Abstract: This part of the volume comprises correspondence, memoranda, notes, and other papers relating to the first years of the East India Company Residency in Bagdad [Baghdad, also spelled Bagdat in this volume]. The first section (folios 4-153) consists of letters from Sir Harford Jones, Resident at Bagdad, to Henry Dundas, President of the Board of Control. The letters contain intelligence, news, and, Jones's views on the matters discussed. Various subjects are covered, including:The French invasion of Egypt and their campaign in Syria, including the seizure of Alexandria (July 1798), the French defeat by the British at the Battle of the Nile (August 1798), the reaction of the Ottoman authorities to the invasion, the Siege of Acre (March-May 1799), and the Battle of Aboukir [Abu Qir] (July 1799)British fears of a French overland invasion of India and concerns about French influence in the regionEvents in Khorassan [historic region of Greater Khorasan, including north-east Iran and parts of present-day Afghanistan], including the Afghan ruler Zeman Shah's [Zamān Shāh Durrānī] advances on the Punjab, Persian plans to take Herat, and Jones's recommendation to the Government of India that a British representative be installed at Caboul [Kabul]Ottoman military efforts against the growing power of the Whabee [Wahhābī, also spelled Whahaubee in this volume] State in Central ArabiaThe East India Company's victory over Tippoo Sultan [Sulṭān Fātiḥ ‘Alī Ṣāḥib Tīpū, or Tīpū Sulṭān] and the consolidation of their imperial power in IndiaEvents in Europe, particularly those relating to the Napoleonic WarsTreatment of the Christian community in BagdadPolitical affairs in Persia [Iran], India, and Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq]Relations with the Persian Court and the Ottoman Governor of the Baghdad Vilayet, Soliman Pashaw [Sulaymān Pāshā], including the diplomatic missions to Persia of Meerza Mehdi Ally Khan [Mīrzā Mahdī ‘Alī Khān Bahadūr] and Captain John MalcolmRussian movements and ambitions in the CaucasusPlague in Bagdad and the surrounding regionsCommercial and administrative matters.The second section (folios 154-512) consists of the enclosures to Jones's letters to Dundas which cover the same subjects.Correspondence included as enclosures is between Jones and various diplomatic and governmental officials, intelligence sources, merchants, and East India Company representatives from across the region, including: Robert Page Abbott, Agent for the East India Company at Aleppo (following his death in 1799, his wife, Louisa Abbott (née Vernon), took on the duties of Agent); John Barker, Consul at Aleppo; the Government of Bombay; Peter Tooke, East India Company Agent at Constantinople [Istanbul]; Francis Werry, Consul at Smyrna; John Spencer Smith, Ambassador to the Ottoman Porte at Constantinople (after November 1799, Earl of Elgin [Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin]); Nicholas Ducci, Agent at Latachia [Latakia]; Chairman of the East India Company Court of Directors; Rear-Admiral John Blankett, Commander of HMS
Leopard, stationed in the Red Sea; Samuel Manesty, Resident at Bussora [Basra]; and Lord Minto [Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto], Envoy to Austria.Documents of note here include:A memorandum by Harford Jones on what preparations might be made for his Residency in Bagdad, dated London, 1 July 1798 (ff 4-7)Papers, in French, seized by the Ottoman authorities following the arrest of France's representatives in Bagdad, including Napoleon Bonaparte's proclamation to the Egyptian people following the seizure of Alexandria (ff 163-169)A short note by Jones on the history of the ruling families of Persia since Nadir Shah [Nādir Afshār] (f 171)The prospectus, in French, of a 'Commercial Company established in France under the auspices of the King for trade with Asiatic Turkey, Persia, and India' [French East India Company] (ff 173-174)A memorandum by Jones on the Whabee (ff 181-184)A letter, in Italian, from Accre [Acre] resident, Luigi Malagamba, concerning the French advance along the eastern Mediterranean coast towards Accre (ff 210-211)Extracts from the
Bombay Courier Extraordinary, dated 4 June 1799 (ff 248A-248)A report by John Barker on the roads, conditions, resources, governance, inhabitants, and distances of the region between the eastern Mediterranean and the Euphrates River, dated 1799 (ff 264-268)A memorandum by Jones on the industry and trade of the copper deposits of the Taurus Mountains, dated 1 December 1799 (ff 294-302)Extracts of a report on the events which led to the loss of HMS
Trincomaleein the Red Sea on 13 October 1799 (ff 304-306)A letter, in Latin, from Father Fulgentius a S Maria, Carmelite Vicar Apostolic of Persia and Mesopotamia and complaining of unjust treatment by the Ottoman authorities, dated Bagdad, 10 February 1800 (ff 331-332)Letters, in Persian, from Wafadar Khan [Raḥmat Allāh Khān Sadūzāʾī Kāmrān Khayli], Prime Minister to Zeman Shah, and concerning recent events of the time and the proposal of sending an English envoy to Afghanistan, dated Candahar [Kandahar], January 1800 (ff 351-352)News bulletins from Lord Minto in Vienna concerning events of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe (ff 485-488) and including an abstract of the Treaty of Lunéville (ff 495-496).Physical description: 1 item (511 folios)
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 7 July 1873 and received by the India Office's Political Department on 12 August 1873, forwarding copies of papers regarding affairs in Nejd [Najd] and Bahrein [Bahrain], in continuation of Secret Despatch No. 37 of 10 April 1873.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 2, and terminates at f 22, 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 eight foliation insertion anomalies (e.g. 2a, 3a, 8a etc.).
