Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the Government of Bombay.The item is concerned with the assassination of Ali Pasha, Governor of Bagdad [Baghdad], and the interference of Samuel Manesty, Resident at Bussorah [Basra], in the nomination of the new Governor by the Ottoman Court. In particular, the item relates to:The Government of Bombay's criticism of Manesty for abandoning a neutral position by promising his support for the nomination of Soliman Bacha [Sulayman] as the new Governor of BagdadReports on the circumstances of the assassination of Ali PashaManesty's accounts of his conversations with the Mussaleem [Mussallim] of Bagdad regarding the Mussaleem's plans for becoming the Governor of Bagdad in the event of Soliman Bacha's deathThe Government of Bombay's strong protests to Manesty's proposals to travel to Constantinople [Istanbul] in order to address the Ottoman Ministry against the permanent installation of Eusuf Bacha [Yusuf Ziyaeddin Pasha], the temporary Governor of BagdadManesty's opinions that the placement of a 'Contstantinople Turk' in the role of Governor of Bagdad would be disastrous for the East India Company's interests in the area and that the French are supporting the nomination of Eusuf Bacha in order to easily pass through the region into Persia [Iran] and then IndiaManesty's proposals that, in the event of Eusuf Bacha being permanently installed as Governor of Bagdad and this being a result of French influence, he will barricade the river at Bussorah to prevent the entry or exit of any French vesselsConfirmation from the Acting Resident at Bagdad that Soliman Bacha has succeeded Ali Pasha as the new Governor of Bagdad due to Eusuf Bacha declining the offer from the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire].The correspondence is mainly between the Government of Bombay and the Resident at Bussorah. The other correspondents included are: John Hine, Acting Resident at Bagdad; Francis Warden, Secretary to Government, Bombay; Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, Secretary to the Supreme Government at Fort William.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 18, Season 1814/15, Draft 20, Para 73' and 'Examiner's Office November & December 1808'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 59 and terminates at f 98, 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 volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: Relates to the Treaty of Sèvres (1920).Folios 3 and 4 are copies of the same map, and both bear the classification 'Secret'.Geographical Section, General Staff No. 2943. Portrays hydrology, soundings, relief by spot heights and contours, railways, roads and tracks, telegraphs, settlements, place names, post and telegraph offices, and international and internal boundaries. Sheet compiled from GSGS 2555 sheets NJ-35 Izmir (Smyrna) (dated 1916), NJ-36 Konia (1916), NK-35 Istambul [Istanbul] (Constantinople) (1919) and NK-36 Sinob (1916) and originally produced by the Geographical Section, General Staff, War Office; projection information is derived from this source. The Boundary of the Demilitarized Zone [Zone of the Straits] has been added in red.Folio 3 bears the manuscript number '27'; folio 4 bears the manuscript number '2'.The verso of folio 3 bears the annotation 'The Straits'.Additional copies are filed at Maps X.1493. and Maps MOD 2943; neither bears a 'Secret' classification.Physical description: Materials: Printed in colour, with manuscript additions in crayonDimensions: 446 x 518mm, on sheet 570 x 558mm
Abstract: Western half of printed map sheet; the eastern half, disassociated, was not present on transfer.Western portion bears the imprints 'London; Published by Edward Stanford, Ltd., 12, 13, & 14, Long Acre, W.C., Oct. 1st., 1912' and '11012'. Covers western Asia, including the Arabian Peninsula. Portrays hydrology, relief by spot heights and hachures, roads, railways, submarine telegraphs, settlements, place names and international boundaries. A full copy of this map, also incorporating a red plate not present on this version (showing steamship routes, proposed railways and limits of British jurisdiction in Persia [Iran]), is filed at Maps X.6918.Manuscript additions portray supplementary railway information, religious sites, naval and submarine bases and oil sites, and includes strategic notes.Creation end date derived from position of military forces on Mss Eur F112/552, f 11.Verso bears the note 'Arabia [?]Sykes'.Physical description: Materials: Printed, with manuscript additions in ink, pencil, crayon and watercolour, on paperDimensions: 630 x 577mm, on sheet 710 x 616mm
