Abstract: Report by Khan Bahadur Maula Bakhsh on his journey from Meshed to Quetta in 1898. The report starts with a description of the circumstances that gave rise to the journey and the preparations before departure (folios 12-17). The main body of the report consists of his account of the journey, written in diary form (folios 17-66). The last part of the report is formed of tables of data gathered during the journey (folios 67-72). The report contains information on distances, water, supplies, trade, human and physical geography, road conditions, and revenues.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 76; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Military report on the Khurasan [Khurāsān] and Seistan [Sīstān] regions of Persia [Iran], with maps and illustrations. Produced by the General Staff, India, and published in Calcutta [Kolkata] by the Government of India Press, 1931. Marked for official use only.The report includes chapters on:a history of Khurasan and Seistanthe geography of Khurasan and Seistan (mountains, rivers, deserts, an alphabetical listing of towns) and climate (including assessments of the health risks associated with both regions)population (religion, tribes)resources (including crops, grazing, fuel, transport, and a note on horses and mules in Khurasan)armed forces (including a description of the Eastern Division of the Persian military, an Order of Battle, organisation, armaments, equipment, clothing, rations, training)aviation (detailing the organisation, personnel, equipment, aerodromes, etc., of the Persian Air Force)administration (municipal, police, justice, department of public instruction, revenue, roads and communications, census, post and telegraphs, sanitation)communications (railways, roads, types of motor transport in use, principal routes used by travellers from Meshed [Mashad] to Russian territory, telegraphs, telephones, wireless)An appendix includes a veterinary note on conditions in Khurasan and Seistan. The volume also includes four colour plates illustrating different badges associated with Persian army and police officers, and a number of maps and diagrammatic maps.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 75; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The memorandum is concerned with the Russian bombardment of the Shrine of Imam Reza in March 1912 at Meshed [Mashhad], and the presence of Russian troops in Khorrassan. It also touches on the desire of the British Government to have the ex-Shah Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar removed from Persia.It also includes copies of two telegrams (folios 50-51) from Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Office, to Sir George Buchanan, HM Minister Plenipotentiary and Minister Extraordinary to Persia, dated 12 and 22 April 1912. They concern British diplomatic representations to Russia in response to the bombardment of the Shrine of Imam Reza.Physical description: 5 folios
Abstract: The file contains a letter to the British Consulate General for Khorasan from Ghulam Haidar, British Indian, claiming for compensation for damage to his motor car by the Iranian military authorities, in Meshed. Further correspondence between the British Legation in Tehran, the Foreign Office, and the Government of India, External Affairs Department, follows, which explores means of compensating Ghulam Haidar.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 14; 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 item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 27 March 1874 and received in the India Office Secret Department on 18 April 1874, forwarding for information a copy of papers from HM Minister at Teheran [Tehran] to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs regarding the projected journey to Meshed [Mashhad] which the Shah of Persia [Iran] at one time proposed to undertake.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 302 and terminates at f 306, 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 two foliation anomalies: f 302a and f 304a.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to passport control on the Indo-Persian frontier.It includes correspondence concerning the following:The examination of passports by the British Vice Consulate, Duzdab, of Persian [Iranian] subjects entering India via Duzdab (also called Duzdap in the file) [Zahedan]Visa fees charged by the Persian Consul at Quetta for visas issued to British subjectsThe grant of visas to Afghan subjects travelling to India via Meshed and DuzdabThe re-organisation of the passport control arrangements on the Indo-Persian frontierThe decision of the Government of India to discontinue the British passport control system at DuzdabThe reported ‘loss’ of British passports by Indian British subjects in Persia (and the India Office supposition that these passports were being traded)Alleged deposits required from British subjects applying for visas for entry into Persia from IndiaThe importation of cut diamonds from Iran into India.The main correspondents include:The India Office; the Foreign Office; HM Consul General and Agent of the Government of India, Meshed; the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign and Political Department (and the Deputy Foreign Secretary); HM Consul for Sistan and Kain; the Agent to the Governor General and Chief Commissioner in Baluchistan; HM Minister at Kabul; HM Minister at Tehran.