The original survey on which the map is based is attributed to Captain O St John (Sir Oliver Beauchamp Coventry St John). The map also states that it is based on astronomical observations by Captains St John and Pearson.Included on the map is the following printing statement: 'Photo-Zincographed from an Original Supplied by the Director General of Telegraph Department, at the Survey of India Offices, Calcutta, January 1891.'The scale of the map is given as 8 statute miles to 1 inch.Physical description: Materials: Printed in ink on paperDimensions: 1607 x 555mm, on sheet 1662 x 669mm
Abstract: This bundle consists of summaries, and partial transcripts, of secret letters received from HM Consul at Tehran, Richard W Stevens (24 September, 2, 8, 13, 14, 15, and 18 October 1856, Numbers 64-66, 68-69, 71-73, and 75).The subject matter includes the size and composition of the Persian Army besieging Herat, the tactics of the besieging and besieged forces at Herat, an alleged plot by Sheeah [Shia] residents to open the gates of Herat and reprisals by Eesa Khan [Isa Khan Bardorani, Minister-Regent of Herat], the transfer of Mahomed Yoosoof [Mohammad Yusuf Khan] as prisoner to Tehran, the reaction of the Persian Court to rumours of British activity in the Persian Gulf, and a Turkish demand for the destruction of Persian fortifications near Mahumrah [Mohammerah].Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 118 of 1846, dated 14 October 1846. The enclosures are numbered 3-4 and are dated 14 to 15 August 1846, and relate to Persian [Iranian] affairs.Enclosure No. 3 consists of a letter from HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia, Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, forwarding under flying seal a letter to the Secretary to the Government of India, enclosing copies of despatches addressed by Sheil to HM Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Earl of Aberdeen, dated 20 July to 10 August 1846. It also includes one letter from Sheil to HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Sir Stratford Canning, dated 10 August 1846.The despatches concern matters including:Sheil raising the claims for compensation of Hajee Noor-ood-deen [Ḥājī Nūr al-Dīn], a British subject, with the Persian GovernmentThe Persian Government having built up a ‘considerable’ artillery at Tehran, with Sheil enclosing a list of the guns and ordnance stores in the arsenal at TehranAn outbreak of cholera in TehranThe death from cholera of Meerza Abul Hassan Khan [Mīrzā Abū al-Ḥasan Khān Shirāzī, Īlchī-yi Kabīr], Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Sheil’s preference for his successorThe Persian Government having been persuaded not to recall the Persian Minister at Erzeroom [Erzurum], Meerza Tekkee Khan [Mīrzā Taqī Khān Farāhānī, also known as Amīr Kabīr], following an attack on him in which he nearly lost his life, two of his servants were murdered, and his property was stolen; and the Persian Prime Minister, Hajee Meerza Aghassee [Ḥājī Mīrzā (ʿAbbās Īravānī) Āqāsī], instead instructing him to seek redress for these events from the Turkish [Ottoman] Government, and in anticipation of this being readily accorded, to sign the treaty with the PorteThe Russian Minister to Persia, Prince Dolgorouki [Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Dolgorukov] having addressed a ‘violent and personally threatening’ letter to Hajee Meerza Aghassee, calling on him to disavow in writing language which had been attributed to him, as well as any intention of going to war with Russia, which the Persian Prime Minister had complied withThe Court of Spain attempting to negotiate a treaty of commerce with the Persian GovernmentThe intention of the Russian Government to send a war steamer from Astracan [Astrakhan] twice a month laden with merchandise to the coast of Asterabad [Gorgan], and the opposition of the Persian Ministers to repeated visits of a Russian war ship to the Persian CoastThe Shah [Muḥammad Shāh Qājār] complaining to Sheil about the encroachments of Russia in the direction of Asterabad.Sheil’s despatches include enclosed copies of the following: correspondence between Sheil and Meerza Abul Hassan Khan; autograph letters from the Shah to Hajee Meerza Aghassee; correspondence between Prince Dolgorouki and Hajee Meerza Aghassee; and letters from Aghassee to Meerza Tekkee Khan and Sheil.Enclosure No. 4 is a