Abstract: Enclosures no. 2-66 to dispatch no. 4 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 20 February 1839. The enclosures are dated 4 November 1837-16 May 1838.The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to affairs in Afghanistan, the Sikh Empire and Sindh. Much of the correspondence is concerned with the invasion of Herat by Persia [Iran], specifically:A treaty between the Shah of Persia [Mohammad Shah Qajar] and the chiefs of Kandahur [Kandahar, also spelt Candahar in the file], and the eventual renunciation of the treaty by the chiefs on the belief that the Shah had violated its termsThe surrender of Gorian [Ghurian, also spelt Ghorian in the file] to the Persian army after a ten-day siegeThe return to Herat of Kamran Shah and the city’s re-fortificationA meeting between the Shah of Persia and the Governor of Khorasan at Sahrood Boostan [Shahrud Bastam]The siege of HeratReactions to Persia’s actions by Dost Mahomed [Mohammad] Khan, Emir of Afghanistan, and his exiled predecessor Shah Shuja [Shah Shujah Durrani]A request by Yar Mohamed Khan, Vizier of Herat, for assistance from Candahar, Bhokhara [Bukhara] and Toorkistan [Turkestan].Other topics covered include:Intelligence reports believed to be inaccurate or unreliableReports of two thousand armed Baloches [Balochis] assembling near Rojhun [Rojhan]The return of Ranjit Singh, Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, to LahoreThe surrender of Bahram Khan Mazari to the Governor of Multan [Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra], and the return of his possessionsThe unauthorised publication of a secret Government of India despatch in Bombay [Mumbai] newspapersArrangements for a visit to the Sikh Empire by the Governor-General of India and a meeting between him and the MaharajahAn account of the roads between Peshawar and Cabool [Kabul]Reports of a Russian agent at CaboolA perceived threat of invasion of Peshawar by Sardar Mahamad Akbur Khan [Wazir Akbar Khan], Emir of CaboolNegotiations for stationing a British Resident in SindhFabricated credentials of Haji Hoosain Ali Khan, who had claimed to be a representative of the Government of CaboolDebts left behind by the late Dr Gerard, surgeon with the British mission to Cabool.The primary correspondents are: Colonel Claude Martin Wade, Political Agent, Loodianah [Ludhiana]; Lieutenant Frederick Mackeson, on a mission to Peshawar; Captain Alexander Burnes, on a mission to Cabool; and the Government of India.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 406, and terminates at f 603, 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Copy of a translation of a letter from the Shah of Persia [Iran], Fatteh Ali Shah [Fath-Ali Shah Qajar], to the Governor-General of India [Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William], Lord Minto. The letter contains effusions of friendship from the Shah, and congratulates Lord Minto on his recent victories, the Shah having been fully apprised of Lord Minto’s role as Governor-General by HM Ambassador Extraordinary to Persia, Sir Gore Ouseley.The letter was enclosed in Ouseley’s dispatch No. 3 to Lord Minto of 2 February 1812 (see IOR/L/PS/9/68/123).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Translation of a letter from the vizier of the Prince Royal [Crown Prince] of Persia [Iran], Mirza Bozurg [Mīrzā Buzurg], to HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia, Sir Harford Jones. The letter, written on behalf of the Prince Royal, Abbas Mirza, expresses the necessity of Jones meeting the Shah of Persia [Fath-Ali Shāh Qājār], prior to Jones joining the Prince Royal on his campaign.The letter was enclosed in Jones's letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 24 June 1810, and was received 21 November 1810.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: Translation of a paper presented by HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia [Iran], Sir Harford Jones, to Persian ministers regarding the admittance of Brigadier-General Sir John Malcolm to the Royal Camp of the Shah of Persia [Fath-Ali Shāh Qājār], at Soltaniyeh. The paper contains articles concerning how Brigadier-General Malcolm should be received at the Royal Camp and the manner in which his meetings and discussions with the Shah and his ministers should be undertaken.The paper was enclosed in Jones's letter to the Secret Committee of the East India Company of 24 June 1810, which was received on 21 November 1810.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: This item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, letters to and from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai].The item relates to an incident in which thirty-five cases containing mirrors for the Shah of Persia [Iran], while being transported on the
Thetisfrom Bombay to Bushire, were thrown overboard when the ship sprang a leak. It includes details regarding the request for and consignment of the mirrors; the findings of an initial investigation into their loss carried out by Henry Meriton, Superintendent of Marine; and the proceedings of a subsequent Court of Inquiry into the conduct of Lieutenant Charles James Maillard, Commander of the
