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1. Persian Affairs
- Description:
- Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 25 of 1844, dated 25 March 1844. The enclosures are dated 20 February 1844.The enclosures chiefly comprise despatches from Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Sheil, HM Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran, to the Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General, enclosing copies of his despatches to the Earl of Aberdeen [George Hamilton Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen] Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, with their respective enclosures notably letters from Sheil to E W Bonham, HM Consul at Tabreez [Tabriz], Lieutenant-Colonel Williams at Erzeroom [Erzurum], and Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Farrant, agent in Bagdad [Baghdad] for HM Ambassador in Constantinople [Istanbul].A wide variety of subjects are covered, notably including:Matters relating to the Persian Gulf, including: Persian [Iranian] plans to build fortifications at Bushire [Bushehr] (as well as Asterabad [Gorgan, formerly Astarabad] and Mazanderan [Mazandaran]); Persian objections to the British coaling station on the island of Karrack [Kharg] on the basis that Russia could use it as a pretext for establishing a fuelling station on one of the islands near Asterabad; and the arrival at Bushire of Sheikh Abdoollah [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah], the former Chief of Bahrein [Bahrain], requesting assistance from the Resident and from the Governor of Sheeraz [Shiraz] to help restore him to possession of the islandThe conflicting claims of Persia and Ottoman Turkey with regard to possession of Mohemmera [Khorramshahr], particularly the tribe of Chaab [Banū Ka‘b tribe?] and the revenue of Fellaheea [Fellahiah] in Chaab territory. Includes reference to the memorandum by Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, on the background to the dispute (a copy of the memorandum is in IOR/L/PS/5/428 ff 437-487)Concerns of Sheil and the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Meerza Abool Hassan Khan [Mīrzā Abū al-Ḥasan Khān Shīrāzī, Īlchī Kabīr] concerning the increase of ‘aggressive’ Russian influence over the Shah and the Persian Government, notably: the local Russian Consul by-passing the authority of the Governor of Resht, province of Geelan [Rasht, Gilan]; Russian intimidatory activities in Asterabad and on the Toorkoman [Turkoman] coasts; and continued pressure by Count Medem [Aleksandr Ivanovich Medem], Russian Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran, on the Shah and Persian Prime Minister Hajee Meerza Aghassee [Ḥājjī Mīrzā Āqāsī, Ṣadr-i Aʿẓam] for the abrogation of Article 14 of the Treaty between Russia and PersiaProgress of the negotiations between Persia and Turkey at Erzeroom [Erzurum], mediated by Britain and Russia, regarding frontier disputes, notably: arbitration of tribal incursions; arrangements for the return of plundered property; ineffectualness of the Turkish and Persian plenipotentiaries (representatives) at Erzeroom; Persian claims against Turkey over the capture of Kerbela [Karbala] and demands for the dismissal of the Governor of Bagdad [Baghdad]; rumours that Turkey is amassing a military force near Erzeroom and Persian response in kind; arguments over territorial rights in Sooleimanieh [Sulaymaniyah], Van, Kars, and Akhilska [Akhaltsikhe?]; and attempts by the Persian Prime Minister to make the Persian plenipotentiary at Erzeroom tone down his territorial demands and to confer with the British and Russian commissioners. Includes translations of letters from the Persian Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and the Shah (ff 405-416)Information conveyed to Sheil by HM Consul General at Tabreez, regarding the conflict in Daghistan [Dagestan] between Russian and Lesgee [Lezgian, also spelled Lezgee in this item] forces (Persia had ceded Daghistan to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Gulistan 1813 but was pro-Lesgee), notably: rumours of severe losses on both sides; the Lesgee attack on Russian forces at Avran [Yerevan?], capture of the Governor of Georgia and besieging of Derband [Derbent]; rumours of Russian plans to send 40,000 troops under the command of General Yermaloff [Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov], to the Caucasus to invade Daghistan as soon as weather permits; and Persia’s desire to drive Russia out of Georgia.Physical description: The enclosure numbers 3-4 are written on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure, which also contain an abstract of the contents of the enclosure.
2. Coll 28/133 ‘Persia. Resht; Monthly Diaries’
- Description:
- Abstract: Monthly diaries covering the period January to November 1947, submitted by the British Consul at Resht [Rasht] in Persia [Iran]. The diaries are arranged under numerous different subheadings which vary from one report to the next, but broadly cover the following topics: local politics and local government affairs, including the activities of local government and military officials, and local elections; Russian (Soviet) interests in the region, including the movements and activities of Russian officials; British interests; American [United States of America] interests; economic and commercial affairs, including agriculture; labour; security; communications and transport, including the installation of airfields by the Persian Civil Aviation Department; and propaganda, including the deployment of a mobile cinema van, and cinema programmes. An appendix attached to the diary for May 1947 includes a report of a tour made by Lieutenant-Colonel R O A Gatehouse. The tour encompassed the Persian coast of the Caspian Sea, including Gilan, Mazanderan [Māzandarān] and Gurgan [Gorgān], and included reports on Soviet activities and influence in the region.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the front 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 66, 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.