letter from Sheil to the Secretary to the Government of India, dated 5 August 1846, informing him, for the information of the Governor-General, of the death of Meerza Abul Hassan, in view of him having been a pensioner of the British Government.Physical description: 1 item (67 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 33 of 1854, dated 31 May 1854. The enclosures are numbered 3-5 and are dated 8 December 1853 to 29 April 1854.The enclosures contain correspondence discussing the view of the Prime Minister [Ṣadr A‘ẓam] of the Government of Persia [Iran] on the journey of the mother of Prince Abbas Meerza [ʿAbbās Mīrzā Qājār] from Mecca to London. Correspondents include HM Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran; Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and the Secretary to the Government of India.Physical description: 1 item (67 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 47 of 1856, dated 25 June 1856. The enclosures are dated 22 April-13 May 1856.The enclosures comprise copies of despatches sent by Richard W Stevens, HM Consul in Tehran, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, copies of which are forwarded for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Government of India. The despatches chiefly relate to the Persian [Iranian] military campaign against Herat, notably:Intelligence that the Persian Army of Prince Sultan Moorad Meerza [Prince Sulṭān Murād Mīrzā] defeated the Heratees in a battle at Ghorian [Ghurian] which is now garrisoned by the Persian ArmyThe apparent plan of the Shah [Shāh] of Persia to also conquer Kandahar [also spelled Candahar in this item] where there is purported opposition to Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy], and the order of a detachment of Persian troops to Kandahar via Seistan [Sistan]Unverified intelligence received from the news-writer at Meshed [Mashhad] that the brother of the Ruler of Herat, Mahommed Youssuf [Muḥammad Yūsuf], and Essau Khan [ʻĪsá Khān], the anti-Persian vizier of Herat, have arranged terms of surrender with Sultan Moorad MeerzaIntelligence received from an Italian officer (ff 395-396) whose brother is attached to the Persian Army of Herat, alleging: Essau Khan’s defection to the Persians; the surrender of Herat due to scarcity of provisions; the garrisoning of Herat on the orders of the Shah; the poor condition of the Persian Army; and the agreement of the Heratees to all of Persia’s terms apart from the permanent occupation of Herat. (The copy of the original intelligence is in Italian, with an English translation. A duplicate of the Italian letter and translation is in IOR/L/PS/5/487, ff 426-436, ff 430-432)Intelligence brought to Tehran by the post-master of Semnaan [Semnan] claiming that Persian regular troops had entered Herat, the postponement of celebrations in Tehran following reports that the news was false, and punishment of the messengerReports in Tehran that Essau Khan in fact discovered Mahommed Youssuf in secret talks with the Persian Commander, ousted him in a coup, expelled him to the Persian camp ironically offering him as peeshkesh [peshkash, a fine or a present to the ruling authority on receiving an appointment or assignment of revenue], and did not surrender to the Persians.The item also covers the following matters:Russia’s expression of friendship for Persia by withdrawal of protection to the family of a Russian subject who died in Persia last year owing the Persian Government half a million tomansThe Persian prime minister’s intention to spread anti-English propaganda, in Bokhara [Bukhara], Khiva and Afghanistan, following the Ottoman Sultan’s firman placing his ‘non-Mussulman’ [non-Muslim] subjects on equal footing with ‘Mahommedans’ [Muslims] (referring to the Treaty of Paris March 1856 in which an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France and Sardinia ended the Crimean War with Russia)Intelligence from Asterabad [Gorgan] of the murder of the Khan of Khiva by a group of Turcomans [Turkmen] of the Yamoot [Yomut] tribe, and fighting between Yamoots and Yoozbegs [Uzbeks] potentially leaving Khiva vulnerable to Russian ‘designs’The circulation in Tehran of an article originally printed by a Persian-language newspaper in Bombay [Mumbai], and Stevens’s assertion that only a complete retraction by the Persian Government of the ‘unfounded accusations’ and ‘calumnious