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 28 July 1873 and received by the India Office's Political Department on 26 August 1873, forwarding copies of papers regarding affairs in Nejd [Najd].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 519, and terminates at f 524, 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 519a, f 521a, and f 523a.
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 11 December 1874, forwarding a copy of papers relating to the operations of the ‘Turks’ [Ottomans] in Nejd [Najd], and their complaints against the Chief of Bahrein [Hakim of Bahrain] for his hospitable treatment of the Wahabee [Wahhābī] Prince, Abdool Rehman [‘Abd al-Raḥmān], who was lately released from detention at Baghdad.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 572, and terminates at f 575a, 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 anomalies: f 572a, f 573a, and f 575a.
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 18 December 1874, forwarding a copy of papers relating to the proceedings of the ‘Turks’ [Ottomans] in Nejd [Najd] and the movements of the Wahabee [Wahhābī] Prince Abdool Rahman [‘Abd al-Raḥmān] (the papers listed in the abstract of contents themselves are not included). The despatch is in continuation of despatch No. 220 of 11 December 1874 [IOR/L/PS/6/122, ff 572-575a].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 592, and terminates at f 593a, 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 592a and f 593a.
Abstract: This volume consists largely of copies of Foreign Office correspondence (forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India) regarding relations between Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and Kuwait. In addition, the volume contains copies of India Office correspondence with both the Foreign Office and the Colonial Office, as well as copies of correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe) and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.The beginning of the volume concerns a request made by Ibn Saud to use the occasion of a meeting with King Faisal [Fayṣal bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] of Iraq to open formal negotiations with the British regarding general questions relating to the Persian Gulf.The British response is that a meeting of this kind, at such short notice, would not be possible; however, proposals are made for a meeting between Ibn Saud and the Political Resident at a later date. Such a meeting, it is suggested, could also be attended by the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al Jabir as Subah [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ], for the purpose of discussing Nejd-Kuwait relations. Much of the correspondence discusses the efforts made by the British to arrange the proposed meeting with Ibn Saud (which would eventually take place at Hasa in January 1932). The volume includes a report from Biscoe recounting his meetings with both Ibn Saud and his representative, which include the following subjects of discussion: the Kuwait blockade; passport facilities for persons from Nejd travelling to India or Iraq; the possibility of consular status being afforded to representatives of Nejd in Bahrain and Kuwait; the possibility of an extradition treaty between Bahrain and Nejd.Also included in the volume are copies of letters and intelligence summaries from the Political Agent at Kuwait (Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson) to the Political Resident.The volume's other prominent correspondents include the following: the British Consul (later His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires) at Jedda, (William Linskill Bond, succeeded by Cecil Gervase Hope Gill); the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd; also held in an acting capacity by Fuad Bey Hamza]; Ibn Saud; the Ruler of Kuwait.The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 464; 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.