Thetis.The title page (f 121) of the item contains the following references: ‘Political No. 5, 1819/20, Draft 100’ and ‘Examiner’s Office July 1818’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at 121, and terminates at 154, 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 volume also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: Enclosures no. 2-113 to dispatch no. 23 from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 24 September 1838. The enclosures are dated 3 July-24 September 1838.The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to preparations for the East India Company’s invasion of Afghanistan in order to depose Dost Mohamed [Dost Mohammad Khan] as Emir and replace him with former Emir Shah Shuja ul Mulk [Shah Shujah Durrani, also referred to as Shah Shooja ool Moolk and other variants]. Topics covered include:The arrival of Colonel Claude Martin Wade to serve as Political Agent, Loodianah [Ludhiana], and accounts of his meetings with Shah Shuja and members of his courtNegotiations for a treaty between Shah Shuja and Runjeet Singh [Ranjit Singh], Maharajah of the Sikh EmpireAttempts to recruit other adherents to Shah Shuja’s cause, including the Emir of Bokhara [Bukhara], the Chief of Koondooz [Kunduz] and the Khan of Kelat [Kalat]Shah Shuja's professed inability to pay for the raising of his own troops and request for further British aidReports of arrangements made by Dost Mohamed to prepare for the invasion, including a prohibition of communications between his subjects and Shah Shuja or the BritishAppointments of British officers to serve in Shah Shuja’s forcePractical arrangements relating to transport, equipment, stores and the suitability of roads and passes on the planned invasion routeArrangements for a meeting between the Maharajah and George Eden, Baron Auckland, Governor-General of IndiaA mission to Peshawur [Peshawar] by Lieutenant Frederick Mackeson and a mission to Cabool [Kabul, also written as Caubul] by Captain Alexander Burnes to gain adherents to Shah Shuja’s causeEfforts by Dost Mohamed to gain the support of the Khaibar [Khyber] chiefs and their subsequent actions to cut off or contaminate the water supply for Fort Fattehgurh [Fort Jamrud]Reports of two Russian agents visiting Bokhara, Caubul, Lahore and Calcutta [Kolkata] and examining mountain passes in the Hindoo Koosh [Hindu Kush]Enquiries into the loyalties of the emirs of Sinde [Sindh] and the preparations of a force at Bombay [Mumbai] in case of an uprising there.Folios 179-244 deal with the arrival of Lieutenant Mackeson to serve as Political Agent, Bhawalpur [Bahawalpur, also written as Bahawalpoor], accounts of his meetings with the Nawab Bhawul Khan Bahadur [Bahawal III] and members of his court, and negotiations for a treaty between the Nawab and the Company confirming the Nawab’s support of Shah Shuja.Folios 122-136 and 257-281 deal with various intelligence reports from Afghanistan detailing the activities of Persia [Iran] and the siege of Herat, as well as discussions into the veracity and accuracy of such reports.The primary correspondents are Colonel Wade, Captain Burnes, Lieutenant Mackeson, Shah Shuja, Lord Auckland and William Hay Macnaghten, Secretary to the Government of India.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 3, and terminates at f 379, 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, consultations, resolutions, and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Captain Atkins Hamerton, Her Majesty’s Consul and Honourable Company’s Agent in the dominions of the Imam of Muscat.The item concerns the marriage of the Imam of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd], to a granddaughter of Fatteh Ali Shah, late King of Persia [Fath-Ali Shah Qājār, late Shah of Iran].The item contains a contents page, and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft 689/48, Collection No 1 of No 74, Coll[ection]: 26’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 331, and terminates at f 334 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: The letters convey intelligence of the movements of the Shah of Persia [Iran]; the Shah’s purported aggressive intentions regarding Afghanistan or ‘Khorassan’ (chiefly Herat), and Turkey [Ottoman Empire] (chiefly Bagdad [Baghdad] and Azerbijan [Azerbaijan]); conditions in Herat since the ending of the Persian siege; Anglo-Persian diplomatic relations notably in context of the Shah’s connections with Russia.The intelligence is provided to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Secret Committee, by Sheil, Chargé d’Affaires, British Mission Erzeroom [Erzurum, Anatolia], incorporating information from his Persian contacts and Edward William Bonham.There is a note before the papers commence stating: ‘Enclosures in Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Letter No. 61, dated 15th May 1839, are missing from this collection’.Physical description: The papers are not in chronological order.