Abstract: Western half of printed map sheet; the eastern half, disassociated, was not present on transfer.Western portion bears the imprints 'London; Published by Edward Stanford, Ltd., 12, 13, & 14, Lon[g Acre, W.C., Oct. 1st., 1912]' and '11012'. Covers western Asia, including the Arabian Peninsula. Portrays hydrology, relief by spot heights and hachures, roads, railways, submarine telegraphs, settlements, place names and international boundaries. A full copy of this map, also incorporating a red plate not present on this version (showing steamship routes, proposed railways and limits of British jurisdiction in Persia [Iran]), is filed at Maps X.6918.Manuscript additions portray supplementary road and railway information, and the positions of British, Russian, Turkish, and 'friendly' or 'hostile Arab or Kurd' forces.Creation start date derived from imprint (11012) and Mss Eur F112/552, f 12; end date derived from position of military forces.Verso bears the note 'Arabia [?]Sykes'.Physical description: Materials: Printed, with manuscript additions in ink, pencil, crayon and watercolourDimensions: 630 x 521mm, on sheet 710 x 561mm
Abstract: The file contains the observations of Edwin Samuel Montagu (Secretary of State for India) on a previous memorandum by Lord Curzon on the future of Constantinople. It covers the question of Indian Mohammedan opinion, and the lack of Muslim representation of India in the Councils of the Empire; and argues against turning the Turks out of Constantinople as it would cause resentment in India and be viewed as an anti-Muslim action.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) for this description commences and terminates at f 158, as it is part of a larger physical volume; this number is written in pencil, is circled, and is located in the top right corner of the recto side of the folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel for ff 158; this number is also written in pencil, but is not circled.
Abstract: The file consists of a memorandum by Lord Curzon outlining the discussion undertaken by the Eastern Committee about the future of Constantinople. The first section covers the arguments for and against the ejection of 'the Turk' from Constantinople. The second section discusses which world power would take control of the area should 'the Turk' be removed, and the benefits or problems which would arise as a result. The third section details the idea of an international authority presiding over Constantinople.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 18, and terminates at f 19, 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This printed work by Nūr al-Ḥasan b. Ṣiddīq b. Ḥasan Khan (also seen as al-Qannawjī) deals with taqlid (adherence to Islamic tradition) and ijthad (flexible interpretation of religious principles), issues that have occupied Muslim thinkers for 1,400 years. Al-Ṭarīqah al-muthlá fī al-irshād ilá tark al-taqlīd wa-ittibāʻ mā huwa al-awlá (The ideal way to shed traditions and embrace first principles) is in itself less important than the context in which it was published. The author was from the Muslim court of Bhopal in India. He was the son of a prolific author, Muḥammad Siddīq Ḥasan Khan, consort of the reigning begum of that Indian principality. The family was distinguished in the Islamic sciences and the politics of the age. The present work was published at the Jawa’ib Press in Istanbul, where several books written by both father and son were issued in Arabic. The father is known to have corresponded with Ottoman sultan Abdülhamid II and presumably influenced him in his thinking. The topic of taqlid was hotly debated at this time in all parts of the Muslim world. It also was of interest to the imperial British authorities, who wished to limit its influence in the spread of Wahhabism. The volume is incomplete, lacking the final stanzas of the terminal qasidah (poem). The book has guidewords and the signatures are numbered. The printing suffers from a broken and worn type font. In the biographical literature and in library catalogues, this work is often attributed to the author’s father. It was republished in Beirut in 2000.Physical description: 59 pages ; 22 centimeters
