Abstract: Distinctive Features:Relief shown by hachures with grid lines added in pencil which do not feature on another copy of this map held at IOR/X/3122/1.Routes indicated by red lines.Places of interest including ruins, camps and mounds shown in red.Inscriptions:In the lower left-hand corner an annotation on the original map in red faded ink and partially illegible.Physical description: Materials:Pen and ink with grey wash on paperDimensions:735 x 1300 mm, on sheet 760 x 1300 mm
Abstract: The volume is an overview of the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, authored by the Office of the Chief Political Officer, Indian Expeditionary Force “D”, and printed by the Superintendent Government Printing, Calcutta [Kolkata], India in 1917. The volume is divided into a number of chapters:1. An introduction to the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, chiefly concerning Britain’s history of naval intervention and military occupation in the Persian Gulf, and its efforts in eradicating the slave trade, arms traffic and piracy;2. A chapter entitled ‘The Arab attitude in Iraq before the War’, including: political conditions in Turkish Iraq prior to the War; the arrival of the Indian Expeditionary Force “D” at the start of the War; Ottoman ‘jihad’ against the British; Arab attitudes to the British in Iraq, central Arabia and Persian Arabistan;3. British relations with Arabistan, including an overview of the Anglo-Persian War (1856-57), and a brief outline of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s activities in the region;4. The Bakhtiari tribes, their leaders and their standing with the Persian Government, and the importance of maintaining British relations with them, with reference to trade routes, the maintenance of order in the oil fields, and the maintenance of friendly relations with the Shaikh of Muhammareh [Khorramshahr] and the Russians at Ispahan [Isfahān, or Eṣfahān];5. Pusht-i-Kuh – ‘the right flank of Indian Expeditionary Force “D”’: a description of the area, and its strategic and economic importance, including: topography; climate; the position and powers of its Wali [governor] (taken from Lorimer’s
Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf), the Wali’s relatives; and Kaka Siyah, who reside in the region and who are of African origin;6. Arabia – the left flank of Indian Expeditionary Force “D”. The chapter is divided into two parts. The first part is a general description of the Arabian peninsula, including: topography and geographic features; political powers in Arabia: the Wahhabi, with a history of their development and territorial gains; Egypt; Ibn Rashid [Ibn Rashīd]; the British Government; and Turkish interests in Arabia. The second part is a detailed historical outline of British relations with Ibn Sa‘ūd;7. Entitled
The Trend of Turkish policy before the War and since (official), and subdivided into parts on internal and external politics. The first part includes an assessment of the characteristics of ‘Ottoman people’ and their Government, the second concentrates on German influence and activity in Ottoman territories.There are pencil annotations on the front flyleaf of the volume (folio 2), which make note of sections within the volume, with the corresponding page numbers.Physical description: Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top-right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 29.Pagination: A printed pagination system runs through the volume (ff 7-27), the numbers of which are located top and centre of each recto and verso.
Abstract: The memorandum consists of a report on information obtained by the British since October 1922 regarding Turkish efforts to spread Pan-Islamic, pro-Turkish, and anti-British propaganda in Iraq and Persia. This includes information on Turco-Persian relations.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 15; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence between the British Embassy in Baghdad and UK High Commissioner in Karachi regarding the secondment of a tear-gas specialist to the Iraqi police force. The papers discuss the inability of the Iraqi police to use newly obtained stocks of American tear gas without proper instruction from trained officers. The need for tear gas had been made apparent to law enforcement agencies in Iraq after protests and disturbances against the continuing British military and political presence in the country during January of 1948.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 39; 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 is entitled
Personalities, ‘Iraq, and is a British intelligence report, compiled around 1917 by the Arab Bureau, Basrah [Basra] Branch, on prominent individuals in Iraq at that time (the Arab Bureau was a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department established in 1916). The report was printed by the Superintendent Government Printing, India, Delhi. The information included about each individual varies in length and detail, but can include:Current locationPolitical and religious beliefsInteractions with the British military and wartime administrationEthnicity and tribal affiliationsAge, appearance, and personalityFamily, friends, and enemiesEmploymentMilitary connections.Entries often include either favourable assessments or derogatory comments on character, capabilities and physical appearance.The volume includes a copy of a telegram (folio 32) from General Headquarters, Baghdad, to the War Office, dated 20 July 1920, which was inserted at an unknown date. The telegram contains updated information on a particular individual included in the report.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 53; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: an original printed pagination sequence is also present at ff 4-51.
