Abstract: Printed collection of biographical notices, as well as comments on élite dynasties and tribes of Persia [Iran], written over a period of twelve months and completed in December 1897 by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Philip Picot (Military Attaché, Teheran [Tehran]), then Acting Oriental Secretary in Her Majesty’s Legation. Amendments were added up until 23 January 1898. The author presented the manuscript to Charles H Hardinge (First Secretary, Foreign Office, London), 27 January 1898. The latter forwarded it to the Marquis of Salisbury (Prime Minister), 28 January 1898, who received it a month later (28 February 1898). The title page (f 1) is stamped as having belonged previously to the Government of India’s Library of the Foreign Office, Simla, where this copy was received with two other copies (two for Simla and one for Calcutta [Kolkata], three copies in total) and a letter from the Secretary of the Political and Secret Department, dated 8 July 1898 (location not disclosed). The contents are marked secret (originally ‘confidential,’ crossed out), and specified as, ‘For the use of Officers in Her Majesty’s Service only.’The printed work comprises two ‘inclosures’ [enclosures]: firstly, Picot’s letter of presentation to Hardinge (f 2v), prefaced by Hardinge’s letter of presentation to the Marquis of Salisbury (f 2); secondly, the treatise proper (ff 3r-60v). The contents page (f 3v) lists four main sections, but without corresponding page references. Following a brief introduction (f 4), an alphabetic register [index] of names (ff 4v-11v), and a glossary of titles and terms (ff 12r-13v), the work is divided into eight chapters comprising numbered entries. The first four chapters deal with the royal family in Teheran (forty-five entries over ff 14r-19v), the notables of Teheran (ninety-seven entries over ff 20r-32v), the merchants of Teheran (twenty-eight entries over ff 33r-35v), and the clergy of Teheran (eleven entries over ff 36-37). The remaining four chapters focus on the provinces of Fars (thirty-eight entries over ff 37v-44v), Ispahan [Isfahan] (eleven entries over ff 45-47), Khorasan (fifty-nine entries over ff 47v-57v), and Tabriz (twenty-two entries over ff 58-60).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 60; 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 volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: Report on the Persian Army by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Philip Picot, Military Attaché and Oriental Secretary, British Legation, Tehran, Persia.The report is divided into two parts. Part 1 consists of an introductory note, list of works consulted, chapters on general information about Persia and the history of the Persian Army (written by General Albert Houtum-Schindler), and an appendix on military pay, ranks, titles, and decorations. Part 2 consists of eleven chapters on recruitment, infantry, irregular cavalry, regular cavalry (the Cossack Brigade), artillery, miscellaneous irregular bodies, departments of the army, military schools, uniforms and equipment of men, uniform of officers, and decorations, medals, and orders.The report has a preface written by the author in January 1900 (folio 3).At the back of the volume is a map of Persia, Afghanistan, and Beluchistan [Baluchistan] (folio 84).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 85; 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: A copy of a large-scale map of Persia, referred to in an agreement between the British and Persian Governments of 27 December 1895. Notes on the map indicate three boundary lines: a red and green solid frontier line, as drawn by Major Oliver Beauchamp Coventry St John in 1872; a dotted blue line, being the frontier proposed by Sir Henry Mortimer Durand and accepted by the Persian Government; and a dotted red line, superseded by the blue line, and indicating the claim of Kelat [Kalāt] to the whole of the Mashked [Māshkel] district. The map also indicates: hydrology; relief, with form lines; settlements.The notes on the map are signed by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Philip Picot, Military Attaché at Tehran, 30 December 1895.Physical description: Dimensions:585 x 380 mm, on sheet 670 x 420 mm.Materials:Printed on paper.
