Abstract: This document, written by Basil Cochrane Newton (the British Ambassador at Baghdad), outlines concerns that Shakib Arslan is assisting the German Government in planning and organising uprisings in Syria, Iraq, Transjordan and Palestine, and that he is in correspondence with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem (Mohammed Amin al-Husseini) on the subject. The document is addressed to Viscount Halifax (Foreign Secretary).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 8; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the rebellion in Iraq 1941.The discussion in the file concerns measures to restore public order in Iraq following the British military occupation of the country which was instigated after a coup d'état by Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani in April 1941. It covers the following:further discussion surrounding the Kurdish rebel leader Shaikh Mahmoudsupport for the restored Iraqi government to enforce public ordermeasures to purge the Iraqi civil service of officials sympathetic to Rashid Ali Al-Gaylanijudicial process for the 'Golden Square' military officials who supported the coup d'etatIncluded in the file is a copy (folio 62) of a paper purporting to be the text of a secret treaty between Rashid Ali and the Axis powers.The principal correspondents in the volume include HM Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis) and HM Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey.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.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 110; 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 80-83; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled
Abstract: The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the rebellion in Iraq in 1941.The discussion in the file relates to the military and propaganda measures taken by Britain against the pro-German Iraqi government of Rashid Ali and the implications for British policy and actions in the Middle East.Further discussion concerns:Demonstrations in support of the Iraqi government in Iraq and neighbouring countriesAnticipation of Axis military support for Rashid Ali and necessary British counter-measuresThe creation of a new pro-British Iraqi Government and arrangement of an armistice following the Anglo-Iraq war and the flight of Rashid Ali and his Cabinet to IranThe elimination of pro-Axis officials in the army and policeThe breaking off of diplomatic relations with the Italian Government and of the relationship with Vichy French authorities in SyriaBritish attitude and policy towards the Shiah and Kurds in connection with the reformed pro-British Government.The principal correspondents include: HM Ambassador to Iraq; HM Ambassador to Turkey; HM Ambassador to Iran; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Air Officer Commanding, Habbaniya; the Secretary of State for India; the Viceroy; the High Commissioner for Palestine; officials of the War Office; and the Secretary of State for the Colonies.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 539; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The volume consists of letters, telegrams, memoranda and printed reports relating to the Arab revolt against Ottoman rule in the Hejaz region of the Arabian Peninsula during the First World War (1914-1918). The papers tell of the British response to the situation, covering the following matters:evacuation of Kunfuda by the Imam of ʻAsīr (Sayyid Muḥammad bin ‘Alī al-Idrīsī) (ff 216-222)the position of the military forces of the Sherif of Mecca (Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī ) between Medina and Rabegh and the logistic of supplying him (ff 206-215)the submission of the Sheikh of Rabegh to the Sherif of Mecca (200-205)reports by Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Edward Wilson on the situation in Hejazthe Turkish advance towards Rabeghdiscussion of British policy towards operations in Hejaz and the decision not to send troops to Hejazarrangements concerning political controlthe Grand Sherif's request for troops and the promise of French troopsIncluded (ff 190-192) in the volume is a copy of 'Report of a visit to the Idrisi Saiyid Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmed at Jezzan', dated 17 January 1916, by the First Assistant Resident, Aden (Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Fenton Jacob).Principal correspondents include the Political Resident, Aden; the Secretary of State for India; and the High Commissioner for Egypt.