Abstract: This volume largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence (forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India) regarding reported raids on the frontier between Transjordan and the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). Most of this correspondence consists of copies of letters and telegrams between the Foreign Office and the British Minister at Jedda, Sir Andrew Ryan, as well as translated copies of correspondence between Ryan and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). The volume also contains India Office correspondence with the Foreign Office and Air Ministry.The correspondence is chiefly concerned with reported raids carried out on the Transjordan frontier by tribes from Nejd and Transjordan. Much of the Foreign Office correspondence discusses the efforts of the British to arrange a meeting between Captain John Bagot Glubb (recently appointed as British Intelligence Officer attached to the Transjordan Bedouin Control Board) and his counterpart, Abdul Aziz Ibn Zeid [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin Zeid], in order to resolve respective claims regarding raids from August 1930 to February 1931, and to make arrangements for the future intercommunication of information.Also discussed are the following:An alleged crossing into Hejazi-Nejdi territory by British aircraft and cars from Transjordan.A proposed extradition treaty between Transjordan and the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd.Reports of meetings between Glubb and Abdul Aziz Ibn Zeid.The question of nationality in relation to certain tribes on the Transjordan and Hejaz-Nejd frontier (namely the Beni Atiya [Banū ʿAṭiyya] and the Atun, which Ryan describes as being a section of the Howeitat [Banū al- Ḥuwayṭāt]).In addition to correspondence the volume contains copies of minutes from meetings in early 1931 of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for questions concerning the Middle East, which discuss possible measures (such as the withdrawal of the British Minister at Jedda) that the British could take in the event of Ibn Saud returning 'an unsatisfactory answer' to British demands relating to the situation on the Transjordan and Hejaz-Nejd frontier. Also included are copies of memoranda from Glubb, one of which responds to complaints made against him by the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Hejaz and Nejd.Other correspondents besides those already mentioned include the Secretary of State for Colonies, the Colonial Office, the High Commissioner for Transjordan (Sir John Robert Chancellor, succeeded by Arthur Grenfell Wauchope), the British Resident at Transjordan (Charles Henry Fortnom Cox), and His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at Jedda (Cecil Gervase Hope Gill).The volume includes three dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 780; 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.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also written as Bin Saud in the file], Amir of Nejd [Emir of Najd], forwarded to the Political Agency, Kuwait, by other British officials in the Gulf region. The correspondence primarily covers relations between Ibn Saud and Hussain [Al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī, also written as Husain and Hussein in the file, and also referred to as ‘the Sharif’], King of Hejaz [also written as Hijaz and Hedjaz in the file], during a British-imposed ceasefire that followed hostilities over possession of Khurma [al-Khurmah]. Subjects covered in the correspondence include:Ibn Saud’s possession of Khurma and Tarabah [Turabah], and the potential threat this poses towards Taif [Ta’if]Claims by both Ibn Saud and Hussain that the other is continuing to commit hostile actionsArrangements for a potential meeting between Ibn Saud and Hussain for peace talks, initially planned to take place at Aden, but changed to Mecca at Ibn Saud’s suggestionA request from Ibn Saud for two Indian Muslim officers to be appointed to oversee pilgrims from Nejd who will accompany Ibn Saud’s journey to Mecca, and the appointment of two officers from the Political Agency, Bahrein [Bahrain]: Khan Sayib Syed Siddiq Hasan [Khān Ṣāḥib Sayyid Ṣādiq Ḥasan] and Shaikh Farhan Beg Al Rahmah [Shaikh Farḥān Beg al-Raḥmah]Hussain’s refusal to remove his embargo against pilgrims from Nejd being allowed into Hejaz, and Ibn Saud’s subsequent postponement of his own journey to Mecca in favour of a small diplomatic mission on his behalfThe departure of the mission to Mecca under Ibn Saud’s cousin Ahmad Al-Thenyan [Aḥmad bin ‘Abdullāh bin Ibrāhīm bin Thunayān Āl Saʿūd, also written as Ahmad ibn Thunaiyan and Thaniyan in the file], and accompanied by Khan Sayib Syed Siddiq Hasan and Shaikh Farhan Beg Al Rahmah, in August 1920Discussions between Hussain and Al-Thenyan, an agreement signed between them to re-establish friendly relations, and the mission’s return to NejdArrangements for a meeting at Ojair [Al ‘Uqayr] between Ibn Saud and Sir Percy Cox, British High Commissioner in BaghdadThe awarding of an honorary GCIE to Ibn SaudReports in 1921 and 1922 that Ibn Saud is preparing to attack Hejaz and besiege Mecca.Khan Sayib Syed Siddiq Hasan’s reports from Riyadh in July and August 1920, including accounts of meetings with Ibn Saud, are on folios 78-113. His diary of the journey from Riyadh to Mecca is on folios 178-191. Shaikh Farhan Beg Al Rahmah’s report of the mission to Mecca and account of the return journey is on folios 191-196.The primary correspondents are: the High Commissioner, Cairo; the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; the Political Agent, Bahrein; Khan Sayib Syed Siddiq Hasan; and Ibn Saud. Other correspondents include: the British Agent, Jeddah; the Political Agent, Koweit [Kuwait]; Hussain’s son Faisal [Fayṣal bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī, later King of Iraq]; the Foreign Office; and the India Office.The file contains a single item in Arabic, a letter from Ibn Saud to Sir Percy Cox dated 24 August 1922, which is on folios 202-203. An English summary of the contents is on folio 201.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 204; 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 between ff 178-196.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of enclosures to a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 18 December 1874, forwarding a copy of papers relating to the proceedings of the ‘Turks’ [Ottomans] in Nejd [Najd] and the movements of the Wahabee [Wahhābī] Prince Abdool Rahman [‘Abd al-Raḥmān]. The despatch is in continuation of despatch No. 220 of 11 December 1874 [IOR/L/PS/6/122, ff 572-575a].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 596, and terminates at f 597a, 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 one foliation anomaly: f 597a.
