1. 'Central Asia, Persia, and Afghanistan. Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic Movements and connected Information.'

Description:

Abstract: The file consists primarily of summaries of letters, memoranda, and reports dated between 1 and 30 November 1919; the subject matter concerns Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic movements in Central Asia, Persia, and Afghanistan.The following titles are abbreviated in the file as indicated: Chief of the [Imperial] General Staff (CGS); Foreign Secretary (FS) — most likely — to the Government of India; and Viceroy of India (V).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 326 and terminates at f 333, 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.

2. 'Central Asia, Persia, and Afghanistan. Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic Movements and connected Information'

Description:

Abstract: This file contains summaries of reports, letters and memoranda concerning Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic movements in Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan. The file is divided into a series of sections, each of which contains summaries of reports, letters and memoranda. Prominent correspondents include the Chief of the General Staff (officially known as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during this period but referred to here as 'CGS'), the Directorate of Military Intelligence ('DMI'), the Secretary of State for India ('S'), the Foreign Secretary (abbreviated simply as 'FS'; given the department in which this file was produced it is most likely that 'FS' refers to the Foreign Secretary of the Government of India), and the Viceroy and Governor-General of India ('V').The contents are listed as follows (the date ranges of each section are provided in brackets):I. Bolshevik Missions to Kabul (12 May-3 November 1919);II. Afghan Missions to Bokhura [Bukhara] and Khiva (8 June-3 November 1919);III. Intrigues at and with Tashkend (3 May-26 October 1919);IV. Afghan Mission to Kushk (3 June-14 October 1919);V. Movements in Afghan Turkestan (3 June-14 October 1919);VI. Afghan Missions to Moscow (28 May-2 November 1919);VII. Movements in Ferghana (2 May-20 October 1919);VIII. Bolshevik relations with Bokhara, Samarkand, and Khiva (12 June-29 October 1919);IX. Bolshevik-Afghan trade (27 July-12 October 1919);X. Barkatullah (18 July-13 October 1919);XI. Afghan aggression into Russian territory (2-31 October 1919);XII. Kasim Beg (24 July-19 October 1919);XIII. Pan-Islamism (30 May-30 October 1919);XIV. Bolshevik designs on Persia (24 July-31 October 1919);XV. Bolshevik Promises of Assistance to Afghans (16 June-2 October 1919);XVI. Miscellaneous (21 July-31 October 1919);XVII. Government of India's appreciations of position, etc. (23 June-10 September 1919).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; 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.

3. 'Central Asia, Persia, Afghanistan, &c. Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic Movements and connected information. Issue No. 3. Supplement. 1st to 31st December 1919'

Description:

Abstract: The file consists primarily of summaries of letters, memoranda, and reports dated between 26 November 1919 and 5 January 1920; the subject matter concerns Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic movements in Central Asia, Persia, and Afghanistan. These summaries are divided into a series of sections which are as follows:I. Bolshevik Missions to Kabul;II. Afghan Relations with Bokhara and Khiva;III. Intrigues at Tashkend;IV. Afghan Mission to Kushk;V. Movements in Afghan Turkestan;VI. Afghan Mission to Moscow;VII. Movements in Ferghana and Semirechia;VIII. Bolshevik relations with Bokhara, Khiva and Samarkand;IX. Afghan-Bolshevik Commercial Relations;X. Barkatullah;XI. Afghan Aggression into Russian Territory: Afghan political Relations with Bolsheviks in Turkestan;XII. Kasim Beg;XIII. Pan-Islamism and anti-British Schemes;XIV. Bolshevik Designs on Persia;XV. Bolshevik assistance to Afghans in Material, &c.;XVI. Miscellaneous: (a) Movements of Bolshevik troops in Transcaspia. (b) Food and fuel situation in Bolshevik area. (c) Intrigues with Trans-Caucasia;XVII. Appreciations of the General Situation.Section XVII contains substantial extracts from letters, memoranda, and reports rather than the usual summaries. Sections IV and XII are empty; nil is used to indicate that there are no reports in these sections for the period in question.The following titles are abbreviated in the file as indicated: Chief of the [Imperial] General Staff (CGS); Director of Military Intelligence (DMI); and Foreign Secretary (FS) — most likely — to the Government of India.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; 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.

4. 'THE WAR WITH TURKEY. Note by the Under Secretary, India Office.'

