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73. Political No. 118 of 1874, Forwarding Papers Regarding the Deputation of a Persian Agent to Herat
- Description:
- Abstract: This item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 30 June 1874 and received by the India Office Political Department on 24 July 1874, forwarding, for information, papers regarding the deputation of a Persian [Iranian] Agent to Herat, in continuation of Despatch No. 26 of 17 April 1874.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 357 and terminates at f 364, 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. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly: f 357a.
74. Political No. 75 of 1874, Forwarding Papers Regarding the Deputation of Captain George Campbell Napier to Enquire into the Circumstances Connected with a Raid on Herat Territory from Khaf
- Description:
- Abstract: This item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 17 April 1874 and received via Brindisi on 11 May 1874, forwarding a copy of papers relating to the deputation of Captain George Campbell Napier to enquire into the circumstances connected with a raid on Herat territory from Khaf [Khvāf].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 488 and terminates at f 490a, 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. The sequence contains three foliation anomalies: f 488a, f 489a, and f 490a.
75. Afghanistan and Persian Gulf Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 39 of 1856, dated 27 May 1856. The enclosures are dated 22 March-23 May 1856.The enclosures notably comprise the following:A despatch from the Secretary to the Government of India to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay concerning the situation with regard to Herat and current Persian [Iranian] aggression against the town, and whether or not instructions from the Secret Committee debar the Government of India from all action in the matter. The despatch covers:The original request by Mahomed Yusuf [Muḥammad Yūsuf, also spelled Yoosuf and Yussuf in this item], Ruler of Herat, for Persian assistance against a feared attack by Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy], and his dismissal of the Persian envoy who was sent to liaise with the Persian Army but actually joined them in their advance towards Ghorian [Ghurian or Ghoryan]The subsequent hoisting of the British flag in Herat and request of the Ruler and inhabitants of Herat for British money and an Agent to aid their resistance of the Persians, and the Government of India’s wish to disclaim any connection with those actionsThe Government of India’s belief that they cannot assist Herat as the Secret Committee’s instructions were based on Persia and Herat combining against Dost Mahomed Khan rather than Persia acting against both Herat and Candahar [Kandahar, also spelled this way in this item]Disapprobation by the Government of India of Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind [Sindh] for effectively speaking in the name of the British Government on a matter of national importance by replying directly to Mahomed Yusuf that the British Government had no intention of interfering in Herat.The enclosures also include:Copies of intelligence (ff 257-261) received by Jacob from the Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind relating to Herat (notably from sources in Kelat [Kalat]), and forwarded to the Governor of Bombay, reporting the besieging of Herat by the Persian Army, the apparent intention of Dost Mahomed Khan to send an army for its relief, the surrender of Mahomed Yusuf to the Persian force and the advance of a portion of the Persian Army towards Candahar against Dost Mahomed KhanCorrespondence of Rear Admiral Sir Henry J Leeke, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy, with the Government of Bombay, regarding which vessels should remain in the Persian Gulf during the monsoon season, including: Leeke’s strong recommendation that the Ajdahaand Semiramisbe ordered back to Bombay [Mumbai] before the monsoon for repairs and that the Victoriais better suited for the Gulf; the Government of Bombay’s agreement that the Semiramisreturn to Bombay when the Victoriaarrives at Bushire [Bushehr], but that the Ajdaharemains at Bushire on the express wishes of the Political ResidentCorrespondence of Commander Felix Jones, Acting Resident, Persian Gulf, with the Government of Bombay, concerning a ‘venomous article’ in the Bombay Timeson the supposed cause of the rupture between the British Mission at Tehran and the Persian Government, including his admonishment of Commodore Richard Ethersey, Commander of the Indian Naval Squadron in the Persian Gulf, regarding the impropriety of naval officers discussing public questions in their private letters.Physical description: 1 item (36 folios)
76. Persian Gulf Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This part of the volume consists of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 58 of 1841, dated 17 July 1841. The enclosures are dated 3 April to 9 July 1841, and concern affairs in the Persian Gulf and Persia [Iran].Most of the correspondence consists of copies of letters from the Resident in the Persian Gulf at Karrack [Kharg], Samuel Hennell, to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, John Pollard Willoughby, with copies of enclosed correspondence. There are also copies of letters from Willoughby to Sir William Hay Macnaghten, Envoy and Minister at the Court of Shah Shooja Ool Moolk [Shuja Shah Abdali Durrani], and Thomas Herbert Maddock, Secretary to the Government of India, and from Colonel Justin Sheil to Willoughby.The enclosures relate to matters including:News from Persia, including the arrival of the Prince of Shiraz at Brozgoon [Borazjan], about forty miles from Bushire [Būshehr]The state of affairs at Bahrein [Bahrain], communicated in a letter from the Native Agent at BahreinNews reported in letters from the News Writer at Shiraz, including the expulsion of the British forces from Herat and the offer of Kerman Shah to place himself under the protection of the Shah of Persia, and news reported by the Agent at Lingah [Bandar-e-Lengeh]The view of the Resident in the Persian Gulf on the unsuitability of Grane or Koweit [Kuwait] as a location for a military stationNews in letters from James Pringle Riach, including the fortress of Ghorian [Ghurian] being evacuated by the Persian troops and given up to the Herat GovernmentThe survey of the Karoon [Karun] riverThe question of whether the European troops should be removed from Karrack during the ‘unhealthy’ part of the yearThe Resident in the Gulf’s tour of the Arabian Coast for the purpose of making arrangements for the renewal of the maritime truce for the ensuing year.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-35, on folios 460-467. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.