Abstract: Copy of a map showing Sir Henry Mortimer Durand’s proposed frontier between Persia [Iran] and British Baluchistan [in present-day Pakistan], referred to in the agreement of 27 December 1895 between the Governments of Persia and Britain. The original of the map was signed by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Philip Picot, Military Attaché at Tehran, 30 December 1895. A note at the bottom of the map states that it was published under the direction of Colonel Charles Strahan, Surveyor General of India. The map indicates: the proposed frontier, shown as a black dashed line; hydrography; settlements; topography, with some indication of relief.The map is signed as being a true copy by Lieutenant-Colonel R A Wahab, Survey of the Perso-Baluch Boundary Commission, 5 April 1896. Printing statements in the bottom right corner of the map read: ‘Photozincographed at the Office of the Trigonometrical Branch, Survey of India, Dehra Dún [Dehradun]’ and ‘Heliozincographed at the Survey of India Offices, Calcutta [Kolkata].’Physical description: Dimensions:335 x 352 mm, on sheet 510 x 414 mm.Materials:Printed on paper.
Abstract: This file contains papers relating to the tribal situation in Kurdistan in 1933, and an alleged increase in Kurdish nationalist feeling in 1940 in Iraq and Iran. The main correspondents are Alan Charles Trott (Military Attaché in Tehran) in 1933, and Reader William Bullard (HM Minister at Tehran) and Basil Cochrane Newton (British Ambassador at Baghdad) in 1940.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 9; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Printed and typewritten fortnightly intelligence reports, submitted by staff at the British Consulate at Meshed [Mashhad]. Reports dated up to June 1931 were submitted by the British Military Attaché at Meshed (Major Leo Steveni). Reports after June 1931 were submitted by the Secretary to the British Consul at Meshed (Major Lancelot George Werge Hamber; Major Richard Henry Stevens).The reports are organised into three geographic regions: 1) Khorasan province in Persia [Iran] (including Meshed); 2) Herat province in Afghanistan; and 3) the ‘Central Asian Republics’ (corresponding to present-day Turkmenistan, as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). Each report is further arranged under miscellaneous subject headings that include:military affairs, including conscriptionadministrative and civil affairseconomic affairstrade and customsroads and communicationsspecific to Khorasan: Persian officials, refugees from Russia, and Soviet activities in Persiaspecific to the Central Asian Republics, the activities of the Basmachi movementMinute papers are enclosed in front of many reports, containing notes made by India Office staff commenting on items of note in the report.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 149; 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 2-148; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Copies of intelligence summaries prepared on a weekly basis by the Military Attaché at the British Legation in Tehran, and received by the India Office via the Foreign Office. The file’s contents follow on chronologically from Coll 28/97(1) ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries.’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3503). The summaries cover a broad range of information relating to wartime conditions in Iran: the activities of the Iranian government, including political instabilities, the resignation and appointment of governments and government ministers; the financial situation in Iran, including the reappointment in 1942 and subsequent economic policies of Arthur Chester Millspaugh, who was recruited to organise the government’s finances; internal security in Iran, including increasing political unrest in the north of the country (specifically in Azerbaijan) brought about by a growing Soviet presence, wartime propaganda, and the activities of the Tudeh Party of Iran; concerns over wheat production and supply, including reports of food shortages and famine conditions in 1942/43; the Iran military, including its movements, activities and appointments; foreign interests (primarily USA, British, and Soviet); reports of the numbers of Polish refugees in camps in Tehran, Isfahan and Ahwaz [Ahvāz].The file contains a single item in French, being a copy of the declaration of the Congrès National d’Azerbaidjan (Nation Congress of Azerbaijan, f 359).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 375; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Copies of intelligence summaries compiled on a fortnightly basis by the Military Attaché at the British Legation in Tehran (Gilbert Douglas Pybus, Herbert John Underwood, William A K Fraser), and received by the India Office via the Foreign Office. Many of the summaries are preceded by cover sheets and India Office notes sheets, the latter frequently containing handwritten notes giving a précis of the summary’s contents. The summaries cover a broad range of information, including: the activities of the Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Crown Prince, and other members of the royal family; activities of the Iranian Government and its officials; activities, organisation and strength of the Iranian army and Iranian air force; communications and transport, including wireless radio, and civil aviation routes into and out of Iran; British interests in Iran, including oil companies, specifically the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company; foreign interests in Iran; the Iranian press, focussing specifically on its criticism of foreign press and actions; commercial activities in Iran, including mining and factory production; tribal matters, including those in the Bahmai and Baluchistan provinces, and the Qashqai; place name changes in Iran. Proceedings prior to and during the Second World War are also covered in the summaries. These include: German activity in Iran (commercial, political, propaganda, Nazi organisation); movements of peoples; public opinion in Iran in response to events in Europe in 1940; the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941; the abdication of Reza Shah Pahlavi; public opinion in Iran in the wake of the Anglo-Soviet invasion and occupation; social unrest and anti-British feeling.