Abstract: The volume consists of reports on minor military operations in 'South Persia' contained in a despatch from the Inspector General, South Persia Rifles (Percy Molesworth Sykes) to the Chief of the General Staff, Army Headquarters, Simla. The reports recount operations against Labu Muhammadis, Chehar Radis and other 'robber tribes' of 'Northern Fars' and against the 'Saulat-ud-Daulah', Il Khani of the Qashqais', and 'Nasr-I-Divan Kalantar of Kazarun'. Many of the reports included were by the Deputy Inspector General, South Persia Rifles (Colonel Ernest Frederick Orton).There follow individual reports from commanding officers detailing the units involved, topography of the land on which the military operations took place, the villages and tribes attacked, description of military operation, tables of operational logistics and casualties sustained on both sides.The volume contains 17 maps and plans of the towns and villages attacked in the operations, giving such information as relief, settlement, hydrology, lines of communication and progress of battle:'Plan of villages - CHAH-HAQ and MIAN DASHT, CHAHAR-RAHI PUNITIVE EXPEDITION. APRIL, 1918' (folio 4)'ACTION OF DEH SHAIKH. 25th May 1918.' (folio 15)'Fight at DEH SHAIKH Map (17. C. B. 2.4.6) 25th May 1918.' (folio 17)'ACTION OF DEH SHAIKH. 25th May 1918. Decisive attack from Gardaneh Sagavi Kutal, 3 p.m.' (folio 18)'PLAN OF NEIGHBOURHOOD SHIRAZ' (folio 23)'AFIFABAD POST As when occupied by detachment on 9-6-18.' (folio 24)'Action of BULVARDI, near SHIRAZ. June 27th 1918.' (folio 30)'Action at CHINARINAZ (10th May 1918)' (folio 39)'ACTION NEAR HERAT-I-KHURREH' (11th May 1918) GUDAR-I-PIRZAD.' (folio 41)'PLAN SHEWING HILLS SOUTH OF ZIARAT VILLAGE.' (folio 43)'ACTION OF ZIARAT, SARCHAHAN VALLEY; 13-5-1918. From Khunsar River (folio 44)'ACTION OF KUH-I-KHAN. Against Charrahis 16-5-1918. From hill 1200 feet above , and N. of valley; looking South.' (folio 47)'ACTION OF CHINAR RAHDAR. 7th July 1918. Situation at 5-30 a. m., 7th July 1918.' (folio 61)'SKETCH MAP OF ABADEH.' (folio 74)'Sketch Map to Illustrate OPERATIONS TOWARDS FIRUZABAD (July 1918.)' (folio 82)'PERSIA. INDIA AND ADJACENT COUNTRIES. SHEET NO. 17' (folio 84)'ACTION NEAR FIRUZABAD. [23rd-24th July 1918].' (folio 85)Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 87; 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 printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This file consists of a note which concerns Sir Percy Sykes's position as commander of the South Persian Rifles [South Persia Rifles]. The note, written by the Secretary to the Political Department, India Office [Sir Arthur Hirtzel], is written in response to a telegram, dated 28 February 1917 and attributed to the Viceroy of India [Frederic John Napier Thesiger].The note responds to points made in the telegram, particularly those which discuss Sykes's judgement as a commander and the circumstances in which Kazerun and Dashtarjin [Dashtestan] were captured by rebel forces in December 1917.The note also refers to the Viceroy's estimations for the South Persian Rifles' budget for 1917-18; it concludes that a great deal too much money is being spent, and that Sykes's accounts ought to be audited.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 75, and terminates at f 76, 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 file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Most of the letters are written by Lieutenant William Bruce, who was the Resident at this time. A handful of letters are written by James Orton, Assistant Surgeon at Bushire, who took temporary charge of the Residency while Bruce was away from Bushire. Subjects relating directly to the Residency include: accounts; stationery; military and marine expenses; and the sending of arms from Bombay to the Court of Persia, via Bushire. Broader themes within the letters include the procurement of sulphur for its use in India, the woollen and silk trades in Persia, and the threat of Āl Qāsimī pirates to British trade in the Persian Gulf.Physical description: 1 volume in one slipcasePagination: This file has an original pagination sequence, which is written in ink, in the top right corner of each recto and the top left corner of each verso. This sequence runs until page 100. A later pagination sequence, which is written in pencil, begins at page 101. This sequence is inconsistent, with many numbers repeated out of sequence.Foliation: The volume has been foliated for referencing purposes by circling numbers in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio. The sequence begins with the first letter, on number 1, and runs through to 138, ending on the inside of the back cover of the volume. This is the sequence that has been used by this catalogue to reference items within the volume.