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 230; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence, reports and other papers relating to conditions in Meshed [Mashhad] during the Anglo-Soviet occupation of Persia [Iran] during the Second World War. The file includes: telegraphic reports sent by HM Consul at Meshed (also referred to as HM Consul-General for Khorasan), Clarmont Percival Skrine, to the Foreign Office, reporting on matters including the general security situation in Meshed, the activities of the Russian military, local public opinion, food production and supply, and local political developments, including the activities of the Tudeh Party of Iran; six-monthly political reports on the political situation in East Persia, also prepared by Skrine. The file also contains: correspondence dated 1945 relating to questions over the withdrawal of the Indian Long Range Squadron, originally formed in 1941 to patrol the border between the Soviet Union and Persia; correspondence, including a sketch map (f 53), over the position of the boundary between the Persia and Iraq Command (PAIC) and Indian Command. The file’s principal correspondents are: HM Consul-General for Khorasan; the British Ambassador in Tehran; the Foreign Office.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 361; 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 between ff 2-190, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence and papers collected in response to an influx of refugees arriving in the northern provinces of Persia [Iran] from Soviet Russia, reaching a peak during 1932 and 1933, as a result of a chronic famine affecting parts of southern Russia.Extracts from consular diaries and intelligence summaries, submitted by the British Consulates and Vice Consulates at Meshed [Mashhad] (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett; Major L G W Hamber; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly), Tabriz (Clarence Edward Stanhope Palmer) and Resht [Rasht] (Archibald William Davis).Reports and memoranda on refugees from Russia in Persia (their numbers, condition, treatment at the hands of Russian and Persian authorities, movements) compiled by British officials at Meshed, Tabriz and Resht, and submitted to Government by the British Legation in Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare).Correspondence exchanged between India Office and Foreign Office representatives in response to the reports received from Persia, discussing what actions might be taken.Many of the reports and correspondence provide evidence of British officials’ suspicions of Communist (or Bolshevik) conspirators amongst the refugees, whom they suspect of intending to foment unrest in Persia. The papers also give indication of the various different ethnic groups and peoples comprising the refugees from Russia (including Turcoman [Turkmen], Armenian, Khirgis [Kyrgyz], Bukharan Jewish), and differences in the treatment and movements of these different groups, including, for example, Bukharan Jewish refugees’ attempts to obtain visas for travel to Palestine.The file contains a single item of correspondence in French, being a copy of a letter from the Secretary General of the League of Nations (f 9).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 205; 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: Correspondence and reports submitted by British officials in Persia [Iran], along with newspaper cuttings collected from the British and Persian press, relating to the Shah of Persia, Reza Shah Pahlavi. Subjects covered include:The Shah’s tours and visits around Persia, including to the towns and cities of Sistan [Zabol], Bushire, Shiraz, Meshed [Mashhad], Kermanshah, Tabriz, Ahwaz [Ahvāz].Reports of economic and political conditions in Persia.The first Minister of the Persia Court, Teymourtache [Abdolhossein Teymūrtāsh], including his dismissal by the Shah in 1933, and his subsequent trial, imprisonment and death.Speculation over the health of the Shah.Treatment of the Bakhtiari tribes by the Shah and his Government.The Shah’s programme of modernisation in Persia, including the enforcement of European hats for men and unveiling of women, military reforms, and schemes for urban development.A rebellion and massacre at the Goharshad shrine in Meshed in July 1935, provoked by a backlash against the Shah’s modernising tendencies. Papers include a secret report written by the British Consul-General for Khorasan and Sistan, Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly (ff 218-222).Principal correspondents in the file include: the British Legation at Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare; Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen; Nevile Montagu Butler); the Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran (Victor Alexander Louis Mallet); the British Consul-General for Khorasan and Sistan (Daly).Newspaper cuttings from the Persian press are written in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 510; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The front and back covers, along with the two leading and two ending flyleaves have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present in parallel between ff 222-510 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence, reports and other papers concerning the ill-treatment of British subjects in Persia [Iran] by the Persian authorities. The file is a direct chronological continuation of Coll 28/60(1) ‘Persia. Treatment of Foreigners; Position of British subjects, and British Consular Representatives, etc.’