Abstract: Enclosures no. 2-3 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Bombay [Mumbai] Castle, dated 28 February 1848. The enclosures are dated 7 December 1847-15 January 1848. The enclosures consist of copies of despatches from the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia relating to affairs in and around Bagdad [Baghdad], including:A British merchant who was beaten and arrested while attempting to enter Bagdad and attempts to bring charges against the soldiers responsibleThe defeat of ‘brigands’ by the Governor of KermanshahA complaint against Khurshid Agha [Khorshid Aga], Governor of Bussorah [Basra], for the unauthorised boarding of a British vessel and his later removal from office and arrestThe immunity from British interference of Persian [Iranian] ships transporting enslaved persons in the Gulf and the difficulty of securing the release of those brought to Bussorah by them.Physical description: 1 item (15 folios)
Abstract: Enclosures no. 2-4 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Bombay [Mumbai] Castle, dated 25 January 1848. The enclosures are dated 2-27 November 1847. The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to affairs in and around Bagdad [Baghdad], including:Flood defences on the EuphratesTrade and immigration through Bussorah [Basra]The unauthorised boarding of a British vessel at Bussorah by local authoritiesTroops raised by the Governor of Kormanshah [Kermanshah] to fight against ‘brigands’ in his provinceThe immunity from British interference of Persian [Iranian] ships transporting enslaved persons in the Gulf and the difficulty of securing the release of those brought to Bussorah by them.The primary correspondents are the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, the British Consul in Bagdad and the Ottoman Governor of Bagdad.Physical description: 1 item (26 folios)
Abstract: Translation of a letter from Mohammed Hossein Khan Karagoozloo [Muhammad Hussain Khan Karagozlu], Minister [Vizier] of the Governor of Kermanshah, to the Grand Vizier of the Shah of Persia [Iran], Meerza Sheffea [Mīrzā Muḥammad Shafī' Māzandarānī]. The letter concerns events in Bagdad [Baghdad] following the overthrow of the Vizier [Governor] of Bagdad by Abdul Rahman Pacha [Abd al-Rahman Baban]. Mohammed Hossein Khan Karagoozloo relates the murder of Bagdadi notables and attacks upon pilgrims in the surrounding country, and recommends that the Shah send troops to defeat Abdul Rahman Pacha and take control of Erauk Arab [Iraq] for Persia.The letter was enclosed in HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, Sir Harford Jones’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 14 November 1810, which was received on 11 March 1811.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and consultations, cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Claudius James Rich, British Political Agent in Turkish Arabia.The majority of the item concerns relations between Persia and the Pachalic [Pashalik] of Bagdad [Baghdad], military manoeuvres of Persia and the Ottoman Empire, and the tensions between the two states caused by:The flight of Hassan Beg [Bey], the brother of the Pacha of Courdestan [Kurdistan], from Mahomed Ali Mirza to the Pacha of BagdadThe accusations of Mahomed Ali Mirza that the Pacha of Bagdad is encouraging a band of counterfeit coinersThe Pacha of Bagdad’s proclamation inciting the chiefs of the Province of Rewandiz [Rawandiz] to desert the PersiansDisputes over the governorship of Sulimania [Sulaymaniyah] and Courdestan.The rest of the item concerns:The arrival and treatment of the French when visiting the Pacha of Bagdad [Pasha of Baghdad, Dawud Pasha]The position of Mahomed Ali Mirza [Dowlatshah], Prince of Kermanshah, in Persia [Iran], and his protection of Kelb Ali Khan, the alleged murderer of Captain Grant and Mr Fotheringham, members of Sir John Malcolm’s embassyThe involvement and influence of Russia on Persia, and Russian interest in Kharezin [Khorasan], Bokhara [Bukhara] and AfghanistanThe civil and political disorder prevailing around BagdadRussian support for Mahomed Ali Mirza as the heir to the Shah of Persia, instead of Abbas Mirza, and the friendship between Mahomed Ali Mirza and Yermolov [Aleksey Perovich Yermolov, Russian Ambassador to Persia].The item includes a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft 38, P.C. [Previous Communication] 61, [Season 18]23/4’ and ‘Examiner’s Office 1822’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 179 and terminates at f 216, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: Copy of a firman from the Shah of Persia [Iran], Fath Ally Shah [Fath-Ali Shah Qajar], to HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Extraordinary to Persia, Sir Harford Jones. The firman concerns an incident in which the Governor of Bagdad [Baghdad], Suliman Pacha [Sulayman Pasha] entreated the protection and support of the Persian Governor of Kermunshah [Kermanshah] and Lurestan [Lorestan], Mohammed Ally Meerza [Muhammad Ali Mirza Qajar], in opposing the Ottoman Sultan (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/84). The firman informs Jones that responsibility for the Persian frontier with the Ottoman Empire at Bagdad has been placed in the hands of the Prince Royal [Crown Prince] of Persia, Abbas Meerza [Abbas Mirza].The letter was enclosed in Jones’s letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 3 November 1810, which was received on 11 March 1810.