77. Persia and Afghanistan Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 53 of 1856, dated 28 July 1856. The enclosure is dated 19 May 1856.The enclosure comprises 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 notably cover and include:The bastinado (punishment by caning the soles of the feet) of the post-master of Semnaan [Semnan], convicted of bringing false news of the capture of HeratIntelligence from a European (Italian) officer attached to the Persian [Iranian] Army at Herat that the Ruler of Herat, Mahommed Youssuf [Muḥammad Yūsuf], has been sent a prisoner to the Persian camp by his Vezier [vizier, minister] Essau Khan [ʻĪsá Khān], that the Vezier has ‘sold himself to the Persians’ (f 428) and with other Heratee leaders has agreed to all Persian surrender terms apart from the admission of troops into Herat (ff 430-432. (The copy of the original intelligence is in Italian, with an English translation. This is a duplicate of a document in item IOR/L/PS/5/487, ff 381-396, on ff 395-396).Stevens’s belief that Essau Khan has not surrendered but has: pretended to espouse the Persian cause; got the Persian Army to withdraw to Bernabad [Baranabad] 25 miles from Herat; ‘set the Persians at defiance’ (f 429) after disposing of the Ruler of Herat to the Persian camp; and infuriated the Shah [Shāh] and Persian CommanderReports of great Persian losses during attempts to storm Herat, and the assembling of more Persian troops in Khorassan [Khorasan] and Teheran [Tehran]Authorisation given by the Persian Sadr Azem [Ṣadr A‘ẓam, minister] to the Commander of the Persian Army at Herat to confirm Essau Khan in power provided he allows the town to be garrisoned by Persian troopsThe Sadr Azem’s claim that Persian troops have occupied the forts of Laush, Jeven [Lash-e Juwayn?] and Kohak, former dependencies of KandaharDetails of the present distribution of the Persian Army (f 434)Intelligence that prior to peace negotiations in Paris (to end the Crimean War) Russia amassed war stores at Lankeran [Lankaran] and Bakoo [Baku] for troops collected at Astracan [Astrakan], which would have been sent to Herat to assist PersiaIntelligence regarding friendly relations between the Governor of Asterabad [Gorgan] and Russian agents stationed there.Physical description: 1 item (11 folios)
78. Persia and Persian Gulf Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 34 of 1856, dated 10 May 1856. The enclosures are dated 8 March-29 April 1856.The enclosures chiefly comprise copies of despatches, with enclosures, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, from: Charles Augustus Murray, HM Ambassador to the Court of Persia [Iran], then located at Tabreez [Tabriz]; and Richard W Stevens, HM Consul at Tehran. (Murray’s despatches mainly forward copies of Stevens’s despatches to him). The despatches are forwarded for information to the Government of India and Government of Bombay. They cover and include the following:Murray’s intention to proceed to Ooroomiah [Urmia or Orumiyeh] and then to Baghdad with the British diplomatic missionA copy of a letter (ff 165-166) that the Persian Government claims to have been written by William Taylour Thomson, former British Envoy at Tehran, to the Ruler of Herat, and which Murray asserts is a forgery intended to smear the reputation of the British mission and justify Persian aggression in HeratA copy of a circular letter (ff 169-171) from the Persian Sadr Azim [Ṣadr A‘ẓam, minister to the Shāh, also spelled Sedr Azem in this item] to all the foreign missions in Tehran, in which he explains his Government’s intentions regarding Herat and Candahar [also spelled Kandahar in this item], implying that Britain is supporting Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] who has occupied Candahar, and claiming that Persia is responding to calls for assistance from the relatives of Kohendil Khan [Kuhandīl Khān Muḥammadzay] and the Ruler of Herat. (Murray insists that letters supposedly written by relatives of Kohendil Khan are mostly fabrications)A commercial treaty about to be concluded between the Persian and Austrian GovernmentsIntelligence received by Stevens that Persia is sending a large force from Tehran to wrest Candahar from Dost Mahomed Khan and Persian military and propaganda preparations for thisMurray’s claims of ‘insulting’ behaviour towards him and the British mission and the Persian Government’s determination to quarrel with Britain causing costly disorder in Afghanistan, and Murray’s desire for hostile action against PersiaA translation, in French, of an article in the Tehran Gazettepublished by the Persian Government, stating the ‘true causes’ of Murray’s withdrawal from the Persian court (ff 178-185)Stevens’s assertion that the young Armenian named Meerza Melkom [Mīrzā Malkum Khān], sent by the Persian Government to the British Ambassador in Constantinople [Istanbul] to mediate the quarrel between the Persian Government and the British Mission, has in fact contributed towards the rupture with Murray, is pro-French, and is responsible for distributing