'Persia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 80' [‎25v] (57/164)

44
HISTORY
[No, 80
Russians which deeply shocked the religious feelings of
the Persians was the bombardment of the Holy Shrine
of Meshed in Khorasan on March 29, 1912, when many
innocent people, both inhabitants and pilgrims, were
killed.
Thus ended, for the time being, the Persian Con
stitutional or National movement. The European War
only brought fresh misfortunes; and almost the whole
of Western Persia became the battlefield of Russian
and Turkish troops, revolted gendarmerie, and insur
gent tribes. Towns were besieged, bombarded, or
burned, crops destroyed, food commandeered, and many
people slain, while commerce was ruined and famine
threatened the land. Since the outbreak of war it has
been very difficult to obtain full and accurate informa
tion as to the state of affairs in Persia, but certain
salient phenomena connected therewith may be men
tioned.
(C) Persia immediately before and during
the European War
(1) From 1912 to August 1914
It would hardly be possible to imagine a more miser
able plight than that in which Persia has found her
self during the last seven years (1912-1918), a period
divided into two unequal parts by the outbreak of the
European War, from which, though a neutral, she suf
fered almost as much as Belgium, Russia, as has been
pointed out, not only seized every pretext for political,
military, commercial and economic intervention, but
was constantly creating fresh pretexts. Great Britain,
on the other hand, was anxious to avoid new and
incalculable commitments, and contented herself for
t e most part with encouraging, and to a large extent
nnancmg, the newly-formed gendarmerie officered by
Swedes, and endeavouring to secure the bestowal of
e c lei governments in the south on governors
accounted strong and reputed Anglophile.
Unfortunateiy not only the majority'of the chief
ci les o eisia, but the capital, Teheran, whence all