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Copy of an official note from HM Chargé d'Affaires to Persia [Iran], Henry Willock, in Tehran, to the Sudr Aazim [Ṣadr-i Aʿẓam, Prime Minister] and the other ministers of the Court of the Shah of Persia, of 13 February 1820. The letter concerns the murder and robbery of Captain Grant and Cornet Fotheringham on the Ottoman-Persian frontier in 1810. Willock indicates that he has learned that the individual responsible, Kelb Ali Khan Feili [Kalb Ali Khan Feyli], is employed as a governor by the Prince-Governor of Kermanshah, Mahomed Ali Mirza [Mohammed Ali Mirza Dowlatshah], and demands that he be punished for the murders.The letter was enclosed in Willock’s letter to HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of 14 February 1820 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/229).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 94 of 1846, dated 26 August 1846. The enclosure is dated 26 June 1846.The primary document is a despatch from Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], forwarding, for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Governor-General of India, copies of his communications to Sir Stratford Canning, HM Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul], reporting on affairs in the Pashalic [Pashalik] of Baghdad [also spelled Bagdad in this item]. It specifically concerns events which have occurred in Koordistan [Kurdistan, also spelled Kurdishtan in this item].The papers notably cover the following:An attack on Sulimanieh [Sulaymaniyah] by a combined force under Ahmed Pasha [Aḥmad Pāshā] and his relative ‘the notorious Brigand Abdullah Beg [‘Abdullāh Beg]’, and ‘his tribe of Sharaf Bainis [Sharaf Baynī]’ (f 38, f 36)Ahmed Pasha’s flight to Zohab [Sarpol-e Zahab] following his defeat by a force led by his brother Abdullah Pasha [‘Abdullāh Pāshā] of Sulimanieh, and the defection of many of the former’s followers to Abdullah PashaThe force sent by Nejib Pasha [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad] to re-take the province (on the erroneous assumption of Ahmed Pasha’s success), and Rawlinson’s assertion that Nejib Pasha viewed the attack as ‘the invasion of Sulimanieh by a Persian tribe, rather than as a domestic feud among Turkish Kurds’ (f 38)Rawlinson’s concerns that Mohib Ali Khan [Muḥibb ʿAlī Khān], Governor of Kermanshah, has no real authority over Abdullah Beg and would be unable to coerce him or Ahmed Pasha, and that ‘while they continue to hover on the frontier, the country will be kept in a perpetual state of disorder and alarm’ (f 38)Nejib Pasha’s plan for the permanent stationing of Turkish [Ottoman] troops on the plain of Shahrizar [Shahrizor Plain] and Rawlinson’s concern that he will take advantage of the situation to supersede the Baban administration of Sulimanieh altogether with Turkish officials since Baghdad has ‘long been dissatisfied with Abdullah Pasha’s imbecile and unproductive rule’ (f 40) and desirous of securing the territory of southern Kurdistan and Turkish power generally throughout the mountains of the Baghdad PashalicRumours that Ahmed Pasha is said to have colluded with [Rasūl Pāshā] of Rewandooz [Rawandiz, Iraqi Kurdistan], and Rawlinson’s belief that Nejib Pasha will now make a serious effort to disempower him and prevent further opportunities for rebellion.Also included is a copy of Rawlinson’s letter to HM Minister in Tehran reporting and analysing the events, and a copy of a translated letter from Nejib Pasha to Rawlinson covering the background to the situation in Sulimanieh, his previous ‘most marked consideration’ (f 41) towards the ‘transgressor’ Ahmed Pasha including an invitation to Baghdad, and his hope that Persia will refuse him asylum.Physical description: 1 item (12 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 104 of 1846, dated 14 September 1846. The enclosure is dated 24 July 1846.The primary document is a despatch from Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], forwarding, for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Governor-General of India, copies of his communications to Sir Stratford Canning, HM Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul], reporting on affairs in the Baghdad Pachalic [Pashalik].The papers notably cover the following matters:Reports that the supporters of Ahmed Pasha [Aḥmad Pāshā] have all deserted him, that he left Zohab [Sarpol Zahab] and joined ‘a certain holy man Sheikh [Shaikh] Tahir who resides on the Azerbijan [Iranian Azerbaijan] Frontier of Kurdistan’ and has ‘assumed the habit of a Dervish’, and Rawlinson’s scepticism about Ahmed Pasha’s conversion and suspicion that it may be short-livedInformation indicating that the troops being sent from Baghdad against the Chief of Rowandize [Rasūl Pāshā, of Rawandiz, also spelled Rowanduz in this item] to enforce payment of arrears of revenue and other measures, have been halted following the mediation of the Pasha of Moosul [Mosul] on behalf of the ChiefPreparations being made by the Persian [Iranian] authorities to erect a fort on the Kurdish frontier at Lahijan and Rawlinson’s concerns that this will aggravate the Bilbass [Belbās or Bilbas] inhabitants who pasture their flocks in that district and that any orders issued by Nejib Pasha [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad] to the Bilbass against impeding the construction will be ignoredA report that the Governor of Kermanshah has advanced in the direction of Zohab, possibly as a superficial response to the Turkish [Ottoman] advance on RowanduzReports that Persian refugees residing in the Turkish town of Khannikeen [Khanaqin, also known as Khaniqin] have in the last few days committed a serious ‘outrage’ in Persia and ‘entirely destroyed the rich district of Kileh Shahm, one of the dependencies of Zohab’ (f 201), and Nejib Pasha’s attempts at restitution and orders to the Governor of Khannikeen to expel the offending parties from Turkish territoryDoubts expressed by Rawlinson and Lieutentant-Colonel Sheil, HM Minister in Teheran [Tehran], regarding the ability of Persian authorities, despite their apparent willingness, to provide redress for ‘outrages’ committed by the various tribes of Looristan [Larestan] on subjects of Turkey or to provide satisfactory compensation for the violent entry into Kerbela [Karbala] by the escort accompanying the Governor of Kermanshah’s wife (on her return from pilgrimage).Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 8 of 1847, dated 23 January 1847. The enclosure is dated 13 November 1846.The item comprises despatches from Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], forwarding, for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Governor General of India, copies of his communications with Henry Wellesley, HM Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople [Istanbul], reporting on affairs in the Bagdad Pachalic [Baghdad Pashalik, also spelled Baghdad Pashalic in this item], with relevant enclosures.The papers cover the following matters:1) Welleseley’s enquiry to Rawlinson regarding his knowledge of any cases of the ‘injurious bearing of the Mahomedan law of evidence on the lives and property of H[er]. Majesty’s subjects residing within the limits of the Ottoman Empire’ and Rawlinson’s response incorporating his critical assessment of Islamic religious law in general and the Hanifeh [Hanafi] Code (school of Islamic jurisprudence) (ff 85-88).2) Orders issued (at the request of Nejib Pasha [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad]) by the Persian [Iranian] Government to the Prince Governor of Azerbijan [Iranian Azerbaijan] and the Governor of Ooroomeeya [Urmia, also spelled Orumiyeh in this item] for the removal of the ‘refugee chiefs’ of Sulmanieh [Sulaymaniyah, also spelled Sulimanieh, Sulemanieh and Sooloomanneh in this item] and Rowanduz [Rawandiz, also spelled Rowandiz in this item] from the Turco-Persian frontier.3) A cholera outbreak within the Baghdad Pashalic, which Rawlinson estimates over the last forty days has killed ‘at least 30,000 souls’ (f 89).4) The recent ‘outrage’ committed by ‘a party of Persian marauders’ (f 88) (‘the freebooter Abdulla Beg Sharof Baini’ (f 93) [‘Abdullāh Beg Sharaf Baynī, also spelled Sharaf Baine and Shorof in this item], his followers (refugee subjects of Sulemanieh residing in Kermanshah) and a force of Sinjabis [Sanjâbi tribe, also spelled Sinjabees]) on the Wermazier tribe (dependents of the Jaaf [Jaff] tribe), and responses to the situation including:A petition by the heads of the Wermazier tribe to Abdulla Pasha [‘Abdullāh Pāshā] of SulemaniehAbdulla Pasha’s plea to Nejib PashaNejib Pasha’s complaint to Rawlinson of the ineffectiveness of Mohib Ali Khan [Muḥibb ʿAlī Khān], Governor of Kermanshah, in restraining, punishing and removing Abdulla Beg ‘from his obnoxious position on the frontier’ (f 94), the insecurity of the frontier Turkish tribes who are ‘harassed and tormented beyond all endurance’ (f 95) and intimation that he would not be able to prevent equally violent reprisals occurring in Persian territoryRawlinson’s concerns about the disorganisation on the frontier and suggestion that a complaint needs to be made by the Porte itself in order to make the Persian Government take the matter seriously and put realistic pressure on the Governor of Kermanshah.Physical description: 1 item (18 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 3 of 1847, dated 9 January 1847. The enclosure is dated 27 November 1846.The primary document is a despatch from Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], forwarding, for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Governor-General of India, copies of his communications to Henry Wellesley, HM Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople [Istanbul], reporting on affairs in the Bagdad Pachalic [Baghdad Pashalik].The papers cover the following matters:The punishment of the Persian [Iranian] troops who forced the gate at Kerbela [Karbala] the previous spring (1846) and the reparation and apology offered to Nejib Pashah, Pasha of Bagdad [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad], by the Persian Government, which