anti-English newspaper articles in Constantinople and EuropeIntelligence received by Stevens, including from the native agent and news writer at Meshed [Mashhad], confirming the movements of the Persian Army under Prince Sultan Moorad Meerza [Sulṭān Murād Mīrzā] towards Herat with the aim of occupying it, and the besieging of HeratIntelligence that the Mooftee [Muftī] of Herat was seized, sent as a prisoner to Meshed, and insultingly paraded through the townVarying reports received by Stevens on whether Herat has been occupied by the Persian Army or is yet to be taken by Sultan Moorad Meerza’s force, and regarding the strength of the Herat garrison and determination of the Ruler and inhabitants of Herat to prevent Persian troops entering the townStevens’s refusal of presents sent to him by the Shah and Minister for Foreign Affairs on the occasion of the new year festival of Narooz [Nowruz or Navroz].Also included in the item are:Despatches from Commander Felix Jones, Acting Resident, Persian Gulf, relating to: his plan to tour the Gulf and intention to persuade the Al Ali [Āl ‘Alī] tribe to leave Demaum [Dammam]; the warning given to Sheikh Mahomed bin Abdullah, Chief of Demaum [Muḥammad bin ‘Abdullāh, Shaikh of Dammam] not to allow the Al Ali to build homes in his territory; and the movements of Persian troops in the Province of Fars as reported by the British Agent at ShirazThe Government of India’s equivocal notice to the Government in Bombay regarding the latter’s authority to despatch an expedition to the Persian Gulf upon the sole requisition of Murray.Physical description: 1 item (43 folios)
79. Kelat, Candahar and Herat Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 54 of 1856, dated 28 July 1856. The enclosures are dated 19 June-7 July 1856.The enclosures chiefly comprise letters from Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind [Sindh] to the Secretary to the Government of India, copied to the Government of Bombay. Jacob forwards intelligence he has received regarding the state of affairs in Herat, Candahar [Kandahar, also spelled this way in this item] and Kelat [Kalat, also spelled Khelat in this item], notably:Intelligence obtained by the Acting Political Superintendent North West Frontier, written by Moolla Ahmed [Mullā Aḥmad], the Wukkeel [vakil, representative] of the Khan of Kelat and the Wukkeel’s son, stating that an approaching Persian [Iranian] force threatens the territories of the Khan of Kelat. Included are copies of the letters in Persian with English translations (ff 442-443 and ff 445-446)Four original translations of letters (ff 452-460) forwarded to Jacob with the original Persian letters (not present in this item) by Captain William Lockyer Merewether, Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind, which allege that: the Persian Army has captured Herat; a detachment of the Persian Army, in support of the ex-Sirdars [sirdārs, leaders] of Candahar, is approaching Candahar with the aim of ousting Ameer Dost Mahomed [Amīr Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] and replacing him with Rehimdil Khan [Raḥam Dil Khān]; and the ‘uncivil people of the red face [English]’ who did not help the Candahar sirdars will ‘suffer a similar fate’ in ‘Hindoostan’ [India] at the hands of Persia (f 455). Also included is Merewether’s admission that information relating to the taking of Ghorian [Ghurian or Ghoryan] and investment of Herat was obtained orally from his conversations with Moolla Ahmed but was accidentally added to the translation of the first letterAn extract of a letter from the Khan of Kelat to Moolla Ahmed, residing in Jacobabad, forwarded to Jacob by Merewether, in which the Khan of Kelat reports that the Wuzzeer [vizier, minister] of Herat has thrown into confinement the Ruler of Herat and his household, plundered all his property, caused coinage to be minted in the name of the Persian King [Shāh], and hopes to be Governor of the city. The Khan also reports that ex-Sirdars of Candahar, Khooshdil Khan [Luynab, ʿAbd al-Hamid, Khushdil Khan] and Mahomed Omer Khan [Muḥammad Omar Khān Muḥammadzāy] and others have been captured by Dost Mahomed Khan’s soldiers, but that Rehimdil Khan is still at large in Ghilzee [Ghilji] country.Also included in this item is a letter from Jacob apologising for the tone of his previous letter and insisting that no disrespect was intended.Physical description: 1 item (25 folios)
