Abstract: Copies of five letters between Lord Elgin, HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad]:1. A letter from Elgin to Jones, sent from Constantinople [Istanbul] and dated 16 November 1799. The letter announces Elgin’s arrival in Constantinople and assumption of his duties, offers assistance, and asks for information regarding Bagdad and Persia [Iran]. A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/103.2. A letter from Elgin to Jones, sent from Constantinople and dated 21 December 1799. The letter orders Jones not to open or read any letter addressed to Elgin from India. A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/103.3. A letter from Elgin to Jones, sent from Constantinople and dated 21 December 1799. Elgin renounces the use of cyphers in his communications with India. A duplicate of this letter is catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/104.4. A letter from Jones to Elgin, sent from Bagdad and dated 17 January 1800. The letter reports the transit of Elgin’s dispatches to India via Bagdad and Bussora [Basra] and congratulates Elgin on his appointment as Ambassador. Jones also outlines the policy of the British Government in India towards Persia [Iran], reports on events in Afghanistan, and describes British interests in Bagdad. It also reports a rumour that the Shereef [Sharīf] of Mecca has offered to read the khutbeh [Friday prayer sermon] in the name of Baba Khan [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār, Shāh of Persia] instead of the Grand Signior [Sulṭān of the Ottoman Empire] in exchange for money. A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/105.5. A letter from Jones to Elgin, sent from Bagdad and dated 17 January 1800. Jones acknowledges the receipt of Elgin’s letter of 21 December and pledges not to open or read letters addressed to Elgin from India as instructed. A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/107.Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Alexander Stratton, HM Minister Plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Empire, sent from Bagdad and dated 25 September 1802.Jones stresses the threat to Bagdad from the Wa-ha-by [Wahhābī movement], urging the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire] to send an embassy to Persia [Iran] to discuss the issue and to confirm the nomination of Ally Pasha [‘Alī Pāshā al-Kahyah] as Governor of Bagdad to maintain public order.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
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 17 January 1800.The letter reports the transit of Elgin’s dispatches to India via Bagdad and Bussora [Basra] and congratulates Elgin on his appointment as Ambassador. Jones also outlines the policy of the British Government in India towards Persia [Iran], reports on events in Afghanistan, and describes British interests in Bagdad.The letter also reports a rumour that the Shereef [Sharīf] of Mecca has offered to read the khutbeh [Friday prayer sermon] in the name of Baba Khan [Fatḥ-‘Alī Shāh Qājār, Shāh of Persia] instead of the Grand Signior [Sultan of the Ottoman Empire] in exchange for money.A duplicate of this letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/106.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a secret dispatch from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Marquess Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal, sent from Bagdad and dated 21 June 1802.Jones forwards correspondence (attached) concerning the Persian [Iranian] reaction to the sack of Meshed Hossein [Shrine of Imām Huṣayn bin ‘Alī, Karbala] and asks Marquess Wellesley not to pass the information on to any Persians resident in Calcutta [Kolkata] in order to protect his informant.Attached are:A translation of a letter from Mohammed Reza Khan [Muḥammad Rezā Khān], Persian representative in Kerbela [Karbala], to Harford Jone, reporting the reaction of the Shah to the sack of Meshed Hossein by the Wa-ha-bys [Wahhābī movement], a proposed expedition against the Wa-ha-bys, and protests from the Shah to Soliman Pasha [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad].A translation of a firman [edict] from the Shah to the chief Imaums [Imāms] of Meshed Ally [Sanctuary of Imām ‘Alī, Najaf] and Kerbela. The firman concerns the sack of Meshed Hossein by the Wa-ha-bys and a proposed retaliatory expeditionA translation of a paper from an informant of Harford Jones describing recent events in Merve [Mary/Merv] and reports of a Persian expedition against the Ouzbegs [Uzbeks] in the region.A translation of a firman from the Shah to Soliman Pashaw of Bagdad. The Shah reproaches Soliman Pasha for failing to protect Meshed Hossein, demands that Soliman