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 by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 222; 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: The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to the rebellion by the Arab tribes in the Hejaz region of the Arabian Peninsula.The papers tell of the British response to the situation, covering the following matters:Turkish and German plans for a campaign in the Hejazthe question of publishing a communiqué based on documents capturedthe dispatch of an Indian Officer to the Hejaza proclamation by the Grand Sherif to the people of Iraqreports from Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Edward Wilson and Mr Ronald Henry Amherst Storrsthe first Ministry of the Government of the Grand Sherif Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī , including a list of cabinet members (folio 109)Principal correspondents include: the Secretary of State for India; the Viceroy of India; the High Commissioner for Egypt; and the Political Resident, Aden.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 192; 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 comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the Arab revolt against Ottoman rule. The papers cover the British response to the situation, covering the following matters:defective information regarding Turkish military movementsthe report by Ronald Henry Amherst Storr's on the situation in the Hejazthe conclusions of the War Committee concerning measures for the defence of RabeghFrench offers of military supportthe instructions of His Majesty's Government and the pessimistic perspective of British officersThe 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 for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 301; 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 present between ff 188-300 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 30 of 1850, dated 23 May 1850. The enclosure is numbered 3 and is dated 15 April 1850.The enclosure consists of a letter from the Acting Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, to the Secretary to the Government of Bombay in the Political Department, forwarding under flying seal a despatch to the address of the Secretary to the Government of India, forwarding a copy of a despatch addressed by Kemball to HM Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul], Sir Stratford Canning.The despatch concerns military affairs in the Bagdad Pachalic [Baghdad Pashalik], including:The movement of a detachment from Kirkook [Kirkuk] to Sulimanieh [As Sulaymaniyah], where it entered the town without opposition, in response to the ‘critical position’ of Ismail Pasha [Ismā‘īl Pāshā] becoming knownThe movement of Namik Pasha [Muḥammad Amīn Nāmiq Pāshā], with all the troops at his disposal, to Kirkook, and his successful interception and defeat of the first party of Kurdish levies who had escaped their barracksA lack of definite information about the movements or intentions of the Kurdish nobles, who remain encamped in the districtsNews of the defection of the Kurdish regiments and the withdrawal of the Turkish [Ottoman] garrison to form the expedition to Sulimanieh having led to an uprising by the Maadan Arabs [Maʻdān or Marsh Arabs] in the Hindieah [Hindiyah] districts.Physical description: 1 item (7 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 33 of 1850, dated 25 June 1850. The enclosures, numbered 3-5 and dated 28 July 1849 to 10 May 1850, relate to the affairs of the Baghdad Pashalik [also spelled Bagdad Pachalic in this item]. Enclosure No. 3 consists of two letters from the Acting Consul at Baghdad and Acting Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Arthur Malet, forwarding under a flying seal a despatch to the address of the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, forwarding copies of despatches addressed by Kemball to HM Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul], Sir Stratford Canning.The despatches concern:Maashook Pasha [Ma‘shūq Pāshā, also spelled Mooshook Pasha in this item], the newly appointed Governor of Bussorah [Basra], leaving Baghdad for the seat of his government. The boundaries of his jurisdiction being declared to be identical with those which defined Bussorah when it existed formerly as a separate and independent Pashalic, and the executive government of Bussorah being placed in financial and military subordination to Baghdad, but with the new Governor being empowered to correspond directly with ConstantinopleKemball stating that in the course of the two or three interviews he had with Maashook Pasha during his stay Baghdad, the latter displayed ‘the least possible knowledge’ of the commercial and productive resources, the character, and the population of the district he is going to ruleKemball writing to Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hennell, the Resident at Bushire [Bushehr], to advise him of the appointment of Mooshook Pasha, and warn him to be on his guard against any ‘intrigues’ for the extension of Turkish influence along the shores of the Persian GulfThe river in Baghdad [the Tigris] having risen to an unusual height, causing the land beyond the city walls to become flooded in every direction, stopping the passage of caravans, destroying property, and leading to the spread of a fever which threatens to decimate the populationThe arrival at Sulimanieh [As Sulaymaniyah] of Namik Pasha [Muḥammad Amīn Nāmiq Pāshā] following the repulsion of an attack upon the town by Kurdish rebels with considerable loss to the Kurds, his