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‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’ [‎38] (50/160)

The record is made up of 1 volume (80 folios). It was created in 1904. 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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88
146. The following instructions were sent to Colonel Herbert:—
" Do not discuss question with Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. . Should he refer to it, say jou have been informpd
matter has been referred to Constantinople, and in your opinion it would be best for Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
to await orders thence.
" Report by telegraph anything you may ascertain regarding Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. 's instruetiona"
147. Under cover of his letter No. f |, dated 13th January 1872, Colonel
Pelly enclosed the translated purport of Midhut Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. 's reply to the Bahrein
Chief. It was as follows :—
Dated ^ ^ amzaa 1898 reciered at Bushire on 4th January 1872.
4th December I87I.
Tramlated purport of a letter from His ExOKtiiBWCT Midhttt Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , Governor-General of EraV tnd Nejd, and Com
mander-in-Chief of the 6th Division of the Army, to Shhik Eg axt bin-Am , Chief of Bahrein.
I received, while at Lahsa, your letter dated Ramzan, written at a time when the most
respected AriE Bey, Chief of the Coasts under the jurisdiction of the Government of Busreh
and that of the Peninsula of Arabia, visited Bahrein with several of the vessels of the Sultan's
Government, explaining the circumstances attending the murder of the messenger, and have
noted what you have therein set forth.
" The importance of this subject demands a clear explanation, and renders it
necessary that I should send you an explicit reply to your statements and the details connected
therewith.
" This murdered messenger, who was of the tribe of the Beni Hajjir and a dependent o^
the Turkish Government, had been engaged by the Commander-in-Chief in Nejd Nafid
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , and was especially deputed to convey official letters to the Kayem Mukam of Gvvuttur,
Jassem-bin-Sani. He was proceeding in a boat, but from stress of weather approached'
the island of Bahrein, where he was seized, his letters taken from him and himself
killed.
" In your letter after acknowledging the fact of the occurrence of the murder, you men
tion the reasons for the perpetration of this act to be—
" Firstly, that two years ago, Nassir-bin-Mobarek attacked Bahrein and killed your father
and that he had with him the Beni Hajjir tribe.
" Secondly, you allege that the messenger aforesaid, on his arrival at Bahrein, three
months previous, declared he was one of the Beni Hajjir who accompanied Nassir-bin-^.'obarek
to Bahrein, and was one of those who killed vour father, and that the people on the south
end of the island on ascertaining this killed him in accordance with the custom of the
Bedouins.
Taking it for granted that when Nassir-bin-Mobarek went to Bahrein he accompanied
those people who ventured to commit the acts in which the Beni Hajjir were implicated, and
taking it for granted also that the murdered messensrer was also among the tribe it is im
possible for one to conceive that the messenger proceeding on service should assert' that he
was at such a time with the tribe who committed the hostile acts, and was one of the murderers
or confess to what may cause retaliatory measures against himself. This is sufficient to show'
the falsity of the statement.
" Apart from the above consideration we must hear in mind that this messenger was
entrusted with documents from one governmental authority to another, and allowing that
Bahrein was not a part of the Turkish dominions, and that the people of that island were
not under Turkish junsdiction or dependents of that Government, and that this man
was really a murderer : so long as he was a dependent of the Government and the bearer of
important documents it would have been in the first place necessary to permit him to convev his
letters^ to their destination, and afterwards to communicate with the Turkish Government
authorities in regard to the accused, and punishment demanded, when, in accordance with the
requirements of justice, the accused, if convicted, would have received due punishment But
if without any just cause this person is murdered in the manner stated, and afterwards it is
explained that he was with the tribe who came to Bahrein and committed outraovs plunder
and murder, such a proceeding is in the highest degree absurd, contrary to justice and a
deviation from the right course. '
" For example, if one or more of the people of Bahrein who frequent the coasts of Bu«reh
Kowait, Katif, Ojair,.and Gwuttur be murdered by the Arabs of those parts, and explanation
be required, it were to be said that the person or persons murdered were of a tribe who at
certain time visited and plundered such a place, and were related to those who murdered our
messenger, and such like excuses made, I would like to know whether such pleas would b
accepted.
" If both parties concerned are dependents of one and the same Government, the party who
ventures to commit such an act will be considered as a murderer, and would be required to
undergo punishment, or, even supposing one of the parties to be a foreigner, would not this

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Content

Part 1 of a Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. gazetteer of historical and political materials, a précis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs. The précis was prepared by Jerome Antony Saldanha, whose preface (under which his surname is erroneously spelt Saldana) is dated 25 November 1904, and published by the Government of India Foreign Deptartment, Simla, India.