Description:

Abstract: Note written by Sir Thomas William Holderness, Under Secretary of State, India Office, in response to Sir Arthur Hirtzel's memorandum on the war with Turkey (IOR/L/PS/18/B233).The note describes the recommendations of the Inter-Department Committee on Asiatic Turkey, which Sir Thomas Holderness was a member of, and which were based on the assumption by the Committee at the time of its convening that an allied occupation of Constantinople was only weeks away, that Russia would be in possession of the city and surrounding areas and that peace with the Turks would be possible.The committee's responsibility, in light of the assumptions, was as follows:To propose a scheme for Asiatic Turkey that would satisfy Russian, French, Italian and Greek interests in the region and which would suit the needs and requirements of Great Britain; possibilities included the complete partition of the region; the removal of the Ottoman Empire; and decentralisation of Turkey without the need for military intervention.The note goes on to consider potential concerns over German power and influence in Turkey; the dangers of any settlement with Turkey that would not include the ending of the Ottoman Empire; the risks from Germany gaining control of the Balkan States; the danger of pan-Islamism; the possibilities of British interests in the East being achieved if Germany is defeated and Turkey collapses as a military power; and the Mesopotamian Campaign and its development as a serious military operation.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 55 and terminates at folio 57, 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 between folios 6-153; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.

5. 'THE WAR WITH TURKEY. Memorandum by Political Department, India Office.'

Description:

Abstract: Memorandum, written by Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel, dated 25 May 1916, examining the implications of war with Turkey on Great Britain particularly the importance to Germany of a Turco-Ottoman alliance and the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, and the corresponding importance of its dissolution to Great Britain.The memorandum discusses Germany's need for raw materials and its realisation that supplies from Asiatic Turkey may take years to establish; the German threat to the Suez Canal and the Dardanelles; the threat to India from Mesopotamia; the dangers of Pan-islamism; the potential risks of waging war on a Moslem [Muslim] power, particularly given British relations in the Persian Gulf; and the possible outcomes of the war with Germany and the likely position of Turkey in relation to them.Enclosed with the memorandum are two appendices:Appendix I: Extract from an article by Dr Hans Delbrück in the Schwäbische Merkur17 May 1916, summarising the German ideal of 'weltpolitik' (world policy);Appendix II: Extract memorandum by Sir Mark Sykes on "The problem of the Near East", dated 20 June 1916.Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel is not named on the memorandum as its author, however IOR/L/PS/18/B234 refers to him as its author.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 51 and terminates at folio 54, 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 the volume; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.

6. Coll 6/51 'Pan-Islamic Congress, 1933-5. Activities of Shaukat Ali, the Mufti of Jerusalem and others.'

Description:

Abstract: This file documents British concerns regarding the pan-Islamic movement, particularly in Palestine but also in other parts of the Middle East.The file features the following principal correspondents: the Viceroy of India; the Secretary of State for India; His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo (Miles Wedderburn Lampson); the High Commissioner for Palestine (Arthur Grenfell Wauchope); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); the President of the Supreme Muslim Council, Palestine [Muḥammad Amin al-Husayni]; officials of the Foreign Office, the Government of India's Foreign Department, the Government of Palestine, and the Palestine Police Force's Criminal Investigations Department, Jerusalem.The correspondence includes discussion of the following:Reports on the activities of Mohammed Ali Allouba Pasha.The visit of Shawkat Ali [Maulana Shaukat Ali] in 1933.British concerns regarding the impact in other Muslim countries of what is referred to as Arab Palestinian propaganda.Details of the visit of an Islamic delegation to India in 1933, headed by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem [Muḥammad Amin al-Husayni], for the collection of funds for a proposed Islamic University in Palestine.Arrangements for a proposed financial contribution (one lakh of rupees, or 100,000 rupees), to be made by the Nizam of Hyderabad's Government towards the proposed Islamic University in Palestine.The views of Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] on Palestine.The visit of Emir Saoud [Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd] to Palestine in August 1935.Foreign Office concerns regarding a suggestion made by the Viceroy of India (Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow) in July 1940 that a pan-Islamic conference should be convened to encourage Muslim feeling against Axis expansion into British territory in the Middle East.In addition to correspondence, the file includes the following:Copies of extracts Palestine police summaries from 1933-1935.A copy of a translation of a memorandum (author unknown) written in 1935, which discusses British policy regarding Palestine, as well as Jewish immigration and Zionism, from a Palestinian Muslim perspective.The French material in this file consists of a copy of a French translation of a sermon given by Sheikh el Maraghi [Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi] in early 1938.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 (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-160; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

7. Coll 6/78 'Italian propaganda amongst the Arabs.'

Description:

Abstract: This file documents steps considered and taken by the British to combat reported Italian anti-British propaganda and disseminate pro-British propaganda in the Middle East and beyond.The file's principal correspondents are the following: His Majesty's Ambassador in Rome (Eric Drummond); the British Consul-General, Addis Ababa (Hugh Stonehewer Bird); His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Addis Ababa (Patrick Maxwell Roberts); the British Consul-General, Batavia (Henry Fitzmaurice); His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires, Jedda (Albert Spencer Calvert); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Reader William Bullard); officials of the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.Included in the correspondence is discussion of the following:Ibn Saud's [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] views on Italian activities in the Middle East.The movements of Shakib Arslan of the Syria Palestine Islamic League, including his reported visit to Rome in November 1936.The Italian regime in Ethiopia (including its education system) and the effect of Italian propaganda on Ethiopia's Muslim population.Reports of the publication of a manifesto in Libya that claims for Mussolini the title of 'Protector of Islam'.Accounts of speeches and statements given by Mussolini regarding Italy's attitude towards Muslim populations.Reported Italian sympathies amongst the Arab population in Palestine.Reports of Italian-inspired anti-British propaganda in the Dutch East Indies (mainly in Java), and the possibility of counteracting its effect on the local Arab population by sending pro-British Arabic periodicals to influential Arab residents there (also considered is the possibility of sending visitors from the Persian Gulf to deliver pro-British lectures).Italian propaganda regarding the financial assistance provided by the Italian authorities for Ethiopian Muslims to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.Steps taken by the British authorities in Alexandria to combat anti-British propaganda in Egypt, which include establishing a pro-British magazine named Zahrat el Sharq.The Arabic language material consists of a copy of the first issue of the aforementioned magazine, Zahrat el Sharq, dated 18 July 1938 and mainly consisting of pro-British propaganda. The French language material consists of several items of correspondence and a copy of a text which translates into English as 'Islam Policy of Italy'.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 (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 229; 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 2-229; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

8. Notes and correspondence on the situation in East Persia and the Malleson Mission

Description:

Abstract: This file relates to the situation in East Persia and the Malleson Mission (1918-21). It includes papers on the following subjects:A collection of papers titled 'Expenditure on [the] Malleson Mission and Troops in East Persia', including: a memorandum from the India Office Political Department on planned politico-military missions to Kashgar [Qashqar] and Meshed [Mashhad] to 'work in allied interests [,] and combat German and Turkish propaganda' on the model of General Lionel Dunsterville's organisation Dunsterforce, previously deployed to the North Caucasus; a memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on which government department should bear the expenses for Malleson's Mission in countering 'German-Bolshevik developments in Central Asia', with reflections on the German promotion of Pan-Turanism and Pan-Islamism which, together with Bolshevism were perceived as posing a 'direct menace' to the security of India, since they could conceivably 'enlist the forces of religion in the armies of political and social discontent'; correspondence to date between the India Office, HM Treasury and the War Office (including from Secretary of State for War, Winston S Churchill) concerning the Chancellor's memorandum, together with thirty-two appendices on expenditures preceding the Chancellor's memorandum and the military and political telegrams referred to in the collection on 'Expenditures' (January 1921); the lack of financial resources to continue the Malleson Mission in Trans-Caspia (December 1918); the criticism by Lovat Fraser of expenditures on the Mission in the Daily Mail(July 1920); the assumption of the Mission's current roles to 'encourage resistance in Persia to Pan-Islamic and Bolshevik influences' and offer 'moral support to Transcaspians by threatening [the] flank and rear of [the] Bolshevik advance towards Krasnovodsk [Turkmenbashi]' by a 'Persian Force to be raised under the terms of the recent agreement', together with the existing Seistan Levy Corps and Khorasan Levy Corps, and the 'intelligence work' to be carried out by a 'small organisation' based at Meshed (September 1919).Physical description: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 35; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

9. 'File F/1 Criminal Intelligence, Circular Memoranda: Pan-Islamism'

Description:

Abstract: This file contains correspondence between the British Political Agent at Bahrain and the British Political Resident at Bushire, as well as with John Gordon Lorimer and Arnold Talbot Wilson. These correspondence concern Turkish pan-Islamist and anti-British propaganda and activities in Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula and India between 1906 and 1916. These correspondence include:Physical description: Foliation: There is an incomplete pagination sequence and a complete foliation sequence. The complete sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and runs through to 34, ending on the inside of the back cover of the file.