Pasha either immediately launch an expedition against the Wa-ha-by or provide supplies for Persian troops to do so, and demands that Soliman Pasha appoint a person to organise repairs and fortifications in KerbelaA translation of an arzadasht [‘arẓehdāsht, petition] from Mohammed Reza Khan to the Shah. Mohammed Reza Khan states that he has returned to Bagdad, describes the disturbed state of affairs caused by the ill health of Soliman Pasha, and asks permission to Persia.A translated extract of a letter from Meerza Bozurg [Mīrzā ‘Īsá Khān Farāhānī, Vizier to the Crown Prince of Persia] to Harford Jones, dated 6 Suffer [Safar]/6 June 1802. Meerza Bozurg thanks Jones for providing information from Kerbela, reports that the Shah has set off on a campaign to capture Herat and Candahar [Kandahar], and states that the Shah is planning a retaliatory expedition against the Wa-ha-by and has sent word of this to the Ottoman Emperor [Sulṭān].A copy of a letter from Harford Jones to Lord Elgin, HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, sent from Bagdad and dated 23 June 1802. The letter forwards the above dispatch and enclosures. Jones asks Elgin not to disclose any names mentioned in the correspondence to Ottoman authorities and to try to find out the proposed actions of the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire] regarding the affair of Meshed Hossein and communicate them to Jones.Duplicates of this correspondence are catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/246.Physical description: 1 item (7 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Marquess Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal, sent from Bagdad and dated 9 May 1802.The letter contains a report on affairs in Bagdad. It covers:Internal affairs of the Government of Bagdad, including: the health and family of the Pashaw [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad]; the distribution of key posts in the Government; the public attitude towards the Pashaw; and likely successors to the Pashaw, in particular the Kia Aly [‘Alī Pāshā al-Kahyah, Chief Minister of Baghdad] and Abdullah Aga [‘Abdullāh Āghā], Governor of Merdin [Mardin]The relations of the Government of Bagdad with Persia [Iran] and the Wa-ha-by [Wahhābī movement], in particular relating to an attack on Meshed Hossein [Shrine of Imām Huṣayn bin ‘Alī, Karbala] by the Wa-ha-by. Includes an extract in French from a 1796 report by the Pashaw to the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire] concerning the feasibility of military action against the movementThe state of affairs in Bagdad and its dependencies, including: the defences of Bagdad, Bussora [Basra], and Hillah [Al Hillah]; plague; affairs in Coordistan [Kurdistan]; and the attitude of local tribes towards the Government of Bagdad and the Wa-ha-by.Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: A copy of a secret dispatch from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Marquess Wellesley, Governor-General of Bengal, sent from Bagdad and dated 21 June 1802.Jones forwards correspondence (attached) concerning the Persian [Iranian] reaction to the sack of Meshed Hossein [Shrine of Imām Huṣayn bin ‘Alī, Karbala] and asks Marquess Wellesley not to pass the information on to any Persians resident in Calcutta [Kolkata] in order to protect his informant.Attached are:A translation of a letter from Mohammed Reza Khan [Muḥammad Rezā Khān], Persian representative in Kerbela [Karbala], to Harford Jone, reporting the reaction of the Shah to the sack of Meshed Hossein by the Wa-ha-bys [Wahhābī movement], a proposed expedition against the Wa-ha-bys, and protests from the Shah to Soliman Pasha [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad].A translation of a firman [edict] from the Shah to the chief Imaums [Imāms] of Meshed Ally [Sanctuary of Imām ‘Alī, Najaf] and Kerbela. The firman concerns the sack of Meshed Hossein by the Wa-ha-bys and a proposed retaliatory expeditionA translation of a paper from an informant of Harford Jones describing recent events in Merve [Mary/Merv] and reports of a Persian expedition against the Ouzbegs [Uzbeks] in the region.A translation of a firman from the Shah to Soliman Pashaw of Bagdad. The Shah reproaches Soliman Pasha for failing to protect Meshed Hossein, demands that Soliman Pasha either immediately launch an expedition against the Wa-ha-by or provide supplies for Persian troops to do so, and demands that Soliman Pasha appoint a person to organise repairs and fortifications in KerbelaA translation of an arzadasht [‘arẓehdāsht, petition] from Mohammed Reza Khan to the Shah. Mohammed Reza Khan states that he has returned to Bagdad, describes the disturbed state of affairs