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3466). The file covers: the treatment and deportation of British subjects (Berberis, or Hazara Khawari) from the Khorasan province of Persia into neighbouring British India (Pakistan); an incident occurring in 1938 in which a bus carrying British consular officials was commandeered by an officer of the Persian military; claims of discrimination against British subjects in Meshed [Mashhad]; a boycott imposed upon the British Consulate at Meshed by the Persian Government; correspondence describing the general attitude of the Persian authorities towards British persons in Persia; a ‘Report on the Attitude towards the British in Persia in March 1938’, written by Lieutenant Ian Hallam Lyall-Grant of the Royal Engineers (ff 134-142).The file’s principal correspondents are: Nevile Montagu Butler of the British Legation in Tehran; HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Horace James Seymour; HM’s Consul at Meshed, Giles Frederick Squire; Charles William Baxter and Herbert Lacy Baggallay of the Foreign Office; the Government of India.The file contains a single item in Persian, a typewritten letter (accompanied by English translation) from the British Embassy in Tehran to the Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs, dated 23 April 1947 (f 5).The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 304; 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: Printed and typewritten monthly commercial reports for Meshed (also spelt Meshad) [Mashhad], renamed and enlarged from October 1933 to cover the Khorassan (also spelt Khorasan) [Khorāsān] district. The reports were produced by the British Government’s representative in the region, referred to variously as: the Consul General and Agent of the Government of India in Khorassan; the Consul General, Meshed; the Consul General for Khorassan (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly; Captain Everard Huddleston Gastrell; Captain Giles Frederick Squire).The monthly reports, which begin as one-page written summaries and evolve over time to become comprehensive statistical surveys, provide an overview of the region’s trade. They contain remarks on the trade in various raw and manufactured goods, including: carpets, wool, cotton, skins, tea, sugar, rice, dried fruits, almonds, opium, piece goods and haberdashery. The reports also contain remarks on: rates of exchange, transport rates, the activities of foreign agents and manufacturing companies, manufacturing production, the general mood amongst traders, the state of the market. Later reports contain statistical tables on trade, including imports and exports via Zahidan [Zahedan]. Up until mid-1935, minute papers are included in front of most reports, containing report summaries written by India Office staff.Some topical issues affecting trade are touched upon in the reports: changing relations between Persia [Iran] and Russia, including a trade boycott in late 1932, and a trade agreement in 1940; the Persian Government’s creation of monopoly companies in the mid-1930s; Second World War trade, including lists of goods reported to have been sent to Germany.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 670; 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 2-669; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Correspondence and papers relating to incidents in which foreigners in Persia [Iran], specifically British subjects, were subjected to attacks or break-ins, and in some cases badly injured. The file’s principal correspondents are: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran; the Foreign Office; Government of India. Incidents covered in the file are as follows:In 1933, an attack by three individuals described by British officials as ‘natives’, upon an employee of the Imperial and International Communications Company Limited at Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām] (ff 133-147)In 1934, an attack and theft upon a car carrying the British Vice-Consul at Meshed [Mashhad], Collett William Hart, his wife and child, and two Persian servants, while travelling through Khorasan. Subsequent correspondence chiefly deals with attempts to extract compensation to cover medical costs from the Persian Government, for injuries sustained to Mrs Hart (ff 27-132)In 1935, insecurity on the Meshed to Zahidan [Zahedan] road (ff 19-26)In 1937, a break-in by an Iranian soldier into the Zahidan Vice-Consulate. Papers include an account of the break-in, with a plan of the Vice-Consulate and the intruder’s route through its rooms, prepared by J Campbell, HM’s Vice-Consul at Zahidan (ff 3-18).The file includes a divider, which gives a list 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 148; 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 2-147; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.