Abstract: Correspondence and papers concerning the resumption of trade at Baghdad in Mesopotamia [Iraq] after Britain’s military invasion during the First World War. Subjects covered include: in August 1917, discussion amongst British Government officials as to whether an official announcement concerning the resumption of trade at Baghdad should be made; applications from commercial firms in Britain to resume business and exchange financial payments with traders in Baghdad; the compilation of a list of ‘approved’ firms that should be allowed to resume trade, and a ‘black list’ of firms (supplied by the Chief Political Officer at Baghdad, Percy Zachariah Cox) that should be barred from trade; an appeal by a trader based in Amsterdam, against a ruling barring him from resuming trade at Baghdad and Basra; difficulties in river transit between Baghdad and Basra. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Foreign Office; the India Office; The Commercial Department of the Board of Trade; the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India.The file contains a single item of correspondence written in French (f 100).The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 224; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: Correspondence and papers concerning foreign trade in Baghdad and Basra in Mesopotamia [Iraq] after Britain’s military invasion during the First World War. The papers cover: various enquiries from businesses in England and elsewhere (the Netherlands, the United States of America) about trade with businesses in Baghdad and Basra; list of companies and individuals in Baghdad and Basra with whom trade was prohibited (i.e. blacklisted). The file’s principal correspondents are: the Foreign Office; the India Office; The Commercial Department of the Board of Trade; the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India.The file contains a single item of correspondence written in French (f 220).The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 314; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to the Prize Court proceedings of the SS
Albistanand SS
Avristan.Most of the papers relate to the case of the
Albistan,which sailed from Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] in Mesopotamia [Iraq] in October 1914 (prior to war being declared between Britain and the Ottoman Empire), arriving in London in December 1914. In January 1915 the
Albistan’scargo, consisting of goods shipped from Baghdad, was seized by the Admiralty as enemy property. The file comprises correspondence between government officials, including the Foreign Office and HM’s Procurator General (Prize Department) at the Treasury, and some of the key claimants and their legal representatives in the case. These include the firms M Samuel & Company and Frederick Huth & Company, both of which were represented by Waltons & Company. The file includes details of the proceedings, as reported in
Lloyd’s Liston 27 February 1917 (ff 160-161), and a copy of the judgement made at the High Court of Justice, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, dated 17 May 1918 (ff 51-54).The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 161; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: Papers relating to trade with Mesopotamia during and after the First World War:Part 9 concerns the lifting of restrictions on trade between Baghdad and Mesopotamia [Iraq], under the Trading with the Enemy (Occupied Territory) Proclamation of 1915.Part 10 concerns the return or disposal of enemy (Turkish or German) property and other assets in Mesopotamia [Iraq] and the Persian Gulf at the end of the First World War.Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 354; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: The volume contains papers relating to banking arrangements, mainly in Mesopotamia [Iraq]. It consists of three parts:Part 4 contains papers relating to the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Mesopotamia, mostly concerning the Baghdad branch.Part 5 contains papers relating to the extension of banking facilities in Mesopotamia.Part 6 contains papers relating to the Eastern Bank.Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 354; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume contains papers, mostly correspondence and India Office Minute Papers and Reference Papers, mainly relating to the subsidy paid to Ibn Saud, Emir of Nejd [Najd]. It includes papers relating to the following:The proposal to pay Ibn Saud a monthly subsidy of £5,000 per month, the cost of which would be borne by Imperial Revenues.The enquiry into the authority given for the continuance of the payment by the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, of the £5,000 monthly subsidy to Ibn Saud beyond the period of six months originally sanctioned by the Treasury.The proposal to debit Ibn Saud’s subsidy against the surplus revenues of Mesopotamia [Iraq].The request to the India Office from the War Office for a refund of £69,068.The main correspondents are: the India Office; the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India; the Foreign Office; the War Office; the Treasury; the Civil Commissioner Baghdad; Sir Percy Zachariah Cox; and Harry St John Bridger Philby.The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 202; these numbers are written in pencil, 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 59-178; these numbers are written in crayon.