Abstract: Papers and reports concerning a rebellion against the Persian Government by the country’s southern tribes (including the Qashqai and Bakhtiari) in the provinces of Isfahan and Fars in August 1946. The papers include: correspondence between the British Ambassador at Tehran, John Haller Le Rougetel, and the Foreign Office in London, reporting on events in Isfahan and Fars; correspondence concerning allegations made by the Persian Government that the British Consul General at Ahwaz [Ahvāz], Alan Charles Trott, was complicit in the rebellion; the British Government’s refutation of the claim; the Persian Government’s demand that the British Government recall Trott; the Persian Government’s eventual acceptance that Trott had no role in the affair; correspondence dated 1947 concerning the proofing and preparation of two reports, entitled
The Tribes of Farsand
Boir Ahamad,both by Lieutenant G F Magee. A draft copy of
The Tribes of Farsconstitutes the contents of the next file in the series: Coll 28/44A ‘Persia; Internal; Fars Affairs; Lt G. F. Magee’s report entitled “The Tribes of Fars”’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3449).The file contains two items written in French: These are statements issued by the Iranian Prime Minister, Ahmad Qavam (ff 139-140).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 155; these numbers are written in pencil 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: This file concerns attacks made against the South Persian Rifles [South Persia Rifles] by members of Persian tribes at Kazerun and Dashtistan [Dashtestan] (also spelled as 'Dasht-i-Arjun' and 'Dashtarjin' in the file), and the possibility of sending troops from Bushire.The file consists of a memorandum, dated 25 December 1916, by the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) [William Robertson], and a minute, dated 27 December 1916 and written in response to the memorandum, by Edmund George Barrow, Military Secretary, India Office, and John Evelyn Shuckburgh, India Office.The memorandum proposes that control of the South Persian Rifles, commanded by Sir Percy Sykes, should be placed under the Commander-in-Chief in India, Sir Charles Carmichael Monro.The minute, which follows on from the memorandum, disagrees with some of its points. It argues that it is not quite fair to suggest that the failure to deal with the situation in Southern Persia was due solely to a lack of machinery, and suggests that a lack of resources was also a contributing factor. However, the minute does agree with the memorandum's proposal of placing the South Persian Rifles under the control of the Commander-in-Chief in India, so long as military action is taken with due regard both to political and diplomatic considerations and to the views of His Majesty's diplomatic representatives; the minute also advises that the Commander-in-Chief in India should invariably act in consultation with the Viceroy of India [Frederic John Napier Thesiger].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 40, and terminates at f 45, 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.
Abstract: The volume comprises copies of correspondence, minutes, telegrams, and other papers relating to the financial advances made by His Majesty’s Government and the Government of India to the Persian Government. The only loan discussed was of the amount of £50,000 to be payable to the Persian Government through the Imperial Bank of Persia.The correspondence was mainly about whether it is in the British Government’s interest to support the Fars gendarmerie or not. This was in response to a number of incidents that took place in the Kazerun region, and the direct involvement of the Fars gendarmerie led by Swedish officers in the affairs. Criticism was raised against the Swedish officers for misleading the gendarmerie, and a suggestion of their withdrawal from service was made. The Swedish Government then contemplated withdrawal of its officers from service in Persia.The correspondence deals with arrangements for the payment of the loan, conditions attached to it, the agreement of terms between the British, the Persian and the Swedish Governments, and the date of commencement of repayments.In July 1914, a loan of £50,000, was made by the British Government to the Governor-General of Fars (half of which was to be payable by the Government of India), in order to assist Persia in order to avoid a breakdown of the gendarmerie organization. It was made clear that the British Government fully realized that to allow the gendarmerie scheme in Fars to collapse would be detrimental to British interests.The volume’s principal correspondents are: Sir Walter Beaupre Townley, British Minister at Tehran; Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Major William Frederick Travers O’Connor, Acting Consul at Shiraz; and Sir Esme William Howard, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Sweden.The volume’s core correspondence covers the period February 1914 to October 1914. The earlier start date given for the volume is a result of correspondence included in a confidential enclosure on Persian Government loans (ff 94-97); itself dated April- May 1913, which is an historical précis of loans given to Persia by the British Government and Government of India in the year 1913.