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'The Middle Eastern question or some political problems of Indian defence' [‎118v] (241/616)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (306 folios ). It was created in 1903. It was written in English and French. 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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i 7 8 TURKISH ARABISTAN
charge a portion of their cargo in lighters—always an
expensive operation—before attempting to enter the
river. The approaches to the river from the gulf are
complicated and treacherous; not a single light or
beacon has Turkey placed at any point of the coast,
and the only buoys that mark the channels are those
laid down by the British India Steam Navigation Com
pany, just as the only surveys are those made by the
British Navy and the Indian Marine. On the other
hand, Turkey has erected forts at Fao, on the Shatt-el-
Arab, about half-way between the bar and the con
fluence of the Karun, in direct violation of her treaty
engagements with Persia, and if she has not yet armed
them, this is solely due to the vigorous protests which
the British Government has from time to time entered
at Constantinople and which, as the Turks know, could
be easily enforced on the spot.
But great as are the natural difficulties with which
water-borne traffic is handicapped, they do not form so
serious an obstacle to trade as the arbitrary restrictions
placed upon it by the shortsightedness or wilful ob
struction of the Turkish authorities. 1 he Euphrates is
practically closed over its whole course to foreign
vessels, as is also the Tigris above Baghdad. Messrs.
Lynch Brothers, who have navigated the Lower Tigris
for half a century, are only allowed to employ two
steamers in the trade between Basra and Baghdad, and
to keep a third one laid up at Basra in reserve against
accidents. A Turkish company also runs four steamers
on the same line, and two more, which were ordered in
England in 1902 on behalf of influential personages
at Yildiz who enjoy the favour of the Sultan, have
recently begun to ply for traffic. After much solicita
tion the Turkish Government now allows the Lynch

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Content

The volume, written by Valentine Chirol and printed in London by John Murray in 1903, is based on a series of letters written by Chirol during a journey through Persia and the Persian Guf, that appeared in The Times in 1902 and 1903.

The main topics are: the concept of 'Middle East'; the Baghdad Railway; the British role in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Russian influence over Persia; the border of Afghanistan; the North-East Frontier of India, and Tibet. An appendix at the back of the volume contains copies of international treaties, and documents in French on the Baghdad Railway.

The volume contains numerous illustrations and three maps:

  • 'Sketch Map of the Borderlands of India';
  • 'Sketch Map of Asia showing railway expansion';
  • 'Sketch map of Persia and adjoining countries'.
Extent and format
1 volume (306 folios )
Physical characteristics

The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'The Middle Eastern question or some political problems of Indian defence' [‎118v] (241/616), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/G43, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023644753.0x00002a> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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