Abstract: This volume is a letter book which is comprised of contemporaneous copies of letters received at the Residency at Bushire between 1779 and 1787. Most of the letters are from East India Company officials at Bussora [Basra] and Bombay. Many of the letters from Bombay also include enclosed letters from the Court of Directors, London. In addition, there are several letters from various ship captains, plus a limited number of translated letters from local rulers. The letters cover a wide range of topics including: trade, financial and administrative matters; political developments in Baghdad and Bussora; competition with the French in the Gulf and at Muscat.Physical description: 1 volume in one slipcasePagination: There is a pagination system which is written in pencil, in the top right-hand corner of each page.Folation: There is a foliation system which is written in pencil, in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto of each folio. This is the system used by this catalogue to reference items within the file.
Abstract: Two letters from William Digges Latouche, Resident at Bussora [Basra], to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors for Affairs of the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies [East India Company].The first letter, dated 26 May 1783, covers the transit of overland mail via Aleppo, in particular the clash of authority between Mrs Marianna Abbott, the widow of the late Consul John Abbott, and David Hays, Proconsul, over the management of correspondence in Aleppo.The second letter, dated 18 June 1783, covers subjects including:Arrangements for the travel of Major Geils and M Froment to India and the transit of the important despatches they are carrying, including preliminary peace articles with France, Spain, and America [American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783]The difficulties in communicating with Muscat due to a blockade by Grain [Kuwait] following an attack on Zebara [Al Zubara] by Sheik Nassir [Shaikh Nāṣir Khān Āl Mazkūr] of Bushire [Bushehr]Latouche’s complaints against David Hays regarding his management of correspondence in AleppoThe murder of Shaik Baracat [Shaikh Barakāt] by his brother Guthman [Ghazbān] and the latter’s assumption of the leadership of the Chaub Arabs [Banū Ka‘b].Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: Al-Bayān wa-al-taʻrīf fī asbāb wurūd al-ḥadīth al-sharīf (Discerning and specifying the circumstances of revelation of the noble hadith) is a textual and contextual interpretation of the hadith (the statements and actions of the Prophet Muhammad), written by Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Kamal al-Din al-Husayni al-Dimashqi (1644 or 1645−1708). Hadith plays an important part in Islam, and the Prophet’s utterances and activities are integral to its scriptural tradition. In the introduction to the work, the author states that in some cases the circumstances of a hadith are clear from the hadith itself, but in others they must be inferred. Hadith of the latter type are the subject of al-Bayan wa-al-ta’rif. The book quotes the hadith, adding commentary about the situational context of each. Selections are drawn from the kutub al-sittah (six canonical collections) recognized by Sunni Muslims. The book takes its place on the small shelf of similar studies by al-‘Ukbari (1143 or 1144−1219), al-Bulqini (1324−1403), and al-Suyuti (circa 1445−1505). Also known as Ibn Hamzah al-Husayni, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Kamal al-Din al-Husayni al-Dimashqi was born in Damascus. He traveled to Egypt and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, where he studied under some 80 teachers. In Cairo he was appointed head of the Ashraf guild (an association of those claiming descent from the Prophet), before he returned to Damascus where he held administrative and judicial positions. This edition of Bayan wa-al-ta’rif was published by Muhammad Tahir al-Rifa’i and printed at al-Baha’ Press in Aleppo in 1911. The two volumes bound as one are organized alphabetically by the first word of the canonical hadith.Physical description: 2 volumes in one book ; 25 centimeters
Abstract: The file contains papers relating to relations between Iraq and Syria, specifically: the ‘Bon-Voisinage’ Agreement between the two countries signed on 24 April 1937; and the Government of Iraq opening a Consulate in Aleppo [in Syria].The papers are mostly letters to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden, Viscount Halifax) from the following: Archibald Clark Kerr, HM Ambassador to Iraq; Gilbert MacKereth (with enclosures), HM Consul Damascus; and A W Davies, HM Consul, Aleppo.The file includes the official text of the ‘Bon-Voisinage’ Agreement in French (folios 7 to 8, this is an enclosure to a letter from MacKereth to Eden).The file includes a divider, which gives lists of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 10; 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 between ff 2-9; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.