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence in the form of letters and telegrams related to the temporary administration of Baghdad Vilayet [province] and the question of the type of postage stamps to be used for the civil post office at Baghdad during the British occupation. The correspondence is particularly related to a small supply of Turkish stamps that was found in Baghdad after the Ottoman troops left the city. The British Government proposed to issue these stamps with the overprint 'Baghdad under British Occupation.' The volume includes correspondence with stamp printing firms and publishers to provide lists of the Turkish stamps and their values. The volume also includes correspondence between Buckingham Palace and the India Office arranging for a collection of the overprinted Turkish stamps to be sent to His Majesty King George V. Another set of stamps and envelopes was also kept aside in order to use it in an exhibition at the National/Imperial War Museum, London. The main correspondents in the volume are: John Evelyn Shuckburgh; Sir Percy Zachariah Cox, the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; the Viceroy of India's Foreign Department; the Foreign Office; the Government of India's Department of Commerce and Industry; Harrison and Sons Limited; and Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company, Limited.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 272; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file chiefly comprises: correspondence; India Office Political and Secret Department Minutes, Draft Papers and Draft Telegrams; copies of letters and telegrams; notes and memoranda; and reports.The file relates mainly to the discussions regarding the disposal of antiquities from Samarra [Samaria, also spelled Samara and Samarrah in this volume], originally excavated by German archaeologists prior to the First World War and intended for shipment to Berlin, that were captured by British-led forces in 1917 and designated for export to the British Museum by the Army Council on apparent recommendation of the (War Office) ‘Trophies [Sub] Committee’. The file notably covers and includes:The divergence of opinion between the Foreign Office and India Office (who opposed the export of antiquities from Mesopotamia [Iraq], and the Army Council and Office of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, over the advisability of removing the items from Basrah [Basra], considering the political and physical risks, financial implications and prospects for scholarly accessThe decision of the Eastern Committee of the War Office to overrule the Army Council’s recommendationSeparate expressions of interest by, and promises made to, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in respect of the Samarra itemsDiscussion regarding the short and medium-term feasibility of establishing a museum in Baghdad to house those and other itemsTypescript copy of a report, 7 June 1919, by Captain Henry Reginald Hall, Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities, British Museum, to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, on his examination of the antiquities stored at the political office, Basrah (ff 148-151)Discussion over whether to unpack, examine and list the items in Basrah or in London and the question of obtaining the co-operation of the original German excavators in the opening and cataloguing of the Samarra and other German collections, particularly the possible involvement of Professor Ernst Emil Herzfeld, former head of the German archaeological expedition working at Samarra 1911-1913Copy of two draft letters, dated 21 and 25 February 1921, by Thomas Edward 'T E' Lawrence, Colonial Office, advising Sir Frederic Kenyon, Director of the British Museum, that Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for the Colonies, has given authority to Sir Percy Cox, High Commissioner of Mesopotamia, to send the Samarra items to the British Museum, due to the developing political uncertainty in Basrah (ff 2 and 4).The file also includes papers (ff 17-125) relating to measures for the ‘restoration by Turkey of articles of religious, archaeological, historical or artistic interest removed from territories to be detached from Turkey under the Treaty of Peace’ (f 25), in particular the claim of the Government of Hejaz [also spelled Hedjaz in this volume] to the Koran of Caliph Othman [Quran of Caliph Uthman ibn Affan, also spelled Kaliph Osman in this file], as well as the requirement of the Mesopotamia Government to prepare a list of articles to be restored. Includes a proof copy of the ‘Conditions of Peace with Turkey, dated 11 May 1920 (ff 39-120).The primary correspondents are: the India Office; the Foreign Office; the Treasury; the Office of the Civil Commissioner in Mesopotamia, at Bagdad [Baghdad]; Sir Frederic Kenyon; and Cecil Harcourt-Smith, Director and Secretary of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (front of the volume).