reported declaration of a general amnesty and release of the majority of prisoners, and Kemball’s view that such leniency is calculated to conciliate the Kurds, restore confidence, and hasten the submission of the Kurdish levies, and that Turkish authorities seem to consider the ‘troubles’ in the Kurdish mountains to now be at an end.Enclosure Nos. 4-5 consist of related correspondence: from the Secret Committee to the Governor in Council of Bombay, forwarding a copy of a letter from HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Viscount Palmerston, to the President of the Board of Control; and from Malet to the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson.Physical description: 1 item (9 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 40 of 1850, dated 25 July 1850. The enclosure is numbered 3 and is dated 15 June 1850.They consist of correspondence relating to military operations by the Turkish authorities at Sulmanieh [As Sulaymaniyah] in the Kurdish mountains in connection with a rebellion by the Jaaf [Jaf] tribe.Correspondents include: the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] (Lieutenant Arnold Burrowes Kemball); HM Ambassador to Constantinople [Istanbul]; and HM Envoy at Tehran.Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 33 of 1856, dated 28 April 1856. The enclosures are dated 14-26 April 1856.The enclosures comprise copies of reports and correspondence relating to the deployment of the HC [Honourable Company’s] sloop of war
Elphinstoneand steamship
Queento the Arabian and African Red Sea coasts, targeted at intimidating insurgent forces and quelling disturbances in: Mecca and Juddah [Jeddah, also spelled Jedda and in this item]; Hodeida [Al Hudaydah, also spelled Hodeidah in this item]; Mussowa [Massawa, also spelled Massowah and Massowa in this item]; and Zeylah [Saylac, or Zeila, Somalia].The papers notably include:Letters and reports by Captain John James Frushard, Indian Navy, Senior Naval Officer, Aden, on the
Elphinstoneto: Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating Agent at Judda, requesting Page to forward any proclamation made by the British Government and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire abolishing the trade in enslaved persons in the Hedjaz [Hejaz]; Camil Pacha [Muḥammad Kāmil Pāshā, also written Mehmed Kiamil Pacha in this item] Governor of the Hejaz, announcing his arrival at Juddah to assist in quelling the disturbances in Mecca; William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident, Aden, describing proceedings of the
Elphinstoneand
Queenat Hodeida and with Mahmud Pasha, Governor of Hodeida, against the Assyr [‘Asīr tribe], and reporting the small French presence in the Red Sea portsLetters and reports by Lieutenant G N Adams, Indian Navy, Commanding the
Queen, to Coghlan and Rear Admiral Sir Henry John Leeke, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy, reporting his proceedings at Mocha and Hodeida, Juddah, and Mussowa, including conditions on board ship and running aground on the way to AdenLeeke’s commendation of Frushard and Adams, notably for their ‘zeal and energy’ which saved Hodeida from being ‘cruelly murdered and robbed’ (f 146) by the AssyrCoghlan’s instructions that the
Queenconvey the Assistant Political Resident, Lieutenant Robert Lambert Playfair, to Zeylah to investigate reports that Haj Shermarkay [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ], former Ruler of Zeylah, has blockaded the port and committed acts of ‘piracy’ in the vicinity, and to take any necessary action to prevent the interruption of supplies.The principal correspondents are: Coghlan, Frushard, Adams and Leeke.Physical description: 1 item (19 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 28 of 1856, dated 16 April 1856. The enclosures are dated 12 March-16 April 1856.The enclosures comprise copies of reports and letters forwarded by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, and Coghlan’s correspondence with the Government of Bombay. They chiefly relate to the deployment of the HC [Honourable Company’s] sloop of war
Elphinstoneand steamship
Queento the Arabian and African Red Sea coasts, targeted at intimidating insurgent forces and quelling disturbances in: Mecca and Judda [Jeddah, also spelled Jedda in this item]; Hodeida [Al Hudaydah]; and Mussowah [Massawa, also spelled Massowah and Massowa in this item].They specifically cover:The uprising led by the ‘rebel’ Shereff of Mecca, Aboo Montallib [Sharīf ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad], purportedly in protest at the abolition of the slave trade by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire; the Shereff’s alleged intention to attack and plunder Judda; the Shereff’s retreat to Taief [Taif, also spelled Tayf in this item] with his followers and his desertion by them after an engagement with Ottoman soldiers; the re-establishment of order in Judda and Mecca; and the prospective arrival of the new Shereff of Mecca, Ebu Aoun [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn]The unsuccessful attempt of the Assyr [‘Asīr tribe, also spelled Asseer in this item] to attack the ports of Hodeida and Mocha in order to drive the Turks [Ottoman local authorities] from Yemen, and then to attack Aden, including: the retreat of British merchants and their families to the safe harbour of Ras Majarmla [Ra’s Mujamilah]; the approach of the Assyr ‘in great numbers’ (f 75) at Hodeida; the arrival of the