caused by the ill health of Soliman Pasha, and asks permission to Persia.A translated extract of a letter from Meerza Bozurg [Mīrzā ‘Īsá Khān Farāhānī, Vizier to the Crown Prince of Persia] to Harford Jones, dated 6 Suffer [Safar]/6 June 1802. Meerza Bozurg thanks Jones for providing information from Kerbela, reports that the Shah has set off on a campaign to capture Herat and Candahar [Kandahar], and states that the Shah is planning a retaliatory expedition against the Wa-ha-by and has sent word of this to the Ottoman Emperor [Sulṭān].A copy of a letter from Harford Jones to Lord Elgin, HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, sent from Bagdad and dated 23 June 1802. The letter forwards the above dispatch and enclosures. Jones asks Elgin not to disclose any names mentioned in the correspondence to Ottoman authorities and to try to find out the proposed actions of the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire] regarding the affair of Meshed Hossein and communicate them to Jones.Physical description: 1 item (8 folios)
Abstract: This volume contains letters sent to and from the East India Company Factory at Bussora [Basra] between 22 November 1792 and 11 January 1799, and includes material relating to:The negotiations between the Factor, Harford Jones, and the Bacha of Bagdad [Pāshā of Baghdad, also spelt Bagdat in the correspondence], over the punishment of ‘certain offending Jews’ in BussoraThe command of the Ottoman Emperor [Sultan Selim III] forbidding the appointment of Ottoman citizens as consuls or vice consuls to represent the interests of ‘foreign Christians', and likewise forbidding the latter from purchasing houses and landA consultation held by the Resident, Samuel Manesty and Jones, on relocating the Factory to the town of Grain [Kuwait], and the notification, given by Manesty, to Soliman Bacha of Bagdad [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā]The declaration of war by the French Republic against Britain and Holland, and the need to take measures against the increasing number of French cruisers in the Persian GulfThe complaints of Manesty and Jones to the Governor-General of India, against Captain Guy Hamilton, Commander of the
Begum Shaw[Begum Shah], and its ostensible owner, Coja Moses Catcheek [Khwaja Moses Khachik] of Bengal, for proceeding to Bussora instead of carrying a packet to Bombay [Mumbai], and jeopardising the Company’s negotiations with the BachaThe proposals of the Governor-General of India, Sir Charles Cornwallis, and other counsellors at Fort William, toward resolving the dispute between the Resident and the BachaThe transactions between Manesty and Harford Jones and Captain Alexander Foggo, Commander of
The Laurel, to deliver a packet from the Court of Directors to the Government of BombayThe Governor of Bushire [Bushehr], Shaik Nesr Khan’s [Shaikh Naṣr Khān I Āl Madhkūr] non-compliance with the decrees of Akaw Mahomed Khan [Āghā Muḥammad Khān Qājār]The Bacha’s disapproval of the decision to relocate the English Factory to Grain, and demand that it be rectified by ‘immediately returning in compliance with my wishes to Bussora’The concerns of Manesty and Jones about the Bacha’s ‘false ideas’ being transmitted to the Ottoman Ministry and Sir Robert Ainslie, British Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul], and the departure of Jones from Grain on a mission to Aleppo and ConstantinopleThe reduction by British forces of ‘all the French Establishments in India’The Bacha of Bagdad’s expression of willingness to ‘fulfil the Articles of the Arrangement’ with Jones, and his invitation to Manesty to return the Factory to BussoraThe abscondment of John Southall, acting officer on
The Princess Royal,and Thomas Mascalls, gunner on
The Antelope, and their ‘abjuration of the Christian Religion to embrace that of Mahomed [Muḥammad]’The survey of Grain Harbour and its entrance by Lieutenant William Maughan, and the suggestion by Manesty that surveying the ‘western side’ of the Gulf would allow packet ships to avoid the areas patrolled by French cruisersThe delivery of two memorials by Jones to the Bacha, and his departure on not receiving an answerThe refusal of the Governor of Bombay to sanction Jones’s mission to ConstantinopleThe request of Soliman Bacha from the Grand Vizier and Reis Effendi to arrange the removal of Manesty and Jones from the Factory through the intervention of the British AmbassadorThe victory of Vice Admiral Richard Howe over the French at the Fourth Battle of UshantThe resignation of Jones as Joint Factor and his departure for Bagdad, Constantinople and LondonA request from the Bacha to the Presidency of Bombay for a consignment of gunpowder, the diversion of the