Abstract: A copy of a letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Lord Elgin, HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, sent from Bagdad and dated 3 September 1801.Jones states that he is planning to leave Bagdad for a location south of the city along with the Residency staff, despite the objections of the Pashaw [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad].The letter also conveys reports from Persia [Iran], Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, including: reports that Hossein Kouli Khan [Ḥusyan Qulī Khān Qājār] has captured Ispahan [Isfahan]; reports of executions carried out by Hossein Kouli Khan and the King [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār, Shāh of Persia]; reports of a defeat of Zeman Shah [Zamān Shāh Durrānī, Ruler of Afghanistan] to his brother Shah Zadeh Mahmood [Maḥmūd Shāh Durrānī]; and reports of a Russian incursion into Georgia.A duplicate of this letter is catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/180.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: A letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Marquess Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal, sent from Bagdad and dated 20 June 1802. The letter forwards intercepted letters from a French traveller in Caboul [Kabul], attached. Jones pledges to continue to monitor this correspondence and pass on intelligence. The letter also forwards reports from an informant ‘employed to the Northward’.A duplicate of this letter is catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/245.Attached are:1. Two intercepted letters from a French author in Caboul to correspondents in Paris and Spanish Biscay, dated March 1802. The author recounts his journey across India via Cachemire [Kashmir] to Caboul in a period of civil war, and his hopes to travel to Candahar [Kandahar] and Persia [Iran] and return home.Duplicates of these letters are catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/238 and 247. English translations are catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/235-2372. Translations of two letters from an informant of Harford Jones dated 3 and 8 May 1802.The letters concern Russian activity in the Caucasus and Caspian Sea, reporting: movements of Russian troops and ships; embassies from Shaku [Shaki] and Shirvan [Sirvan] to Tehran seeking assistance against Russia; and the planned flight of Armenian merchants from Baku, Enzelee [Bandar-e Anzali], Ghilan [Gilan], and Tehran in anticipation of conflict.Duplicates of these letter are catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/243.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: This item contains copies of two letters and enclosures:1. A letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Captain John Malcolm, Envoy of the Governor-General of Bengal to Persia [Iran], sent from Bussora [Basra] and dated 3 March 1800.Jones offers assistance to Malcolm in his mission to Persia and forwards a letter from Meerza Mehedi Ally Khan [Mīrzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān Bahadūr, Resident in Bushire] concerning affairs at the Persian Court. The letter also forwards news regarding the French Revolutionary Wars, including General Napoleon Bonaparte’s ascension to Grand Consul of France and negotiations for the withdrawal of French troops from Egypt, and advises Malcolm on means of communication from Persia with India and London.2. English and Farsi copies of a letter from Wafadar Khan, also known as Rahmat Ullah Khan [Raḥmatallah Khān Sādūzāī], the leading Minister at the Court of Zeman Shah [Zamān Shāh Durrānī, Ruler of Afghanistan], to Harford Jones, sent from Candahar [Kandahar] and dated Ramazan [Ramaḍān] 1214/c 24 January 1800.The letter concerns a proposed British embassy to the Court of Zeman Shah and Zeman Shah’s campaign in India.Enclosed with the letter are a list of items requested by Rahmat Ullah Khan, and a covering letter from Aga Mohammed [Āghā Muḥammad], Jones’s intermediary with Rahmat Ullah Khan.Physical description: 1 item (9 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume comprises correspondence, memoranda, notes, and other papers relating to the first years of the East India Company Residency in Bagdad [Baghdad, also spelled Bagdat in this volume]. The first section (folios 4-153) consists of letters from Sir Harford Jones, Resident at Bagdad, to Henry Dundas, President of the Board of Control. The letters contain intelligence, news, and, Jones's views on the matters discussed. Various subjects are covered, including:The French invasion of Egypt and their campaign in Syria, including the seizure of Alexandria (July 1798), the French defeat by the British at the Battle of the Nile (August 1798), the reaction of the Ottoman authorities to the invasion, the Siege of Acre (March-May 1799), and the Battle of Aboukir [Abu Qir] (July 1799)British fears of a French overland invasion of India and concerns about French influence in the regionEvents in Khorassan [historic region of Greater Khorasan, including north-east Iran and parts of present-day Afghanistan], including the Afghan ruler Zeman Shah's [Zamān Shāh Durrānī] advances on the Punjab, Persian plans to take Herat, and Jones's recommendation to the Government of India that a British representative be installed at Caboul [Kabul]Ottoman military efforts against the growing power of the Whabee [Wahhābī, also spelled Whahaubee in this volume] State in Central ArabiaThe East India Company's victory over Tippoo Sultan [Sulṭān Fātiḥ ‘Alī Ṣāḥib Tīpū, or Tīpū Sulṭān] and the consolidation of their imperial power