Elphinstoneand
Queenat Hodeida; the defence of the port organised by the Governor of Hodeida (without British help); the retreat of the Assyr due to sickness and inadequate provisions; and the rumoured death from cholera of the leaders and up to 10,000 members of the Assyr forceAn uprising in Mussawah said to be caused by the violent and oppressive policies of the authorities, and its abatement following the arrival of the
Elphinstoneand the mediation of the deputy Governor of Mussawah with the ‘rebels’.This item also covers: the logistics of organising the return of the
Elphinstoneand
Queento Mussawah, Judda and Hodeida in April to avert renewed disturbances at those places; intelligence received by Coghlan, from the Government of Bombay, of certain ‘Sumalee’ [Somali] and Arab individuals employed by the Political Agency ‘who are not to be depended upon’ and if not closely watched would ‘betray their employers to the Asseer [‘Asīr] Arabs, who are approaching in the direction of Aden’ (f 101); and Coghlan’s assertion that all land entrances to Aden are secured and known ‘traitorous’ individuals are being watched.The principal correspondents are: Coghlan; the Government of Bombay; Captain John James Frushard, Indian Navy, Senior Naval Officer, Aden, on the HC ship
Elphinstone; Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating HC Agent at Judda; and Lieutenant G N Adams, Indian Navy, Commanding the HC steamship
Queen.Physical description: 1 item (38 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 17 of 1844, dated 28 February 1844. The enclosures are dated 30 November and 28 December 1843.The enclosures chiefly comprise despatches of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Taylor, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq], to: John Pollard Willoughby, Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay; the Secretary to the Government of India; Lieutenant-Colonel Sheil, HM Chargé d'Affaires at Tehran; and Sir Stratford Canning, HM Ambassador at Constantinople [Istanbul]. They relate to Taylor’s analysis of events at Kerbela [Karbala, also spelled Kerbulla in this item] when Ottoman Turkish forces attacked and captured the town on 13 January 1843. In his despatches the Political Agent:Defends himself against complaints that he was slow in communicating news about the attack to Sir Stratford CanningStates that: accounts reaching Baghdad and Constantinople were exaggerated by both Persian and Ottoman Turkish sources; the number of Persian casualties, initially alleged as 22,000, had been vastly inflated and in reality were closer to 5000; Persian officials had committed obvious fabrications of casualty lists; the investigators sent by Sir Stratford Canning and the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire], and Dr Ross, the Residency Surgeon, sent to assist with treating casualties, all concluded that the casualty numbers had been exaggeratedAsserts that Najib Pacha [Muḥammad Najīb Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad] had done all that was possible to avoid an attack and to ameliorate the effects of it, and deflects accusations that he has endorsed the Pacha’s use of violenceRelates that his efforts to avert or delay the Pacha’s attack on Kerbela were unsuccessfulAlleges that ‘the rebel citizens of Kerbela’ were ‘much at fault’ and the town, with a population three-quarters Persian, had for years been anarchical and violently hostile to Ottoman rulers and officialsAsserts it is his understanding that considerable warning had also been given to the townspeople and that accounts of reputed horrors committed during the attack were untrueAsserts it is his understanding that during the Turkish advance the townspeople fired first and used poison bullets.The item also contains two despatches from Henry Creswicke Rawlinson to the Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay, and the Secretary to the Government of India, reporting his: arrival in Bagdad on 6 December 1843 to assume the duty of Political Agent in Turkish Arabia in place of Taylor; intention of avoiding any collision between himself and Lieutenant-Colonel Farrant of the Bombay Army, attached to the Persian Mission, who is investigating the attack on Kerbela and observing peace negotiations at Eerzeroom [Erzurum] between Turkey and Persia; conclusion that the recent clash between troops of the Shaikh of Chaab [Banū Ka‘b tribe] and the Governor of Dezful will not disrupt the Erzeroom [Erzurum] negotiations; dismissal of HM brig of war
Cliofrom the Bussorah [Basra] river as it is no longer required.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.