80. Herat Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 31 of 1856, dated 28 April 1856. The enclosures are dated 16-23 April 1856.The item consists of translations of two letters (ff 124-126) addressed by Mahomed Yusoof [Muḥammad Yūsuf, also spelled Yussuff in this item], Ruler of Herat, to the British Government. In the letters Mahomed Yusoof: requests British assistance against the attack on Herat by the Persian [Iranian] Army; declares himself and all the Afghan and Persian inhabitants of Herat to be ‘servants of the British Government’ (f 126); and states that he has hoisted the British flag in the town.Also included in the item are: a covering letter from Captain William Lockyer Merewether, Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind [Sindh] who, having received them from a messenger sent by the Khan of Kelat’s [Kalat] minister, forwards them to Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind; the covering letter by Jacob who forwards them to the Governor and President in Council, Bombay; and a Resolution of the Board, Bombay, for the letters to be forwarded to the Government of India.Jacob informs the Government of Bombay that he has sent a reply indicating the British Government ‘has at present no intention of interfering with proceedings at Herat’ (f 122).Physical description: 1 item (8 folios)
81. Herat Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 44 of 1856, dated 10 June 1856. The enclosures are dated 29 May-8 June 1856.The enclosures consist of summaries of two letters which originated from pro-British authors in Herat and which were forwarded to Captain William Lockyer Merewether, Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind [Sindh], by the minister of the Khan of Khelat [Khān of Kalat]. The letters provide accounts of: why the Ruler of Herat originally turned to the Persian [Iranian] Government for assistance against a feared attack on the town by Dost Mahomed Khan of Kandahar [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] and why he subsequently turned to the British for assistance against Persia; and how the British flag came to be hoisted in Herat and those individuals involved.Also included in the item is the covering letter from Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind, who forwards the summaries to the Governor of Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (7 folios)
82. Herat, Sind and Candahar Affairs
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- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 48 of 1856, dated 25 June 1856. The enclosures are dated 30 May-13 Jun 1856.The enclosures comprise correspondence between Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind [Sindh] and the Government of Bombay, and the Government of Bombay’s reports to the Secretary to the Government of India. The papers cover the following matters:Jacob’s refusal given in response to the Ruler of Herat’s request for British assistance against Persian [Iranian] aggression, including: his explanation that he merely directed the Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind (Captain William Lockyer Merewether) to give a verbal refusal to the messenger, which did not bind the Government to anything; his enquiry whether the reprimand for such a communication affects his authority to manage relations with ‘foreign’ states on the Sind frontier; and the Government of Bombay’s response that correspondence is prohibited only on ‘subjects of importance, questions of state’ and cautioning him that the tone of his letter is ‘hardly consistent with the respect due to the high authority from which the instructions … emanated’ (f 400)The ‘great discrepancy’ between the translations of four Persian letters, conveying intelligence on Herat, and the description of their contents by Jacob and Merewether; the Government of Bombay’s enquiry as to whether Merewether’s summaries contain additional information received orally from the person who delivered the letters; the Government of Bombay’s instruction that in future Jacob should transmit the originals along with the translations; and the Government of Bombay’s confirmation to the Government of India that the translations were accurateIntelligence received from sources in Kelat [Kalat], forwarded by Merewether to Jacob, that: Herat has been captured by the Persian Army and the Ruler and his wuzzeer [wazir or vizier, minister] imprisoned; the troops of Ameer Dost Mahomed [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] have captured ex-Sirdars [sirdārs, leaders] of Candahar [Kandahar]; and that the report of a Persian force marching from Herat en route to Candahar was apparently false.Physical description: 1 item (16 folios)
83. Coll 28/18 ‘Persia; Diaries; Meshed intelligence Summaries 1931–’
- Description:
- 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.
84. Enclosure in Letter from Harford Jones to Henry Dundas of 31 Oct 1798
- Description:
- Abstract: A copy of a report in French from Caboul [Kabul] received by Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], from merchants of Constantinople [Istanbul] in Bagdad trading with Caboul and Candahar [Kandahar] on 20 October 1798.The report states that Zeman Shah [Zamān Shāh Durrānī, Ruler of Afghanistan] has driven his brothers from Herat into Persia [Iran], while a son of Zeman Shah has taken over the government of Herat. It also states that Zeman Shah is believed to be preparing a campaign in India, possibly with the support of Indian states.The report was enclosed in the Jones's letter to Henry Dundas, Secretary of State for War, dated 31 October 1798 (IOR/L/PS/9/76/43 and 44).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)