in IndiaEvents in Europe, particularly those relating to the Napoleonic WarsTreatment of the Christian community in BagdadPolitical affairs in Persia [Iran], India, and Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq]Relations with the Persian Court and the Ottoman Governor of the Baghdad Vilayet, Soliman Pashaw [Sulaymān Pāshā], including the diplomatic missions to Persia of Meerza Mehdi Ally Khan [Mīrzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān Bahadūr] and Captain John MalcolmRussian movements and ambitions in the CaucasusPlague in Bagdad and the surrounding regionsCommercial and administrative matters.The second section (folios 154-512) consists of the enclosures to Jones's letters to Dundas which cover the same subjects.Correspondence included as enclosures is between Jones and various diplomatic and governmental officials, intelligence sources, merchants, and East India Company representatives from across the region, including: Robert Page Abbott, Agent for the East India Company at Aleppo (following his death in 1799, his wife, Louisa Abbott (née Vernon), took on the duties of Agent); John Barker, Consul at Aleppo; the Government of Bombay; Peter Tooke, East India Company Agent at Constantinople [Istanbul]; Francis Werry, Consul at Smyrna; John Spencer Smith, Ambassador to the Ottoman Porte at Constantinople (after November 1799, Earl of Elgin [Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin]); Nicholas Ducci, Agent at Latachia [Latakia]; Chairman of the East India Company Court of Directors; Rear-Admiral John Blankett, Commander of HMS
Leopard, stationed in the Red Sea; Samuel Manesty, Resident at Bussora [Basra]; and Lord Minto [Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto], Envoy to Austria.Documents of note here include:A memorandum by Harford Jones on what preparations might be made for his Residency in Bagdad, dated London, 1 July 1798 (ff 4-7)Papers, in French, seized by the Ottoman authorities following the arrest of France's representatives in Bagdad, including Napoleon Bonaparte's proclamation to the Egyptian people following the seizure of Alexandria (ff 163-169)A short note by Jones on the history of the ruling families of Persia since Nadir Shah [Nādir Afshār] (f 171)The prospectus, in French, of a 'Commercial Company established in France under the auspices of the King for trade with Asiatic Turkey, Persia, and India' [French East India Company] (ff 173-174)A memorandum by Jones on the Whabee (ff 181-184)A letter, in Italian, from Accre [Acre] resident, Luigi Malagamba, concerning the French advance along the eastern Mediterranean coast towards Accre (ff 210-211)Extracts from the
Bombay Courier Extraordinary, dated 4 June 1799 (ff 248A-248)A report by John Barker on the roads, conditions, resources, governance, inhabitants, and distances of the region between the eastern Mediterranean and the Euphrates River, dated 1799 (ff 264-268)A memorandum by Jones on the industry and trade of the copper deposits of the Taurus Mountains, dated 1 December 1799 (ff 294-302)Extracts of a report on the events which led to the loss of HMS
Trincomaleein the Red Sea on 13 October 1799 (ff 304-306)A letter, in Latin, from Father Fulgentius a S Maria, Carmelite Vicar Apostolic of Persia and Mesopotamia and complaining of unjust treatment by the Ottoman authorities, dated Bagdad, 10 February 1800 (ff 331-332)Letters, in Persian, from Wafadar Khan [Raḥmat Allāh Khān Sadūzāʾī Kāmrān Khayli], Prime Minister to Zeman Shah, and concerning recent events of the time and the proposal of sending an English envoy to Afghanistan, dated Candahar [Kandahar], January 1800 (ff 351-352)News bulletins from Lord Minto in Vienna concerning events of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe (ff 485-488) and including an abstract of the Treaty of Lunéville (ff 495-496).Physical description: 1 item (511 folios)
Abstract: Copies of two letters from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Marquess Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal, sent from Bagdad and dated 14 May 1801.The first letter concerns the transit of mail and reports of a proposed Franco-Russian attack on India via Persia [Iran]. Jones undertakes to monitor developments around the Caspian Sea and to warn his contact Meerza Bozourg [Mīrzā ‘Īsá Khān Farāhānī, Vizier to the Crown Prince of Persia] against Russian advances, and volunteers to travel to the Persian Court if a Russian agent arrives there. Jones also reiterates his proposal of a joint diplomatic mission to Caboul [Kabul] with the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire].The second letter proposes British mediation between Shah Zemaun [Zamān Shāh Durrānī, Ruler of Afghanistan] and his exiled brothers who are supported by Baba Khan [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār, Shāh of Persia].Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: Press cuttings from British and Indian Newspapers regarding the Afghan War (today known as the 2nd Afghan-Anglo War), negotiations in Cabul [Kabul], the British Government's policy with regards to the Indian Frontier, and the movements of the Russians during the war.The cuttings have been taken from a number of newspapers including the
Pall Mall Budget, The
Pall Mall Gazette, The
Globe,
The Times, The
Pioneer Mail, The
Standard, The
Daily News, The
Daily Telegraph, The
Evening Standard, The
Saturday Review, The
Spectator, The
Morning Postand The
World.Physical description: Foliation: This file has been foliated in the top right hand front corner of the recto of each folio with a pencil number enclosed in a circle.