Abstract: This volume contains part 1 of the subject 'Persia Gulf'. It concerns Britain's relations with Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] following the latter's occupation of Ottoman-ruled El Hassa [Al Hasa] and Nejd [Najd]. Much of the correspondence is concerned with how Bin Saud's occupation of Nejd and El Hassa will affect the continuing Anglo-Turkish negotiations [for the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, which was never ratified] and British foreign policy in the region more generally.Also discussed in the volume are the following: whether the British should allow the transhipment of Ottoman troops in Bahrein waters; a visit (regarded after the event as 'ill-advised' by the Secretary of State for India) paid by the Political Agent, Koweit [Kuwait], Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, to Bin Saud, at Majma'a [Al Majma], six weeks before Bin Saud occupied El Hassa; the death of Sheikh Jasim-bin-thani [Shaikh Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thānī, Ruler of Qatar]; British hopes of securing the early withdrawal of the Turkish garrison from El Katr [Qatar]; reports that the Turkish Government intends to respond to the events in Nejd by appointing Bin Saud as Mutessarif [Mutasarrif] of the district.The following principal correspondents appear in the volume: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Sir Percy Zachariah Cox; the Viceroy of India [Charles Hardinge]; the Secretary of State for India, the Marquess of Crewe [Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes]; the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India, Thomas William Holderness; His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople, Gerard Augustus Lowther; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Edward Grey; the Political Agent, Koweit; Bin Saud.The part includes a divider that gives the subject and part number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in the part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 155; these numbers are written in pencil, 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.
Abstract: The papers concern the attitudes of Shaikh Mubarak [Mubārak bin Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] of Koweit [Kuwait] and rulers of other Persian Gulf coast states toward the political activities of Bin Saood (also referred to as Ibn Saood) [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, (Ibn Sa‘ūd)] in Nejd [Najd].The principal correspondents are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Major Percy Zachariah Cox); the Political Agent, Kuwait (Major Stuart George Knox); HBM's Consul, Basrah (also referred to as Bussorah) [Basra] (Francis Edward Crow); the British Ambassador at Constantinople (Sir Nicholas Roderick O'Conor); and senior officials of the Government of India, the Foreign Office, and the India Office.The papers cover: papers concerning a proposed visit by Ibn Sa‘ūd to the Pirate Coast [Trucial Coast] and Oman, including discussion of whether, in the event of his gaining ascendancy in the region, an approach should be made to him through the Shaikh of Kuwait or the Sultan of Muscat to safeguard the rights of British subjects residing in his territories and to ensure that there was no interference with Arab tribes in alliance with the British Government, October 1905 - February 1906 (including copies of treaties with chiefs of the Pirate Coast, 1862-92, folios 159-162) (folios 144-170); the decision of the Government of India, with Foreign Office approval, to authorise the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to issue a warning to the chiefs of the Trucial Coast not to engage in 'intrigues' with Ibn Sa‘ūd, so as to avoid unrest that would be damaging to British commercial interests in the area, March-April 1906 (folios 121-143); papers concerning Ibn Sa‘ūd's relations with the Turkish [Ottoman] and British Governments, August-October 1906 (folios 108-120); papers concerning a possible Arab confederacy, November 1906 (folios 103-107); reports of fighting between Turkish troops and Arab tribesmen in Hassa [Al Hasa], overtures by Ibn Sa‘ūd to the British, and correspondence concerning the passage of Turkish troops through Kuwait, December 1906- April 1907 (including enclosures dated 1904) (folios 41-102); papers concerning Najd affairs, and the decision of the Government of India, with the agreement of the India Office and the Foreign Office, that it was inadvisable to issue further warnings to Shaikh Mubarak not to interfere in Najd, as this might tend to weaken British influence over him, January-July 1907 (folios 11-40); and a memorandum concerning British relations with the Wahabees [Wahhabis], January 1908 (folios 4-10).The date range gives the main covering dates of all the documents; however, the papers also include copies of treaties dated 1862-92 (folios 159-162). The date range of the Secret Department minute papers given on the subject divider on folio 1 is 1906-07.Physical description: 170 folios
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.