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 240; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Multiple intermittent additional mixed pagination/foliation sequences are also present. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: Papers concerning diplomatic tensions between the British and Ottoman Governments at the outset of the First World War, including social unrest and military/naval movements in Baghdad, Basra, and the Shatt al-Arab. The volume’s papers were produced prior to the Ottoman Ruler Sultan Mehmed V’s declaration of war on Britain, France and Russia on 11 November 1914. The papers cover:The activities of Seyyid Talib [Saiyid Talib ibn Saiyid Rajab], former Governor (Wali) of Basra, in June 1914, including his attack on Basra and occupation of Zobeir [Zubayr].Reports of growing anti-British sentiment at Basra and Baghdad, and proposals to evacuate British women and children from the area in the event of war with Ottoman Turkey.Diplomatic exchanges between the British and Ottoman Governments, over the presence of British vessels (in particular HMS
Odin) in the Shatt al-Arab, and in international waters off the coast of Mohammerah [Khorramshahr].Interruptions to British steamship services at Basra and Baghdad, particularly those of the Euphrates & Tigris Steam Navigation Company, as a result of Ottoman actions that include the requisitioning of coal at Basra.British officials’ concerns over the status of Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s operations at Abadan, including the reluctance of vessels to travel up to the head of the Persian Gulf to Abadan, and the British Government’s assurances that vessels travelling to Abadan and Mohammerah would be covered by War Insurance.British officials’ concerns over rumours that the Ottoman Navy plans to mine the Shatt al-Arab.The file’s principal correspondents include: the India Office (John Evelyn Shuckburgh; Edmund George Barrow; Arthur Hirtzel); the Foreign Office (Eyre Alexander Barby Wichart Crowe; Louis du Pan Mallet); the Viceroy of India (Charles Hardinge); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Major Stuart George Knox).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 330; 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 leading flyleaf and ending flyleaf, have not been foliated.
Abstract: Papers concerning events in Mesopotamia and in the Persian Gulf, leading up to and immediately after the outbreak of war between Great Britain and Turkey. The file is a chronological continuation of File 3136/1914 Pt 1 ‘German War. Situation in Turkish Arabia & Persian Gulf’ (IOR/L/PS/10/462). Subjects covered include:Concerns amongst British officials that Turkey will lay mines in the Shatt al-Arab.Reports of the spreading of anti-British and pro-German propaganda by Turkish officials, including an undated manifesto (translated into English from Arabic) issued by an organisation called the Moslem Committee of Learned Men (ff 139-143).British intelligence on the movements, actions and correspondence exchanged between the region’s most prominent rulers and key figures, including the former Governor (Wali) of Basra, Seyyid Talib [Saiyid Talib ibn Saiyid Rajab], the Emir of Najd and Al-Aḥsā, Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the Turkish Minister of War, Ismail Enver Pasha.Reports on public opinion amongst the Arab populations of the Persian Gulf, and proposed British propaganda measures, including plans to distribute copies of the
Illustrated War Newsto the various rulers in the Persian Gulf (ff 199-203).The breaking-off of diplomatic relations between Great Britain and Turkey on 30 October 1914.Reports, submitted by Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox, Chief Political Officer of Indian Expeditionary Force D (IEFD), on the progress of IEFD at Basra, including reports of military action at Fao [Al-Fāw], (f 56, f 65, ff 67-68, ff 116-120, f 123).The death of Captain Richard Lockington Birdwood, Assistant Political Officer to Cox, at Basra, on 17 November 1914 (ff 90-91).Reports of anti-British propaganda and activities at Erzeroum [Erzurum], as reported by the city’s British Consul (ff 84-89, ff 103-104).Proposals, including those set out in a letter written by Captain Arnold Talbot Wilson of the Indian Political Department, to the British Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], dated 28 November 1914 (ff 14-17) for Mesopotamia to become an Indian colony after the war.The file’s principal correspondents include: the India Office (John Evelyn Shuckburgh; Edmund George Barrow; Arthur Hirtzel); the Foreign Office (Eyre Alexander Barby Wichart Crowe; Louis du Pan Mallet); the Chief Political Officer of IEFD (Percy Zachariah Cox).The file includes a small number of copies of diplomatic exchanges between the British, Ottoman and Persian Governments (
notes verbale), which are written in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 248; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence in the form of telegrams, reports, minutes, Parliamentary notices and extracts from