Abstract: The correspondence in this file relates to the expected visit of two Chinese Muslims to Afghanistan following their stay in Angora. The upcoming event is highlighted in a letter from Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen (HM Ambassador to Turkey) to Viscount Halifax (Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) on 6 June 1939, and later recorded in a letter from William Kerr Fraser-Tytler (HM Ambassador to Afghanistan) to Viscount Halifax in January 1940, after the visit occurred.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 7; 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 file contains correspondence, mainly telegrams, relating to British propaganda forwarded to the Persian Gulf for dissemination.It largely consists of fortnightly telegrams from the Public Relations Officer/Publicity Officer, Bahrein [Bahrain], to the Secretary of State for India, reporting on the use made of circular and special information telegrams.It also includes: copies of circular Empax telegrams sent from the Secretary of State [presumably the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs] to the Political Agent, Bahrein, Public Relations Officer, Bahrein, and HM Minister Kabul; and telegrams from HM Minister, Kabul, addressed to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 101; 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 file contains a letter from HM Consul General in Khorasan, Meshed (Giles Frederick Squire) to the Secretary of the Government of India External Affairs Department. The letter discusses and includes a report from HM Vice Consul, Zabul concerning his meeting with the Sarder [Sardir] Muhammad Amin Khan Nauroi of Seistan [Sistan]. The report covers the Sarder’s offer to lead a rebellion in Seistan, Afghanistan against the Iranian Government, a request for clarification on his position should he, his family and followers move to Baluchistan, Afghanistan and the Vice Consul’s response to said offer. The report includes an appendix detailing the background and structure of the Nauroi Sarabandi Sarders, and the Nauroi tribe.The file also contains related correspondence including a letter from William Rupert Hay, Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, to the Vice Consul expressing concern over his response and reservations over the Sarder’s motivations. A specific concern is raised regarding a perceived distinction the Vice Consul made in his response, between the Government of India and HM Government, and a letter in reply from HM Consul General addresses and refutes this concern.A subsequent letter from HM Consul General to the Secretary to the Government of India External Affairs Department, Simla, suggests that the Sarder and his followers plan to leave Iran for India soon.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 11; 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 file contains correspondence, mainly telegrams, relating to British propaganda forwarded to the Persian Gulf for dissemination.It largely consists of weekly telegrams from the Secretary of State for India, London, to the Government of India and others. The telegrams contain Ministry of Information news items about the war in Europe (Second World War) and how to communicate them in press, publicity and public relations work overseas. Recipients include the Government of India’s Bureau of Public Information; the Publicity Officer, Bahrain; and HM Minister, Kabul.The file also includes an extract (in Arabic translation and French original) from the book
Redressement économique et Industrialisation de la Nouvelle Turquie, by Orhan Conker and Emile Witmeur, published Paris, 1937. The title is also referred to in English as 'Economic Recovery and Industrialization of New Turkey'.The file includes two dividers, which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: The papers are arranged in chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
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 24 January 1873, forwarding papers on the subject of raids by Seistan [Sistan] robbers into Afghanistan, and asking for an early settlement of the Seistan boundary question.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 144, and terminates at f 154a, 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 144a, f 145a, and f 154a.
Abstract: The papers mainly relate to the British invasion of Afghanistan.They notably cover:Matters relating to the European and native soldiers of the British ArmyOperations of Dost Mohamed Khan’s army [Barakza’i, Dost Muhammad Khan, Amir of Afghanistan], its retreat from Kabool [Kabul, also written in the papers as Cabool] and occupation of the city by the British on 7 August 1839Flight of Dost Mohamed to Bokhara [Bukhara] via BamyanInstallation of Shah Shuja [Shujā’ al-Mulk Durrāni, Amir of Afghanistan, also written as Shah Shoojah in the correspondence] as Ruler of Afghanistan and his entry into Kabool.The item also includes intelligence reports (entitled 'news letters') from 30 July and 10 August 1839, covering the following: events in Lahore; Peshawur [Peshawar]; Kabool; the Army of the Indus; Upper and Lower Sinde [Sindh]; Gwalior; Bithoor; Nipal [Nepal]; Dera Ismael Khan [Dera Ismail Khan]; financial matters.The main correspondents are Lieutenant-General John Keane, Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay [Mumbai] contingent of the Army of the Indus, and Lestock Robert Reid, Acting Chief Secretary to the Government, Political Department, Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (56 folios)