Abstract: This diwan, Al-Faydh al- Muhammadi wa-al-Madad al-Ahmadi wa Huwa Diwan (The superabundance of the commendable and the reinforcement of the yet-more commendable: Poetry collection), is a book of poems, mostly in praise of the Prophet Muhammad or in supplication of his blessing and assistance. Some of the verses vary from this theme, for example, poetic prayers addressing Ahmad al-Rifa’i, founder of the famous Sufi order of which the author, Abū al-Hudá al-Ṣayyādī, was a prominent (and controversial) leader. Abu al-Huda was a prolific writer who rose from humble origins in rural Syria to become teacher and advisor to Sultan Abdülhamid II. He was a religious figure of great importance, and a power broker whose influence at the Ottoman court was unrivaled. He was responsible for the appointment to high office of many contemporaries, specifically Ahmad Izzat al-Abid (1851−1924), a Syrian adviser to the sultan. Abū al-Hudá’s presence as an Arab at the imperial court involved him in Ottoman-Islamic politics, causing his decisions to be felt in many parts of the empire. He was associated with major figures of the Islamic reform movement, such as Mahmud Shukri al-‘Alusi (1856−1924) in Iraq and Muhammad ‘Abdu (1849−1905) in Egypt. Leadership of the Rifa’iyah Sufis caused rival orders to try to undermine his religious claims and court position. History has not been kind to Abū al-Hudá. His rapid rise to power, key patronage position, and the ambiguities of his writings led him to be termed an obscurantist, reactionary, and fraud. It seems ironic that one of the sultan’s favored links to his Arab subjects should be, until today, widely ignored in Arab historiography. An indefatigable writer and publicist, he is credited with more than 200 works. The poems in this collection are, for the most part, short. Couplets and short verses are interspersed with longer poems. Many verses were written on special occasions, such as the post-Ramadan feast, or composed to commemorate an event.Physical description: 207 pages ; 22 centimeters
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 14 of 1853, dated 28 February 1853. The enclosure is numbered 3 and is dated 10 December 1852.The enclosure consists of a letter from HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Tehran, Justin Sheil, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, enclosing under a flying seal (for the information of the Governor in Council) copies of nine of his despatches addressed to HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Earl of Malmesbury. These despatches relate to affairs in Persia [Iran] and Herat, and are dated 11 November to 8 December 1852.The despatches report matters including:Sheil’s stated intention to remark to the Sedr Azim [Ṣadr-i Aʿẓam] that a specific declaration is required to counteract articles which had appeared in the
Tehran Gazette‘boasting’ of the annexation of Herat to the dominions of the Shah (an enclosed copy of a translated paragraph from the
Tehran Gazetteof 11 November 1852 is included)Sheil enclosing a translation of a firman nominating Abbas Koolee Khan ['Abbās Quli Khān] to a permanent residence in Herat, to fulfil a function, Sheil states, of Vizier or Political Secretary but not a diplomatic agentA party of Toorkomans [Turkoman or Turkmen people] capturing 'about 30 Persians' in Mazandaran, and the apparent displeasure of Persian Ministers at the Prince Governor of the province requesting Russian help to pursue and punish the Toorkomans, thereby providing an opportunity for the Russians to extend their influence in MazandaranThree letters (translated copies enclosed) ‘of a rather distant date’ which Sheil had received from Fatteh Mahomed Khan [Fath' Muḥammad Khān], an Afghan ‘Chief’ and ‘one of the chief notables of Herat’, who had been seized as an ‘English’ partisan and sent into captivity in Beerjend [Bīrjand] when Persian supremacy had lately been established in HeratNews received by Sheil that Sam Khan [Sām Khān], the former Persian Agent in Herat, had marched into Herat with a body of troops; the Sedr Azim responding to Sheil’s request for an explanation by stating that Sam Khan had acted without orders from the Persian Government, that his actions were entirely in opposition to their wishes, and that a messenger had been sent to recall Sam Khan immediately (in an enclosed exchange of notes between Sheil and the Sedr Azim); and the Sedr Azim’s verbal assertion that the troops accompanying Sam Khan were only of his tribe, and that this occurrence could be attributed to the intrigues of the Governor of Khorasan, in order to prevent his recall as GovernorSheil highlighting the announcement by the Sedr