Hansardand from
The Timesnewspaper. The correspondence is mainly related to Parliamentary questions, addressed to the Prime Minister or to the Secretary of State for India, and their answers, on the topic of the civil and military administration of Mesopotamia [Iraq]. The main Parliamentary questions debated in the volume are the following:The form of civil administration to be set up in Mesopotamia, and the department of Government to be responsible for thatThe number of British and Indian troops stationed in Mesopotamia, and how many of the Indian officers are Muslims and how many are non-MuslimsThe extent to which the revenues of Mesopotamia are meeting the expenditureThe future of the oil and mineral resources of MesopotamiaThe question of choosing an Arab king or an Arab head of state in MesopotamiaThe political and military situation in bordering areas such as Syria and PalestineThe future of the Kurdish people in the mountains in north Mesopotamia, and the Arab tribesThe possibility of Mesopotamia becoming ‘Indianised’ by planting military colonies particularly in BasraThe need to conclude a treaty of peace with Turkey [Ottoman Empire]The cost of the civil administration and the revenue collected in Mesopotamia in the year 1919-20, and the budget estimates for the financial year 1920-21The progress being made in the drafting of the organic law.The volume includes a Draft Mandate subject to the approval of the League of Nations (folios 173-175). It also includes two published daily reports:‘PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES. HOUSE OF LORDS. FRIDAY, 25TH JUNE, 1920. Vol. 40.-No. 50. OFFICIAL REPORT. [UNREVISED]’ covering the question of Mesopotamia and several bills advanced, mainly private bills and official secrets bill (folios 130-145)‘PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES. HOUSE OF LORDS. WEDNESDAY, 27TH OCTOBER, 1920. Vol. 42.-No. 83. OFFICIAL REPORT. [UNREVISED]’ covering two main topics: cathedrals and churches, and national expenditure (folios 12-24).The main correspondents in the volume are: the Prime Minister; the India Office; the Secretary of State for India; the War Office; the Under-Secretary of State for India, Political Department; the Viceroy, Finance Department; and the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 214; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. The foliation sequence includes one foliation anomaly: f 103a.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence in the form of telegrams, minutes, reviews and printed reports related to the civil administration of Mesopotamia [Iraq]. The volume includes the following reviews and reports:A ‘REVIEW OF THE CIVIL ADMINITSRATION OF THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF AL ‘IRAQ 1914---1918’, Compiled in the Office of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, November, 1918. The review contains the following headings: ‘Al ‘Iraq under Turkish Rule and prior to the Advance to Baghdad’, ‘The Advance to Baghdad and After’, and ‘General Review of the Civil Administration’ (folios 224-266)A Report on Education in Mosul (folios 222-223)Department of Education monthly report issued by the Office of the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, May 1919 (folios 215-221)Two drafts of the first five chapters of the review prepared by Miss Gertrude Bell (folios 118-146, and 157-185), with suggested edits and the question of presenting them to the Parliament.The volume also includes a complete copy of the ‘REVIEW OF THE CIVIL ADMINISTRATION OF MESOPOTAMIA’, prepared by Bell under the direction of the Office of the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, and published by His Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO), December 1920 (folios 8-83). The review is an account of the British military occupation of Mesopotamia, and the establishment of an Arab Government. It contains a table of contents listing the following chapters:‘I. - Occupation of the Basrah [Basra] Wilayat’‘II. - Organisation of the Administration’‘III. - The pacification of the Tribes and Relations with the Shi’ah [Shia] towns up to the fall of Baghdad’‘IV. - Relations with Arab and Kurdish Tribes, and with the Holy Cities after the fall of Baghdad’‘V. - The Occupation of Mosul’‘VI. - The Kurdish Question’‘VII. - Development of Administration. The Revenue Department’‘VIII. - Judicial Administration’‘IX. - Organisation of the Education Department, Levies and Police, Civil Medical Service, Department of Commerce and Industry, Public Works, Railways, Finance, and Establishment’‘X. - The National Movement’‘Index’.Correspondents in the volume include: the Acting Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; the Education Department of Mesopotamia; the Under-Secretary of State for India; the Foreign Office; the Secretary to the Government of India; the Secretary of State; and the War Office.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 266; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.