3. Coll 28/29 ‘Persia. Russia. Russian Refugees in Persia.’
- Description:
- 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.
4. Coll 28/32 ‘Persia; Foreigners in; Expropriation by Persian municipalities of property of foreigners.’
- Description:
- Abstract: Correspondence concerning the expropriation of property belonging to foreigners in Persia [Iran] by the Persian Government. The papers chiefly concern a set of silk cocoon drying sheds and storage facilities belonging to a Greek subject in Resht [Rasht], which were demolished by the town’s municipal authorities in 1931 for the purpose of street widening. Papers also discuss the subsequent claim made by the Hellenic Government against the Persian Government. The file’s principal correspondents are: the British Vice-Consulate at Resht (Archibald William Davis); the British Legation at Tehran (Robert Henry Clive); the British Chargé d’Affaires in Persia (Lacy Baggallay).Later correspondence in the file, dated 1934, relates to the transfer of responsibility for Greek nationals in Persia, from the British to the Turkish Government.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 38; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
5. Enclosure in Letter from Henry Willock to the Secret Committee of 22 Sep 1824
- Description:
- Abstract: A copy of a letter from Henry Willock, HM Chargé d’Affaires in Persia [Iran], to George Canning, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, sent from Tehran and dated 16 September 1824.The letter reports on discussions between Semyon Mazarovich, Russian Chargé d’Affaires in Persia, and the Shah [Fath-‘Ali Shāh Qājār] and Persian Ministers on issues in Russo-Persian relations, in particular Russia’s push for the establishment of a consulate in Resht [Rasht]. This is opposed by the Persian side which is wary of Russian influence in Gilan province. Willock conjectures on the threat that Russian expansion into Gilan would pose to India.The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company (IOR/L/PS/9/69/220).Physical description: 1 item (14 folios)
6. File 4500/1920 Pt 4 ‘Persia: Situation (June 1921-December 1921)’
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume contains correspondence on the political and military situation in Persia [Iran] from April to December 1921. The correspondence is primarily formed of dispatches from HM Minister in Tehran to the Foreign Office, along with instructions from the Foreign Office to the Minister. It includes material relating to the following matters:The arrest of Zahir-ul-Islam [Sayyīd Javād Imāmī, Ẓahīr al-Islām] and other prominent politicians by the Persian Minister of War [Rezā Khān Savādkūhī, Sardār-i Sipah], under the charge of having conspired against the life of the Prime Minister [Aḥmad Qavām, Qavām al-Salṭanah] and himself, and the escape of the former Minister of Court, Mushar al-Mulk [Mīrzā Ḥasan Khān Mushār al-Mulk]The ratification of the Russo-Persian Treaty in the Persian Medjliss [Majlis, Parliament], despite the concessions granted to Standard Oil Company, and differences over certain articles of the Treaty, and the steps taken to ensure the passage of the Treaty by Soviet Ambassador Theodore RothsteinThe ‘lingering mistrust’ of Persians towards the British on account of their attitude to Islam and their aims in the country, and ‘maladministration and local causes of discontent’ as two major factors in favour of the Bolsheviks in PersiaA memorandum by the British Military Attaché in Tehran, Major Edward William Charles Noel, on the threat posed by the Bolsheviks to Persia, based on conversations with Mr Hildebrandt, the last ‘White Russian’ in charge of the LegationThe recovery of Resht [Rasht] and Enzeli [Anzali] from Soviet occupation, the death of Kuchik Khan [Mīrzā Kūchak Khān Jangalī] leader of the Jangalis, the redeployment of Persian Government forces to Azerbaijan against Kurdish leader Simko [Ismā‘īl Āqā Shakāk, Simkū], and the dismissal of Swedish officers from positions in command of the GendarmerieThe British plan to remove Arbab Kai Khosro [Kaykhusraw Shāhrukh, also known as Arbāb Kaykhusraw] as head of the Zoroastrian community and deputy in the Medjliss for his perceived anti-British views and communication with the Russian LegationThe attempts of the British Legation in Tehran to dissociate Britain from the rebellion of Colonel Mohammed Taqi [Colonel Muḥammad Taqī Khān Pisyān], despite the presence of as many as 1000 Barbaris [Hazaras] among the Colonel’s followersThe rebellion of Colonel Mohammed Taqi against the government of Kavam-us-Sultaneh [Qavām al-Salṭanah], the appointment of himself as Governor-General of the Province of Khorasan, and his eventual defeat and death at the hands of tribal forces in northern Khorasan, at the instigation of the Central Government of PersiaThe success of the Minister of War and the Shah of Persia in forcing the Prime Minister, Zia-ed-Din [Sayyid Ziyāʾ al-Dīn Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī] out of office, supported by ‘courtiers, priests, officials and other corrupt elements’, whose interests had been threatened, and the formation of a new government by Kavam-us-Sultaneh.The volume also includes a ‘Memorandum on England and Russia in Persia’ by W A Smart, Oriental Secretary of the British Legation at Tehran, 21 June 1921 (ff 174r-176r).Physical description: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 311; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.