The preface is an historical outline of the struggle for political dominance in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including Portuguese, British, Wahabi [ Wahhābī A follower of the Islamic reform movement known as Wahhabism; also used to refer to the people and territories ruled by the Al-Saud family. ] and Turkish expansion. The chapters (titles shown in italics) deal with the subject in an roughly chronological fashion:

1. Early history of Hasa and Katif , including: references to the area in Arabic writing; the first known Arab colonists; and early references to the area in British (East India Company) records;

2. Conquest of Hasa by the Wahabis and Turkish expeditions into Nejd [Najd] and Hasa, and their results 1800-1865 , including: conquest of the area by the Wahabis; Turkish expeditions to the area, 1811-19 and 1836-40; Amir Feysal’s [Fayṣal ibn Turki Āl Sa‘ūd] nominal dependence on Turkey, 1855; troubles in Katif, 1859-62; Turkish protest against British proceedings at Damaum [Dammām], 1862; the British war against Amir Feysal, 1865-66; obsolete title of award of Arabia by an Abbasid caliph to the Ottoman Porte; Ottoman ambitions in Arabia (Holy Ottoman Empire);

3. Turkish expedition to Nejd and Hasa, 1871-72 , including: origins of the expedition; intelligence from the 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. , Colonel Lewis Pelly; British policy in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and effects of the Turkish expedition on that policy; Turkish assurances to Britain, communicated to Bahrain (spelt Bahrein throughout) by Pelly; Turkish promise of non-interference with the rulers of the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ; narrative of the events leading up to and including the landing of the expeditionary force in Nejd; Turkish designs on Katar [Qatar], and their hoisting of the Turkish flag at Budaa [Al-Bidda]; Turkish naval activity in the Gulf, and Britain’s naval response; murder of a suspected Turkish messenger at Bahrain; reasons for the non-interference of the British Government in operations on land; further narrative of the expedition and affairs in Nejd; evidence of Turkish designs on Bahrain; Turkish assurances; relations between Turkey and Abuthabi [Abu Dhabi]; close of the Turkish expedition;

4. Internal affairs of Hasa and Katif, 1872-1904 , including: administration and internal organisation; and a list of governors at Hasa, including events of significance occurring during their rule;

5. Survey of the Katif coast, 1873-74 , including: British intentions and permission gained from the Ottoman Porte; complaints of British survey officers landing on the Nejd coast; written permission to land to undertake surveying.

6. Increase of Turkish military and naval forces in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Turkish policy , including: a memorandum by Captain T Doughty on the state of affairs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ;

7. (1) Trade Relations of Hindu and other traders of Bahrain with Katif, and their disabilities , and (2) Proposal appointment of a consular officer at Katif ;

8. Piracies , including: piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters, 1878; ; revolt in Hasa and piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters, 1878-81; Turkish responsibilities and jurisdiction for the purpose of suppressing piracies in Katif waters, 1878-81; piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters in 1883; piracies in Katif and Bahrain waters in 1886; piracies in 1887-88; piracies in 1891-92; piracies in 1899-1900; piracies in 1902 and the proposal of the Chief of Bahrain to maintain an armed dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. for the pursuit of pirates, 1902-03;

9. Murder of Sheikh Selman-bin-Diaij-el-Khalifa [Shaikh Salman bin Diaj Āl Khalīfah] , a cousin of the Chief of Bahrain and his party about 40 miles south of Katif. Question of satisfaction and compensation for it ;

10. Turkish designs on Oman and the rest of the East Arabian Littoral, 1888-1899 ;

11. Summary of British declarations against Turkish encroachments in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and of the Porte’s assurances, 1871-1904 .

The cover of volume, on which the title is printed, also has a number of different pencil and pen annotations, marking former external references or numbering systems (‘P.2557/29’, ‘No.5’, ‘C238’).

Extent and format
1 volume (80 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged into eleven chapters, preceded by a preface. Each chapter is organised by subheadings, and its paragraphs numbered. The paragraph numbers are continuous throughout the whole volume, beginning on 1 at the start of the first chapter, and ending on 553/553A at the end of the eleventh chapter. A contents page at the front of the volume (ff.4-5) lists the chapters by their headings and subheadings, with each referring to paragraph, rather than page, numbers.

Physical characteristics

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

Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence, with page numbers located top and centre of each page.

Written in
English in Latin script
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‘Persian Gulf Gazetteer. Part 1. Historical and political materials. Precis of Turkish expansion on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf and Hasa [Al-Hasa] and Katif [Al-Qaṭīf] affairs.’ [‎38] (50/160), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C238, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023514031.0x000034> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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