10. File 3443/1914 Pt 1 'German War: Turkish and German intrigues in India'

Description:

Abstract: The volume contains correspondence regarding the movements and activities of Pan-Islamic activists in India, Afghanistan and North Africa during the first year of the First World War. The correspondence is particularly concerned with possible German and Ottoman support for the activists in carrying out destabilising activities against British and other Allied regimes. The primary correspondents are: Foreign Office; Political Resident, Persian Gulf; Government of India; Admiralty; British Consul, Addis Ababa; British Embassy, Cairo; British Embassy, Constantinople; British Embassy, Rome; British Consulate, Smyrna; British Legation, Tehran. Much of the correspondence covers suspected anti-British agitators believed to be in or travelling to India. Other topics covered include:A reported purchase of rifles by a German company with the intention of arming Pan-Islamists in India (ff 165-175)A suggestion that Muslim rulers of Indian states should be persuaded to make pro-British statements (ff 137-140)Intelligence received from a German source that an unnamed Indian ruler has ordered a large amount of arms from Germany (ff 108-115)Reports that the German diplomat and archaeologist Max von Oppenheim is intending to stir up anti-British feeling in Iraq, Persia [Iran] and Afghanistan (ff 4-6 and 15-20).The volume contains a single folio in French (f 41), a communication from the Russian Consul in Turbat-i-Haidari [Torbat-e Heydarieh], Persia. 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 inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 177; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

11. File 5122/1921 'PERSIA:- ANTI-BRITISH PROPAGANDA IN THE PERSIAN PRESS.'

Description:

Abstract: This volume contains minutes, letters, memoranda, and reports relating to articles, pamphlets, and newspapers identified as promoting anti-British propaganda by officials and diplomatic representatives of HM Government in Qajar Persia [Qājār Iran]. The papers notably cover the following subjects:The punishment, encouraged by Britain and often violent and severe, of members of the press in Persia by the Persian Government, including incidents involving the editors of the Tehran press (probably a reference to the Shafagh Sorkh[ Shafaq-i Surkh]) and the newspapers Hayat[ Ḥayāt] and Toofan[ Ṭūfān]Objections made to the Central Zionist Committees in Persia and Palestine concerning the anti-British tone of the Jewish newspaper, Hahaim[ Ha-Ḥayīm], which 'ostentatiously refrained' from endorsing celebrations for the approval of the 'Palestine Mandate' by the League of NationsThe pilgrimage to the Shrine [of Imām Mūsá al-Riz̤āʾ] at Meshed [Mashhad] made by two leading Shiah [Shīʿah] mujtahids [Islamic legal authorities] who had been expelled from British Iraq, their anti-British activities and publications, as well as their surveillance by the British with the help of officials of the Persian Government and religious leaders in the regionDiscussion of the question of British diplomatic withdrawal as a response to anti-British activities and public sentiment, including how this might affect their vested interests, particularly in oil and bankingThe position of the Qajar Prime Minister Kawam-es-Saltaneh [Aḥmad Qivām Qivām al-Mulk Qivām al-Salṭanah] and his attitudes towards the Bolshevik [Soviet] presence and influence in PersiaThe proposal for a pro-British propaganda campaign in Persia, funded by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and designed to counter what is considered to be Soviet-sponsored anti-British sentiment in much of the country's pressThe use by anti-British propagandists in Shiraz of the 'extremist press' of [British] India, such as the newspaper Zemindar[ Zamīndār], published in Lahore; British efforts to prosecute the paper's editor and proprietor, as well as suppressing its importation into PersiaThe critical response to, and parody of, a speech about Persia given by Lord Curzon in the House of Lords on 26 July 1921, in a pamphlet, written in French, entitled 'Setareh Iran: Curzon et la Perse' (folios 159-175)Discussion by British officials of the coverage in the Persian-language newspaper Sitarah-e-Iran[ Sitārah-yi Īrān; also written as, Sitara-i-Iran, Setare-i-Iran, and Sétareh Iran] of the Swadeshi campaign to boycott British-made goods, championed at the time by Mr Ghandi [Mohandas Gandhi].Correspondents mainly include: Political and Secret Department, India Office; Prime Minister, President of the Council of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Government of Persia; Minister of War, Government of Persia; Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London; Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London; Under-Secretary of State for India, London; HM High Commissioner, Baghdad; HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia, Tehran; Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Tehran and London.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject and file number, 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 220; 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.

12. File 705/1916 Pt 1-2 Arab Revolt

Description:

Abstract: This file contains papers that pertain to various military and intelligence fields of operation during 1916, specifically relating to the First World War in the region of Hejaz and the broader Arabian peninsula. The bulk of the file is comprised of reports on various military, intelligence, and propaganda issues variously called 'the Arab report' or 'Arabian Report'. The file also contains reports on the massacre and forced migration of Armenians during the War, as well as intelligence gathering efforts by British officials on Indian Muslim political mobilisation in support of an independent Arab Kingdom in the Hejaz or the Ottoman Empire, often described as 'Pan-Islamist' in the file.Most of the correspondence relating to Pan-Islamist political mobilisation is conducted through the transmission and translation of newspaper articles in Iraqi, Egyptian, Indian, Syrian, and other Arab publications.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 473; 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 ending flyleaves.