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 240; 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 volume comprises copies of correspondence, Memoranda, minutes, telegrams, and other papers mainly between the British Ministry at Tehran; and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The correspondence is relating to the financial difficulties of the Persian Government and the question of loans payment. Suggestions were made by the British Government on how the Persian Government could pay back its loans. Among the suggestions were sales of the crown jewels, or islands off Bundar Abbas. While selling the crown jewels was not an option, the sale of the islands was the subject of correspondence between the British and the Russian Governments. The Russian Government had no objections to the British Government’s purchasing the Gulf islands or to anything which The British chose to do in South Persia as long as they keep quiet about north Persia.The correspondence deals with arrangements for the payment of the loan, conditions attached to it, the agreement of terms between the British, the Persian and the Russian Governments, and the Imperial Bank of Persia. A few issues related to the loan were discussed, among which were:the proposal of joint Anglo-Russia advances of £100,000; and £400,000 to the Persian Government;the interest on loans to The Persian Government;the question of claiming compound interest on arrears of interest payable on Anglo-Indian advances;payment of the November coupon on the Imperial Government of Persia loan of 1911 of which the British government paid half of its amount, i.e. £7184 9s 4d.The file also contains correspondence relating to the behaviour of the Swedish gendarmerie in Persia. Despite the reports of His Majesty’s Consul in Kerman on their inappropriate behaviour, it was made clear that, if financial assistant was not achieved Persia would witness a total collapse of the administration of the gendarmerie followed by anarchy throughout the country.The volume’s principal correspondents are: Sir Walter Beaupre Townley, British Minister at Tehran; Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Major William Frederick Travers O’Connor, Acting Consul at Shiraz; Sir George William Buchanan, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Russia; and the Imperial Bank of Persia.The volume’s core correspondence covers the period September 1914 to September 1918. The earlier start date given for the volume is a result of correspondence included in a confidential enclosure, itself dated April- March 1914, on the Swedish gendarmerie and the incidents took place in Kazerun region of Persia in the early 1914 (ff 133-138).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 226; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The sequence includes the following anomaly: 56A. This folio had been left blank by mistake prior to imaging.
Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes relating to the security situation in south Persia, 1909-1911.The discussion in the volume relates to the deteriorating security situation for travellers and trade in south Persia (which was held to be a British sphere of influence) caused by fighting among the Kashgai, Lur and Arab tribes who had rejected the authority of the Governor-General of Fars. A further cause of insecurity relating to this is referred to in a note (ff 335-336) by the 2nd Assistant Resident, Bushire, J S Crosthwaite, who describes how tribesmen had invested their money in rifles and could only earn their living by robbing the caravans of commercial travellers.Correspondence discusses how this culminated in an attack upon J H Bill, Acting British Consul, Shiraz, in which two horsemen or '
sowars' were killed, as he travelled along a caravan route. Correspondence discusses measures to be taken as a result of this attack, including a claim for compensation from the Persian Government, a punitive expedition against the Kashgais tribe and the role of Soulet et-Dowle, Governor General, Fars. Measures discussed include using the guards (
gholam) of the Indo-European Telegraph Department paid for by a surcharge on customs duty levied by the British at Bushire; implications for relations with the Persian Government and the Russian Government are also discussed.Included in the volume is a 'Memorandum respecting the Disorders on the Trade Routes of Southern Persia' by H G Trick, Vice-Consul for Fars.The principal correspondents in the volume include Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Viscount Morley of Blackburn, Secretary of State for India; Percy Zachariah Cox, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and Sir George Head Barclay, Minister at Tehran.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 366; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves
Abstract: The volume contains papers relating to the situation in the Bushire [Bushehr] hinterland, including Shiraz, in Southern Persia [Iran]. It includes papers relating to:The rebellion in Tangistan.Proposed improvements to Bushire roads.The deportation to Bushire of the Europeans and Indians arrested at Shiraz.The desirability or otherwise of negotiating with the khans of the Bushire hinterland hostile to the British.Negotiations by Farman Farma (Governor General of Fars) and Soulet ed Dowlah (the Ilkhani of the Kashgai tribe) with hostile khans.Surprise attacks made on the Southern Persia Rifles [South Persia Rifles] at Kazerun and Dashtarjin.The question of whether to appoint a General Officer to take over command of operations in Southern Persia from Sir Percy Sykes, or whether to leave Sykes in control of the Indian troops in Fars and the Southern Persia Rifles, provided that there would be attached to him a military officer of field rank experienced in tribal warfare, to whom Sykes would delegate military operations and executive command in the field.Measures for keeping the trade routes between Bushire and Shiraz open.The papers mainly consist of India Office Minute Papers, India Office internal correspondence, and the following correspondence:Correspondence between the India Office and the Foreign Office.Copies of Foreign Office correspondence with Sir Charles Murray Marling, H M Minister Tehran, and other correspondents, sent to the India Office.Correspondence between the India Office and the War Office.Correspondence between the India Office and the Government of India, and copies of Government of India Foreign and Political Department, Marine Department, and Army Department correspondence sent to the India Office.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references 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 297; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.