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‘A sketch of the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, with special reference to the present campaign.’ [‎26] (36/58)

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. .

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26
with any prescribed rule. There is no doubt that the \V ah
gains by the system ho employs, for he thus secures the constant
presence of a standing army, whose permanent fidelity is in
some measure guaranteed.
The Wali's power among his subjects is supreme, including
alike the administration of justice, the collection of the revenue,
the control of the movements of the tribes, the mustering ot
armed forces and the declaration and prosecution of war. In
practice, no doubt, all ordinary matters of administration have
fallen into lines stereotyped by the custom of ages, and in the
exercise of his prerogatives he is guided by general considera
tions of expediency. Excessive oppression or unwarranted
severity would lead to revolts, for which there are alv. ajs
prospective leaders in his chief administrators or his own im
mediate relations, or to the emigration and dispersion Oi t he
population. It is to the credit of the \\ alis that the tendency
in Pusht-i-Kuh seems to be towards immigration rather than
emigration.
WaWs relatives.
The Wali's relatives are few in number, comprising only
his brother, 'Ali Riza Khan and his two eldest sons Amanullah
Khan and Ghulam Shah Khan, the latter now an invalid.
The question of the position and employment of his kindred
cannot but be a problem of some importance to the Walt.
A relative is always in the East very justifiably regarded
with suspicion. History is replete with instances of the jealousy
and disloyalty of brothers and sons, whether of Mughal
' Emperors or Persian Shahs, and in Persia the looseness of th(
moral tie of blood descends even to the lowest classes of the
population, and reveals itself everywhere in distrust and
suspicion.
There are two ways of dealing with this danger, removal
by assassination, and the attempt to satisfy it by the delegation
of power. The former as far as sons are concerned is opposed
to the strong Muslim sentiment in favour of the production ot
large families to ensure the succession, and the latter is apt
only to whet the appetite which it is designed to allay. The
history of the family of the Shaikh of Muhammerah illustrates
on the whole the former method, that of the Bakhtiaris approxi
mates to the latter. The combination of the two methods
was repeatedly attempted by the Mughal Emperors of India.
c*

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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
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‘A sketch of the political history of Persia, Iraq and Arabia, with special reference to the present campaign.’ [‎26] (36/58), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C150, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023662459.0x000025> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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