consignment by the Resident to Grain, and the arrival of three of the Bacha’s vessels to take chargeThe arrest of Guglielmo Vicenzo Visetti, son of the Venetian Pro-Consul at AleppoThe communications of Jean-Francois Rousseau, the French Consul at Bagdad, with Pierre du Bruix, the French Resident at SuratThe conquest of Holland by France and conclusion of peace with Prussia, Italy and SpainThe outbreak of hostilities between Great Britain and the ‘late Republic of Holland’The return of Manesty on board a Turkish vessel and re-establishment of the Factory at BussoraThe embarkation of a French ‘Gentleman of Rank’, carrying packets from the French Commandant of the Mauritius or Tipoo Sultan [Tīpū Sulṭān, also written here as Tippoo Sahib], together with another Frenchman, Alexis Gain, on a dhow belonging to Shaik Ibrahim Ibn Abdu Rasac [Shaikh Ibrāhīm Ibn ‘Abd al-Razzāq] of Jubarra [Zubarah?]A meeting between John Lewis Reinaud and the Mussaleem [Mutasallim] of Bussora, Abdullah Aga [‘Abd Allāh Āqā], and consultation with Shaik Ahmed Ibn Salama [Shaikh Aḥmad Ibn Salāma] on a plan to seize the French party’s lettersThe briefing, by Jones, of the British Ambassador at Constantinople, Sir Robert Liston, on the dispute between the Bacha and the ResidentThe determination of the Ottoman Government to restrict the trading privileges granted to the Christian powers of Europe ‘by the ignorance of former times’ within the narrowest possible boundsThe arrival of a French Mauritian vessel of ‘considerable size and force’ at MuscatThe preparation of an expedition against Trincamallee [Trincomalee] under Colonel James Stuart, and another against Malacca under Major Roberts, following the outbreak of war between Britain and HollandThe flight of the eldest son of the Nizam of HyderabadThe British expeditions launched from Bengal against Batavia and from Bombay against Cochin [Kochi]The agreement made between Manesty and Shaik Ibrahim Ibn Gaunam [Shaikh Ibrāhim Ibn Ghānim] for Reinaud to board Shaikh Ibrāhim's dhow to search and seize the papers of Monsieur GuirardThe cultivation, by Manesty, of Shaik Abdullah Ibn Subbah [Shaikh ‘Abd Allāh Ibn Ṣabāh] of Grain to ‘cause obstruction to the Transmission’ of the public dispatches of the enemies of Great BritainThe confiscation, by Reinaud, of a packet from Monsieur Guirard, containing a letter from the French Ambassador at Constantinople, [Claude-] Emile Gaudin, to Pierre du BruixThe replacement of Manesty and Jones by Nathan Crow and Peter Le MessurierThe arrival of a squadron of French frigates under Commodore Renaud at the ‘Mouth of the Gulph’The proposal from Crow and Le Mesurier to institute a regular service of cruisers to BussoraThe mission of Bruyere [Jean Guillaume Bruguière] and Olivier [Guillaume-Antoine Olivier] to Persia [Iran]The appointment of Abbé Beauchamp [Pierre-Joseph de Beauchamp] as French Consul General at MuscatA warning from the Governor of Bombay, Jonathan Duncan, to the Imaum [Imam of Muscat, Sulṭān bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and the Calphaun [Sayyid Khalfān bin Muḥammad Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Walī of Muscat] ‘against giving shelter or preference’ to any European nation at war with Britain, and the need to prevent the French from establishing a presence at Muscat and reaching India and the MauritiusThe return of one of the envoys of Tipoo Sultan from FranceThe re-instalment of Manesty as Resident and departure of Crow and Le MessurierThe declaration of war by Spain on Great Britain, and departure of a Dutch fleet for the ‘East Indies’The capture, by Admiral George Elphinstone, of a Dutch squadron under Admiral Engelbertus LucasThe replacement of the French Commander-in-Chief Villaret [Rear-Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse] with ‘Monsieur Morard de Galls’ [Rear-Admiral Justin Bonaventure Morard de Galles]The ‘vast and dangerous’ French projects in the Mediterranean, and the active involvement of ‘Muradja the Swedish Minister at Constantinople’ [Ignatius Mouradgea d'Ohsson, Minister Plenipotentiary], in extending those projects to the Red Sea and the GulfA plan by Monsieur Ohier [Louis Marie Joseph Ohier de Grandpre] to surprise the East India fleetThe reported march of Akaw Mahomed Khan’s army from Corrasoon [Khurasan] to Tarum [Tarom]The mission of Beauchamp to build alliances with ‘native princes’ of Arabia, Persia, and India to disrupt British communications by ‘land and sea’, and to drive them completely out of their territoriesThe plans of Monsieur Leger to engage Tippoo Sultan to commence hostilities against the CompanyThe plan for Shaik Sultan of Muscat to obtain Bandar Bassi [Bandar ‘Abbas] from Aga Mahomed Khan of Persia to