statement’ contained in it will repair the ‘injurious effect’ (f 387) on Britain’s image.Physical description: 1 item (16 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 8 dated 16 January 1856. The enclosures are dated 3-22 December 1855.The item comprises copies of despatches, with relevant enclosures, from Charles Augustus Murray, HM Envoy in Persia [Iran], to the Earl of Clarendon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, forwarded to the Government of Bombay and the Government of India, and from Commander James Felix Jones, Indian Navy, Acting Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the Secretary to the Government, Bombay.Murray’s despatches relate to his suspension of diplomatic relations between the British Mission in Tehran and the Persian Government in connection with: the opposition of the Sadr Azim [Ṣadr-i Aʿẓam, Persian Prime Minister, spelled in various ways in this item] to Murray’s appointment of Meerza Hashem Khan [Mīrzā Hāshim Khān] to the British Agency at Sheeraz [Shiraz]; the Sadr Azim’s imprisonment of Meerza Hashem Khan’s wife; and the ‘insults’ and ‘calumnies’ circulated by the Persian Government against Murray and other British officials in Tehran. Notably covered are:Murray’s assertion of the Sadr Azim’s excessive influence over the ShahThe purported feud between the families of Meerza Hashem Khan and the Sadr AzimThe Sadr Azim’s contention that there has never been a British Agent at Shiraz and that Meerza Hashem Khan was in the pay of the Persian Government and therefore ineligible for employment by the BritishAttempts by Nicolas Prosper Bourée, French Consul at Tehran, to mediate between Murray and the Persian GovernmentMurray’s decision to haul down the flag of the British Mission in TehranMurray’s vehement denial of Persian claims that both he and William Taylour Thomson, the former Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of Persia, had affairs with the wife of Meerza Hashem Khan (see ff 101-102, 103-106 and 116-117) and that Thomson originally took Meerza Hashem Khan under the protection and employment of the British Mission for this reasonMurray’s refusal to rehoist the flag unless the Meerza’s wife is released and an apology is received from the Sadr Azim for the ‘gross and groundless’ ‘calumnies’ (f 98)Murray’s arrangements for the withdrawal the British Mission to Turkish [Ottoman] Territory, and (despite the opposition of the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs) for HM Consul, Richard Stevens, to remain in TehranThe Persian Government’s insistence on its continued friendship with the British Government.The despatches include copies of Murray’s correspondence with the Sadr Azim and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and copies of notes written by the Shah.Also covered in Murray’s despatches are:Rumours of the death of Dost Mahomed Khan [Emir Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy]Reports of the seizure of Herat by Prince Mahomed Yoosuf [Muḥammad Yūsuf Khān, Regent of Herat] and the apparent state of ‘civil war’ in Afghanistan (f 67)Intelligence from the British Agent at Meshed [Mashhad] relating the story of Hassan Ali Khan [Ḥasan ‘Alī Khān] in Bokhara [Bukhara] concerning his encounters with a man he suspects is a European [‘Perhaps Ferguson’ is noted in the left hand margin of folio 64]Russian incursions into the territory of the Khan of Khokand [Muḥammad Khudāyār Khān, Khān of Kokand]The Imam of Muscat’s letter asking Murray to mediate in his dispute with the Persian Government concerning ownership of Bender Abbass [Bandar Abbas].Jones’s despatches cover his reaction to the news of the suspension of diplomatic relations between Britain and Persia, including his: concerns about the defences of Bushire [Bushehr] and a potential conflict there with Persia; communications with Commodore Richard Ethersey, Commanding the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf, with regard to strengthening the squadron in the Bushire Roads to protect British subjects; and measures to establish good communications with Murray. Also included is a copy of a ruckum [raqam] from HRH Prince Tamasp Meerza Prince Governor of Fars [Shāhzādah Ṭahmāsp/Ṭahmāsb Mīrzā Muʾayyid al-Dawlah], to the News Writer and Agent for Foreign Affairs, Bushire, intimating he has no quarrel with the Resident.Physical description: 1 item (76 folios)