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 93 of 1848, dated 1 November 1848. The enclosures are numbered 3-4 and are dated 29 September and 3 October 1848.The enclosures consist of two letters from the Resident in the Persian Gulf (Major Samuel Hennell) to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay (Arthur Malet). These letters include translated copies of letters from the Acting Agent at Shiraz, Mirza Mahmoud (also spelled Mirza Mahomed) to Hennell. The first letter from Hennell (No. 3) reports the receipt of intelligence that Shiraz and Ispahan [Isfahan] were in a disturbed state due to a generally believed rumour that the Shah of Persia [Iran] [Mohammad Qajar] was dead. The second letter from Hennell (No. 4) reports the death of the Shah and the crowning of the heir apparent [Naser al-Din Shah Qajar].Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-4, on folio 49. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
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 95 of 1848, dated 11 November 1848. The enclosures, which are numbered 3-4 and dated 15 September and 10 October 1848 respectively, concern affairs in Persia [Iran].The first enclosure (No. 3) consists of copies of despatches from HM Chargé d'Affaires to the Court of Persia [Iran] (Lieutenant Colonel Francis Farrant) to HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Lord Palmerston), received under flying seals by the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay. The despatches in No. 3 are numbered 77-79 and are dated 4 to 6 September 1848. They include copies of enclosed correspondence (some of which is in French, with English translations) between Farrant and the Persian Prime Minister [Sadr-i A'zam], Hajee Meerza Aghassee [Haji Mirza ('Abbas Iravani) Aqasi] and others. The despatches concern the illness of the Shah [Mohammad Qajar], his death, and opposition within the Court to the Prime Minister following the death of the Shah.The second enclosure (No. 4) is a letter from the Resident in the Persian Gulf (Major Samuel Hennell) to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay (Arthur Malet) forwarding despatches [not included in this item] from Farrant announcing the death of Mahomed Shah and the 'prospect of the peaceful and quiet succession' of the heir apparent, Nassir-oo-deen [Naser al-Din Shah Qajar].Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-4, on folio 139. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
Abstract: Enclosure nos. 2-3 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay, dated 25 September 1844.The enclosures consist of a ‘Memorandum on the Perso [Iranian]: Turkish frontiers, as defined in the treaty of 1639 between Sultan Murad 4 [Murād IV] and Shah Saffer [Shāh Safī]’, dated 7 July 1844, by the Political Agent, Turkish Arabia.Physical description: 1 item (30 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 1 of 1853, dated 3 January 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-22. There is a note on folio 1 dated 2 November 1906 stating that numbers 3-9 are missing. The missing enclosures numbered 3-9 are dated 16 October 1852 to 18 December 1852, and enclosures 10-22 are dated 30 March 1852 to 28 December 1852.The missing enclosures 3-9 listed in the abstract of contents consist of correspondence (with the Commissioner in Sind [Sindh] and the Officiating Secretary to the Government of India) and minutes of the Government of Bombay, relating to rewards for certain individuals for their services in the enquiry against Meer Ali Morad [Mīr ʿAlī Murād Khān Tālpūr, Khan of Khairpur].Enclosures 10-22 consist of correspondence, and minutes of the Governor of Bombay, relating to reports by the Commissioner in Sind of the following:The belief of the Commissioner in Sind that an individual named Goolam Moheedeen Khan [Ghulām Muhyī al-Din Khān], who had presented himself to Major John Jacob, Political Superintendent on the Frontier, Upper Sind, as a Wakeel [Vakil] from Kandahar [also spelled Candahar in this item], had been passing himself off as an agent of the British Government at CandaharAn attack by the Murrees [Marri] on the town of Poolajee [Phuleji or Foliji] in the territory of the Khan of Khelat [Kalat]American vessels visiting the port of Guarder [Gwadar] on the Mukran Coast [Makran Coast] for the purpose of tradeThe Shah of Persia [Iran] reportedly offering a frontier district to the Candahar Government on certain conditions.The main correspondents are the following: the Commissioner in Sind; the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay; the Secretary to the Government of Bombay; and HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-22, on folios 2-4. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.