Abstract: This file consists of a note in which the struggle for Kurdish independence within Iraq is detailed, taking into account the occurrences of the year 1919. The document covers the following:Kurdish concerns regarding being under the control of the ArmeniansKurdish appeals to the British government for support in the formation of their own statethe hostilities which exist between the Kurdish and Turkish peoplesreligious tensions between Muslims and Christians in the areathe mixed feelings that those living in Mesopotamia have towards the British and their involvement in the areaacts of violence towards British officials in Mesopotamia.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 71, and terminates at f 73, 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The first of two oblong duodecimo volumes containing abbreviated notes recorded by Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, during the course of a journey through Syria, Turkey and Iraq, from Damascus to Aleppo via Baghdad. The volume covers the period 9 February to 18 April 1911, covering Bell’s departure from Damascus to the vicinity of Dara, Turkey. The notes record: places passed or visited; times of arrival and departure; temperature and atmospheric pressure readings; some description of the topographic character of the places passed through; and a number Arabic aphorisms and inscriptions.The volume also includes:descriptions of architecture and mosaics in Damascus, including Malik ez Zahir [Az-Zahiriyah library] (ff 1-3)a plan of an unnamed and unidentified building (f 14v)five signatures, belonging to the German archaeologists Walter Andrae, Conrad Preusser, Walter Bachmann, Paul Maresch, and Julius Jordan (f 23)two profiles, with measurements indicated, of gate mouldings at Dara (f 32)Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with i, and terminates at the inside back cover with 33; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The file has two foliation anomalies f 25A, and f 32A.
Abstract: The second of two oblong duodecimo volumes containing abbreviated notes recorded by Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, during the course of a journey through Syria, Turkey and Iraq, from Damascus to Aleppo via Baghdad. The volume covers the period 19 April to 23 May 1911, covering the journey from the vicinity of Dara, in Turkey, to Bell’s arrival in Aleppo. The notes record: places passed or visited; times of arrival and departure; temperature and atmospheric pressure readings; some description of the topographic character of the places passed through; and copies of Greek, Syriac, and Nabatean tomb inscriptions.The volume also includes:drawings depicting two anthropomorphic figures, possibly of stone carvings from a tomb at Kermati [Kayabali], above a drawing of three arches. All three drawings have dimensions indicated (ff 3v-4)Folios 25-37 are blank.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with i, and terminates at the inside back cover with 38; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: By Montagu Gilbert Gerard, Captain and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, 1st Central India Horse, published in Calcutta by the Quarter Master General's Department.The notes consist of diary entries for the period 15 November 1881 to 16 April 1882, documenting each stage of Captain Gerard's journey through Iraq and Persia. Each entry contains information about the towns and villages he visited, including longitude and latitude co-ordinates, geographical information about the landscape, physical descriptions of the places, political information about the ruler of both the place and its surrounding area and their allegiences, and travel advice for others intending to journey through the Kurdistan region. Also discussed in the entries are customs and quarantine dues paid en-route and bazaars visited, including the type of goods available and the countries those goods were from.The principle places travelled through include Zobeir [Az-Zubayr], Busreh [Basra], Baghdad, Hillah [Al-Ḥillah], Kifri, Kerkuk [Kirkūk], Mosul [Al-Mawṣil], Miandab [Mīāndoāb], Tabriz, Tasuj [Tasūj], Urmiah [Urmia], Bokan [Bukan], Sakuz [Saqqez], Banah [Baneh], Pengwen [Penjwen], Sulimania [Sulaymaniyah], Murivan [Marivan], Kirmanshah [Kermanshah], Kasr-i-Shirin [Qasr-e-Shirin], Khanikin [Khanaqin] and Bakuba [Baqubah].Physical description: Foliation: The file has been foliated from cover to cover using a pencil number enclosed in a circle located in the top right hand corner of the recto of each folio.
Abstract: This file is a Foreign Office memorandum regarding the right of the Euphrates and Tigris Steam-ship Company to sail their barges on those rivers, written by Foreign Office Librarian, Edward Hertslet.The file contains a summary of negotiations between the British and Ottoman Governments and as such, also contains extracts from Ottoman Government documents in French.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 97, and terminates at f 104, 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This file is a short memorandum that summarises the legal situation regarding the right of English mail ships to sail on the Tigris River. The memorandum was written by Foreign Office Librarian, Edward Hertslet.On folio 106 the file contains an extract from a letter (from an Ottoman Government official) that is in French.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 105, and terminates at f 106, 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This file is a Foreign Office memorandum regarding the rights of British Ships of War to sail on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers written by Foreign Office Librarian, Edward Hertslet.The file contains a simplified map of the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Shatt el-Arab [Shatt al-Arab] and the northern part of the Persian Gulf on folio 93r.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 93, and terminates at f 96, 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.