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File 345/1908 Pt 2 'Mohammerah: situation. Sheikh's dispute with the Vali of Basra. decoration for Sheikh. renewed assurances to Sheikh.' [‎176r] (356/566)

The record is made up of 1 volume (281 folios). It was created in 1910-1915. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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PERSIA.
CONFIDENTIAL
No. 1.
(N 101 ) ^ ^ ar ^ n y t0 ^^loaird Grey.—{Received July 4.)
^ r > _ Gulahek, June 14, 1910.
WITH reference to the recent telegraphic correspondence on the subject of the
quarrel between the Sheikh of Mohammerah and the Vali of Bussorah, I have the
honour to transmit to you herewith copies of two despatches (but not of their
enclosures, which presumably have reached you already from His Majesty’s Ambassador
at Constantinople) from His Majesty’s consul at Mohammerah, giving an account of the
question down to the L2th May.
I see little in these reports that calls for any comment on my part at this stage,
and I will therefore reserve any observations which I may have to offer on the case
until I am in possession of the case for the Sheikh of Mohammerah, which has so
frequently been mentioned in Colonel Cox’s telegrams.
I have, &c.
CHARLES M, MARLING.
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Acting Consul Wilson to Mr. Marling.
^ r ’ „ , _ Mohammerah, May 7, 1910.
I HAVE the honour to forward, for your information, copies of the enclosed
documents on the subject of the action taken by the Vali of Bussorah in satisfaction of
certain alleged grievances against the Sheikh of Mohammerah.
2. I would also invite reference to the enclosed telegram on the subject
3. In explanation of the general question of the sheikh’s influence and interestin
Turkish terntory, I would point out that more than half the Arabs occupying the date
groves on the western (Turkish) bank of the Shatt-al-Arab belong to tribes which have
been for the last 100 years subject to the Sheikh of Mohammerah. The numerous
islands in the river are occupied almost solely by his tribes, and of the eight headmen
wno signed the agreement between the sheikh and the oil company relating to
Abbadan Island, four live in Turkish territory, though they are undoubtedly Persian
subjects, born, like their fathers, on Persian soil.
4. Hitheito no Vah of Bussorah has attempted to raise the question of nationality,
and I am informed by Mirza Hamza, the sheikh’s Bussorah agent, that the Persian
nationality of such tribesmen was explicity recognised by the Turks and formally
recorded in the Government books. J
The piesent vali, Sulaiman Nathif, has confined himself to the mere assertion that
Muhammad Chanan, whom he sought to arrest, was a Turkish subject, and refused to
discuss the question with Sheikh Khaz’al or his agent in any wav, until Muhammad
Chanan had been handed over to him for punishment.
l>. This man is the head of the largest and most powerful of the tribes under the
direct control of the sheikh, and is the latter’s brother-in-law. He has some
4,000 riflemen at his disposal in case of war. and provided some 2,000 to the sheikh in
1908, when the latter, with the authority of the Persian Government, was engao-ed in
subduing the turbulent tribes of Hawaizah. His surrender, in any case, therefore
would be a practical impossibility for the sheikh, and would alienate from the latter a
large section of his tribesmen.
He has not, moreover, been accused of any definite crime, and there is no reason
as far as I am aware, to think that he has been in an}^ way concerned in crime or
intrigues f° r some time past. On the contrary, for the last eighteen months the
fehatt-al-Arab has been unprecedently quiet, and no outrages attributable in any way
to the sheikh s tribesmen have occurred. J J
6. Until the middle of last month, the vali’s relations with Sheikh Khaz’al were '
[2824 d —17J COPY TO T—''’ '.
1 : 0 : zy.
sec;.to apy’o ,.

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Correspondence including telegrams, hand written letters and printed enclosures, discusses an attack by a Turkish gun-boat on a village - Zain, belonging to the Shaikh of Mohammerah - which lay on the Turkish bank of the Shatt al-Arab waterway. The correspondence outlines the circumstances that led to the quarrel between the Turkish authorities and the Sheikh of Mohammerah, and suggestions that the Porte should be urged to replace the Wali of Basrah with a less aggressive official.

Correspondence discusses the proposal to give the Shaikh of Mohammerah assurances against naval attack, whatever the pretext for such action; letters and telegrams also discuss the award of a decoration (Knight Commander of the Indian Empire) to the Shaikh of Mohammerah.

A letter (dated 7 December 1913) from Percy Zachariah Cox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , outlines the Government of India's interests in Arabistan including: the oil fields and their future; irrigation; railway enterprises; telegraphs; Russian and German activity.

Correspondents include Percy Zachariah Cox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; Sir Gerard Lowther, Ambassador to Constantinople; Charles Murray Marling, Ambassador to Tehran; Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign affairs; Francis Edward Crow, H M Consul at Bussorah [Basra]; Arnold Talbot Wilson, H M Consul at Mohammerah; Shaikh Khazal bin Jabir, Shaikh of Mohammerah; Wali of Bussorah; Viceroy of India.

Extent and format
1 volume (281 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 345 (Mohammerah: situation) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/132-133. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 278; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

The folio sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the one ending flyleaf.

An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel throughout; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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File 345/1908 Pt 2 'Mohammerah: situation. Sheikh's dispute with the Vali of Basra. decoration for Sheikh. renewed assurances to Sheikh.' [‎176r] (356/566), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/133, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100030525714.0x00009d> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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