furnish the islands of Mauritius and Bourbon [Reunion] with provisionsThe war between Shaik Sultan and Shaik Suggir Ibn Raschid il Mutter of Raz il Khaima [Shaikh Ṣaqr bin Rāshid al-Maṭar of Ra’s al-Khaymah], Shaik of the Jausomee [Qāsīmī] Arabs and the danger to British vesselsThe capture by the French, under General Napoleon Bonaparte, of Malta and AlexandriaThe procurement of arms by Tipoo Sultan and the Mahrattas [Marathas] at BagdadThe victory of Admiral Horatio Nelson over the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile [Abu Qir Bay]The firman to Eusuf Pasha [Yūsūf Pāshā], Governor of Medina, to allow British ships to cruise the Red SeaThe reluctance of Jazzar Pashaw of Acra [Jazzār Aḥmad Pāshā of Acre], to march against Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt, following the dismissal of Aptullah [‘Abd Allāh al-Azm] of Damascus.Physical description: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 745; 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 present in parallel between 261-745 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front cover. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly, f 215a.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India's Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 21 July 1873 and received by the India Office's Political Department on 21 August 1873, forwarding copies of a letter from the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia to HM Ambassador at Constantinopole [Constantinople, i.e. Istanbul], regarding the administration of Riouf Pasha [Rauf Pasha] as Governor-General of Bagdad [Baghdad].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 299, and terminates at f 307, 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 insertion anomalies: f 299a, f 302a, and f 305a.
Abstract: The item consists of letters discussing an uprising in Bussorah [Basra] and Bagdad [Baghdad] involving the Bani Tamim.The correspondents are Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, Bagdad; I M Dalrymple, Under-Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, Calcutta [Kolkata]; Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, HM Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul]; E Hammond, the Foreign Office, London; the Earl of Clarendon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London.Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay’s Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 63 of 1853, dated 26 August 1853. The enclosure is dated 11 August 1843.The papers relate to affairs in Bagdad [Baghdad] and Turkish Arabia and include correspondence informing the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia that the request of the Pascha [Pāshā] of Bagdad for ammunition and a manned steamer and the services of Commander Lynch could not be complied with.The correspondents are the Secretary to the Government of India and the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosure to despatches from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 64 of 1840, dated 25 August 1840. The enclosures are dated 4 July-25 August 1840.They consist of correspondence relating to the Euphrates expedition up to Bagdad [Baghdad, also written this way in some of the correspondence], and the sickness and death from fever of engineers aboard the steam vessels
Nitocrisand
Assyria.Correspondents include the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] (Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Taylor); the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; and the Commandant of the Euphrates Expedition.Physical description: 1 item (22 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay’s Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 72 of 1843, dated 2 October 1843. The enclosures are numbered 3-7 and are dated 1-21 September 1843.The papers concern the conduct of the Political Agency in Bagdad [Political Agency in Turkish Arabia, i.e. Ottoman Iraq, based in Baghdad] regarding matters of trade, following complaints by British merchants residing in Bagdad that ‘native servants’ from the Agency have been carrying out extensive trade, to the detriment of the British merchants’ interests. Also covered is the appointment of Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson as Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, as successor to Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Taylor. In addition, the papers discuss a request by the Pascha [Pāshā] of Bagdad to have a steam vessel placed at his service.The correspondents are the Secretary to the Government of India and the Chief Secretary to the Government to Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (14 folios)