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 403; 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: Typewritten and printed copies of weekly intelligence summaries, submitted by the Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Tehran. The reports cover: the affairs and activities of the Persian [Iranian] Government and the majlis, including statements, communiqués and declarations made by the Persian Prime Minister, Qawam us-Saltaneh [Qavām os-Saltaneh]; internal security in Iran and its various provinces, with a particular focus on the political unrest in Azerbaijan, in the wake of the Soviet army’s refusal to withdraw from Azerbaijan, and pro-Soviet sentiment in the region; Persian government appointments; the Persian army; reports in the Persian press, with a particular focus on the expression of anti-British sentiment in some publications; foreign interests in Persia, chiefly relating to Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America; notes on prominent Persian personalities.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 146; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Typewritten copies of fortnightly intelligence summaries, prepared by the Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Tehran. The file is a direct chronological continuation of Coll 28/97(2) ‘Persia diaries: Tehran Intelligence Summaries 1947’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3506). It covers: political affairs in Persia [Iran], including government changes, the Persian majlis, the government’s responses to foreign affairs, Persia-Soviet relations, budgets, the activities of the Ministry of Labour, the resignation of successive governments led by Ebrahim Hakimi and Hajir [Abdolhosein Hazhir]; military affairs, including the Persian navy, military conscription, and the Persian air force; internal security, including tribal affairs, and unrest in some regions of Persia, with a particular focus on Azerbaijan; economic affairs, including industry, agriculture, the activities of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, the Persian Government’s proposed seven-year plan, red oxide production at Hormuz [Jazīreh-ye Hormoz]; communications in Persia, covering roads, railways, ports, and air services; miscellaneous items, including official visits, extreme weather events, and an attempt on the life of the Shah, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, at Tehran University in February 1949.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 127; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Typewritten and printed copies of weekly intelligence summaries, submitted by the Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Tehran. The file is a direct chronological continuation of Coll 28/97(2) ‘Persia; Diaries. Tehran Intelligence summaries. No 1 to 50 of 1946.’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3505). The reports cover: activities of and appointments to the Persian [Iranian] Government and Persian majlis; the actions of the Persian Prime Minister Qawam us-Saltaneh [Qavām os-Saltaneh], who was succeeded in December 1947 by Hakim el-Molk [Ebrahim Hakimi]; the activities of the Persian army, gendarmerie and navy; the Persian court, including the movements and activities of the Shah; relations between Persia and Soviet Russia; internal security in various Persian regions (including Azerbaijan, Fars, Khuzistan, Persian Kurdistan); foreign interests in Persia, chiefly relating to Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America; communications and roads; commerce; labour, specifically labour relations in Persia, and the activities of the Tudeh Party.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 181; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence and notes relating to the law of succession in Persia [Iran], and possible events in Persia, in the event of the death of the Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi. The file includes:Correspondence from the British Embassy in Paris, dated 1 March 1930, informing Government of the death in France of the ex-Shah of Persia, Ahmed Kadjar [Ahmad Qajar], along with cuttings from the French newspapers
Le Tempsand
Le Matin, reporting on ex-Shah’s death (ff 42-45).A report, written by Lieutenant-Colonel Percy C R Dodd, Military Attaché at the British Legation, Tehran, dated 3 December 1930, on the present relations between the Shah and his army, and its bearing on the stability of the Pahlavi regime (ff 35-38).A report entitled
The Future of Persia, written by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard William Craven Fowle, dated October 1931 (ff 14-30).The text of an interview between an American journalist called Mr James, and the Persian Prime Minister Abdolhossein Teymourtache [Teymourtash], undated. Notes from a demi-official letter enclosing the text, from Captain John Ignatius Ennis, Intelligence Officer at the Baluchistan Intelligence Bureau in Quetta, dated 12 August 1931, also give details of James’ impressions of his visit to Russia (ff 3-12).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 54; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.