was delayed on its passage to Bagdad due to the quarantine measures imposed by Mohib Ali Khan [Muḥibb ʿAlī Khān], Governor of KermanshahThe serious disturbances in the southern part of the province of Kermanshah requiring Mohib Ali Khan to lead a force there, and so delaying the ‘tranquilisation’ of the Turco-Persian frontiers during the forthcoming winterThe problems at Bagdad subsequent to passport regulations being applied to Persian pilgrims (to Karbala) by the Turkish [Ottoman] Government, including: delays in issuing passports due to the large number of pilgrims; disagreement between Nejib Pasha and the Persian Consul over the proportion of Persian pilgrims entitled to free passports following the (unverified) order of the [Ottoman] Porte to grant them to poorer pilgrims; Nejib Pasha’s objection to the Persian Consul issuing passports to Persian pilgrims on the basis that Russian ‘Mahomedans’ [Muslims] from Georgia with Russian passports are not restricted, and his threats to repudiate the right of all Persian pilgrims to passports if the practice continuesRawlinson’s report on a conference he attended between Nejib Pasha and the Persian Consul, largely consisting of the Consul’s complaints about the infringement of Persian rights and Nejib Pasha’s responses, in relation to: a Persian nobleman of high rank who was deprived of his arms on his visit to Kerbella [Karbala] during the summer; the enlistment of Persian refugee soldiers in the Turkish army; frontier matters including the ‘depredations’ by frontier tribes; the Turkish guard ship off Mohamerah [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah] which the Consul claims is impeding the trade of that place; and Persian intentions to facilitate the passage of their pilgrims journeying to Kerbela across the rivers Diala [Diyala] and Euphrates at cost-price in order to counter the expensive charges of the company contracted by the Turkish Government.Physical description: 1 item (9 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 21 of 1847, dated 16 February 1847. The enclosure is dated 26 December 1846.The item comprises despatches from Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], forwarding for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Governor General of India, copies of his communications to Henry Wellesley, HM Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople [Istanbul], reporting on affairs in the Bagdad Pachalic [Baghdad Pashalik].The papers cover two matters:The orders obtained by Rawlinson, on behalf of Persia [Iran], from Nejib Pasha [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad], for the repositioning further southward of the Turkish [Ottoman] guard ship stationed off Mohumra [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah], including a copy of his letter to Joannes Parseigh, the British Agent in Bussorah [Basra], directing him to hand the orders to Khurshid Beg [Khūrshīd Beg], Acting Governor of Bussorah, and see that they are implementedThe preliminary arrangements, by Rawlinson, for a conference between the Turkish [Ottoman] and Persian frontier authorities to encourage the suspension of the ‘internecine conflicts’ between the Kurds and avert further violence and retaliation, including: the appointment of a Persian Commissioner; Nejib Pasha’s requirement that Abdulla Pasha of Sulimanieh [‘Abdullāh Pāshā of Sulaymaniyah] collect all chiefs implicated in the latest disputes to attend the conference; and Rawlinson’s encouragement of Mohib Ali Khan [Muḥibb ʿAlī Khān], Governor of Kermanshah, to cooperate and collect together the relevant tribes on the Persian side.Physical description: 1 item (8 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 16 of 1847, dated 12 February 1847. The enclosure is dated 11 December 1846.The enclosure comprises two copies of the same despatch from Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], forwarding, for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Governor-General of India, copies of his communications to Henry Wellesley, HM Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople [Istanbul], reporting on affairs in the Bagdad Pachalic [Baghdad Pashalik].The papers cover Rawlinson’s concerns that the recent death of Moollah Abdooll Azzeez [Mullā ‘Abd al-‘Azīz], the Persian [Iranian] Consul in Baghdad (also referred to as the ‘Persian Agent’), will engender a number of problems in the Pashalic. He refers to the following:The number of pilgrims in the city without a ‘national protector’The increased mutual depredations of the Turco-Persian frontier tribesThe inability and unwillingness of the unpaid deputy of the late Agent to ‘deal with political questions of any magnitude’ including representing Persia at a conference proposed (on the orders of Tehran) by the Governor of Kermanshah on the frontier to settle the differences between tribes preparatory to the settlement provided for in the Treaty (of Erzurum)Rawlinson’s lack of authority from the Foreign Office to represent Persian interests, but intention to mediate between Nejib Pasha [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad] and the Persian authorities to promote good relations.Physical description: 1 item (8 folios)