Azim of the intention to send troops to oppose Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāʾi] of Cabul [Kabul] and Kohendil Khan [Kuhandil Khān Muḥammadzā'ī] of Candahar [Kandahar], suspected of planning a new expedition in Herat territoryA dispute between the Persian and Ottoman Governments regarding the displaying of their respective flags at their embassies in Tehran and Constantinople [Istanbul] (enclosed copies of two despatches from Sheil to Colonel Hugh Rose, HM Chargé d’Affaires at Constantinople, are included)An agreement having been reached with the Persian Government regarding issues in relation to the nomination of ‘English’ consuls in Asterabad [Gorgan] and Resht [Rasht] (with enclosed translated correspondence between Sheil and the Sedr Azim)Sheil enclosing a portion of a letter from the British Agent in Meshed [Mashhad], containing intelligence from HeratThe arrival in Tehran of Mahomed Sedeek Khan [Sayyid Muḥammad Siddiq Khān Alakuzā'ī], brother of the ‘Chief’ of Herat, with five other ‘Chiefs’ of Herat, and two of them, Khan Dilaver Khan [Khān Dilāvar Khān] and Ser Afraz Khan [Sarafrāz Khān], placing themselves in sanctuary at the British mission, causing the Shah and the Sedr Azim ‘great umbrage’, and with the latter sending Sheil a letter protesting against their protection.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-3, on folio 302. The number 3 is repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of the enclosure.
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 73 of 1840, dated 25 September 1840. The enclosures are dated 21-24 September 1840.They consist of correspondence relating to the security of communications in Aden and the Red Sea area and onwards to London via Alexandria, in the event of a rupture with Mehmet Ali [Muḥammad ‘Alī Pāshā al-Mas‘ūd bin Āghā, Ruler of Egypt]. An alternative route to Europe via Bagdad [Baghdad] and Constantinople [Istanbul] is discussed.Correspondents include: the Political Agent at Aden (Stafford Bettesworth Haines); the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq]; the Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Military Board, Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (99 folios)
Abstract: This part contains correspondence and India Office Minute Papers relating to the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Mesopotamia [Iraq], mainly concerning the Baghdad branch.It includes papers regarding:The decision of the British Government, on the recommendation of local British political authorities, to close the Baghdad branch of the Imperial Ottoman Bank for the duration of the First World War, on the grounds that the Bank was identified with enemy interests, and it continued to do enemy business up to the date of the British occupation of Baghdad, and was recognised by the Turkish authorities as a Government bank.The proposal of the London Agency of the Bank to send their representative Mr Critchley to Baghdad to enquire into the interests of the Bank’s shareholders and clients in Mesopotamia, and their later proposal to send Mr H R Saltmarsh and Mr E E Humphries instead of Critchley.The proposal of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, that the Baghdad branch of the Bank should be allowed to re-open.Permission being granted to the Imperial Ottoman Bank at Basra to correspond with its Constantinople [Istanbul] Office.The visit of Lord Goschen, a director of the Imperial Ottoman Bank, to Mesopotamia.A query by Drysdale and Company Limited about whether the Imperial Ottoman Bank at Baghdad was ‘a safe and sound’ institution, in response to a customer asking the company to accept payment at the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Baghdadthe proposal that the Baghdad and Mosul branches of Bank should be permitted to settle transactions dating back to the period before the British occupation.The correspondence largely consists of correspondence between the India Office and the following: the Foreign Office; Sir William Plender, appointed by the Treasury as Supervisor of the Imperial Ottoman Bank’s London Agency; the Imperial Ottoman Bank, London Agency; the Viceroy of India, Foreign Department; and the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad (telegrams addressed from ‘Political, Baghdad’). The file also includes copies of Foreign Office correspondence with the London Agency of the Imperial Ottoman Bank, and Sir Reginald Wingate, High Commissioner, Egypt.Physical description: 1 item (210 folios)