Skip to item: of 58
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

‘A sketch of the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, with special reference to the present campaign.’ [‎9] (19/58)

The record is made up of 29 folios. It was created in 1917. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

Jo
9
Another Brigade arrived on the 14th and by the 2-nd
November, after a hard-fought action at Kut-es-Zam, Basrah
was in our hands.
That Great Britain was obliged unwillingly to declare war
on Turkey on account of the latter's alliance with Germany,
as well as by various acts of hostility on her part and her
declaration of war with Russia, has been clearly explained to
ttammadan peoples in general and ,o .he Arabs of I™, n
particular ; at the same time we have been careful to disclaim
Inv intention of threatening the lives or liberties, religious
civil, of Arabs or other races subject to the sovereignty or suzer-
ainty of Turkey, as long as they remained quiescent. W hen
British forees invaded Iraq the following P rocl ^°"
issued to the population living on the hanks of the Shalt al
" Let it not be hidden from you that the British
Government has to its great regret been torcea
into a state of war by the persistent and unpro
voked hostility of the Turkish Government insti
gated by Germany for her own ends. 1 he Bnlisii
Government has therefore been obliged to send a
force to the Shatt-al-Arab to protect her commerce
and friends and expel the hostile Turkish troops.
But let it be known to all that the British Govern
ment has no quarrel with the Arab inhabitan s
on the river bank : and, so long as they show them
selves friendly and do not harbour Turkish troops
or go about armed, they have nothing to fear and
neither they nor their property will be molested.
" They are clearly warned, however, that they must not
now carry arms, for it will not be possible to dis
tinguish an armed man from an enemy, and thus
any person going about armed will c la e o
be shot."
This declaration was reinforced hy subsequent a nnounc( m™t3 '
aud in our dealings with Arabs we have been gu.ded by the
spirit of these proclamations. ^
• " A. th. tol.. t b.
them as enemies so long as the y tr ' OOT , s on the contrary, the wish
refrain from taking up armsapamsthertr^ the Turk
of the British Government is to free the Arabs from tne oppres
and bring them advancement, prosperity and traae.

About this item

Content

The volume is an overview of the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, authored by the Office of the Chief Political Officer, Indian Expeditionary Force “D”, and printed by the Superintendent Government Printing, Calcutta [Kolkata], India in 1917. The volume is divided into a number of chapters:

1. An introduction to the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, chiefly concerning Britain’s history of naval intervention and military occupation in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and its efforts in eradicating the slave trade, arms traffic and piracy;

2. A chapter entitled ‘The Arab attitude in Iraq before the War’, including: political conditions in Turkish Iraq prior to the War; the arrival of the Indian Expeditionary Force “D” at the start of the War; Ottoman ‘jihad’ against the British; Arab attitudes to the British in Iraq, central Arabia and Persian Arabistan;

3. British relations with Arabistan, including an overview of the Anglo-Persian War (1856-57), and a brief outline of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s activities in the region;

4. The Bakhtiari tribes, their leaders and their standing with the Persian Government, and the importance of maintaining British relations with them, with reference to trade routes, the maintenance of order in the oil fields, and the maintenance of friendly relations with the Shaikh of Muhammareh [Khorramshahr] and the Russians at Ispahan [Isfahān, or Eṣfahān];

5. Pusht-i-Kuh – ‘the right flank of Indian Expeditionary Force “D”’: a description of the area, and its strategic and economic importance, including: topography; climate; the position and powers of its Wali [governor] (taken from Lorimer’s Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ), the Wali’s relatives; and Kaka Siyah, who reside in the region and who are of African origin;

6. Arabia – the left flank of Indian Expeditionary Force “D”. The chapter is divided into two parts. The first part is a general description of the Arabian peninsula, including: topography and geographic features; political powers in Arabia: the Wahhabi, with a history of their development and territorial gains; Egypt; Ibn Rashid [Ibn Rashīd]; the British Government; and Turkish interests in Arabia. The second part is a detailed historical outline of British relations with Ibn Sa‘ūd;

7. Entitled The Trend of Turkish policy before the War and since (official) , and subdivided into parts on internal and external politics. The first part includes an assessment of the characteristics of ‘Ottoman people’ and their Government, the second concentrates on German influence and activity in Ottoman territories.

There are pencil annotations on the front flyleaf of the volume (folio 2), which make note of sections within the volume, with the corresponding page numbers.

Extent and format
29 folios
Arrangement

The volume is arranged into seven chapters (I-VII), with subject subheadings used to organise each. A contents page (f 4), referencing the volume’s pagination sequence, lists the chapter headings. A preface (f 5) precedes the chapters.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top-right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 29.

Pagination: A printed pagination system runs through the volume (ff 7-27), the numbers of which are located top and centre of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. and verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. .

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

‘A sketch of the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, with special reference to the present campaign.’ [‎9] (19/58), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C150, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023662459.0x000014> [accessed 28 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023662459.0x000014">‘A sketch of the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, with special reference to the present campaign.’ [&lrm;9] (19/58)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023662459.0x000014">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000185/IOR_L_PS_20_C150_0019.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000185/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image