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'Collection of journals and reports received from Captain the Hon G C Napier, Bengal Staff Corps, on special duty in Persia, 1874' [‎49] (62/396)

The record is made up of 1 volume (194 folios). It was created in 1876. 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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49
unfortunate donkeys breast deep. The few stones left of the
original pavement only served as stumbling-blocks in the way,
making matters worse. During the famine the townspeople
suffered, but not to any great extent. They are well off as a rule,
making money by the sale of wheat and fruit in Mashad. At
the worst time flour was five krans per maund. 200 or 300
people are said to have died of hunger. Outside the Mashad
gate a heap of stones was pointed out to me as marking the spot
on which an unfortunate wretch driven to cannibalism had been
stoned to death by the people. This was said to be a solitary
case. The present population is reckoned at 14,000, an exag
gerated estimate I am inclined to think from the size of the town
and the extent of the ruins. Many families, however, still live
under tents not having the means to rebuild their houses. A
fine stream flows past the north side of the town, irrigating the
lands on either bank as far as Sherwan, and eventually falling
into the Attrek. Koochan is noted for its fruits, especially
grapes, from which a very fair wine is made. In the afternoon
visited Koord Dowla Khan, an elder brother of the Khan of Koord Do-wla
Koochan. The old gentleman is lame, apparently from^gout, and Khan, brother
excused himself for not visiting me. The usual topic, Merve, x ) ow ia 0 Khari of
was very soon led off by him, and I found that he had the general Koochan.
belief that the Russian move to Khiva was only preliminary to a
further advance to Merve, which he said might become a second
Sebastopol in their hands. He was very curious as to our policy,
especially in regard to Afghanistan, and expressed his disbelief in
the advantage of the subsidy and aid we were giving. I found
that he had a very lively apprehension of Russia, and considered Nj!)t case _
their occupation of his country only a question of time. Russian g . C. N.
officers appear to have twice visited the Akhal Turkomans, who, True - g-c.n.
four or five months ago, sent a deputation to Lamakyn at Kras- Once only-—
novodsk. The chiefs came back disappointed, and have since
several times raided the tributary Yemoot settlements. The
Akhal are now more disposed than they were before to look to
Persia for aid, and would willingly accept lands within the hills
and become tributary to the border chiefs: this is the Khan s
opinion. The Koochan boundary in the Turkoman direction is
apparently very well guarded, there being posts of 200 and 300 B or( i ers we ii
horsemen on the border. Within the border posts the country guarded,
is so secure that men go unarmed to all parts. No more efficient
defence for the frontier could be found than the Koord settlements,
where as at present, the Persian Government is successful in both
controlling and conciliating their chiefs. I gathered that the
Chief of Koochan, though thoroughly dissatisfied with the Go
vernment of Khorassan, was loyal to the Shah, and believed that
the faults in administration were to be laid at the door of his
Governors and some of his advisers. An Armenian merchant, ji uss i an Arme-
a native of Erivan, and the Kelanter or headman of Koochan, in nian merchant
company with a Turkoman Aksakal of the Akhal Tekkeh tribe, at Koochan.
visited me in the evening. The former has been for two years
in Koochan, and appears to be well treated and in a good position.

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Content

The volume, marked 'Strictly Confidential', is Collection of journals and reports received from Captain the Hon. G C Napier, Bengal Staff Corps, on special duty in Persia. 1874. It was printed in London by George E Eyre and William Spottiswoode, printers to Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1876.

The volume contains ten documents written by George Campbell Napier, and compiled by the Political and Secret Department of the 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. . The documents included are as follows:

1. Report of the proceedings in regard to the Khaff [Khvāf] raid (folios 5-9);

2. Diary kept during tour in Khorassan [Razavi Khorasan] (folios 10-59);

3. Observations on the topography of the Eastern Alburz tract, with notices on a few places of interest on the Persian Border (folios 60-80);

4. Memorandum on the condition and external relations of the Turkoman tribes of Merve [Mary] (folios 80-92);

5. Reports on events in Herat and Turkistan. Diary for March 1875 (folios 92-97);

6. Report on the present situation in Seistan [Sīstān] in relation to late arbitration (folios 97-103);

7. Report on the Perso-Afghan border (folios 103-125);

8. Notes on the political condition of the population of Eastern Khorassan (folios 125-132);

9. Notes on the condition of the districts, chiefships, and tribes of the north-eastern frontier of Persia (folios 133-172);

10. Memorandum on the relations of Russia and Persia with the Turkoman tribes of the Attrek Frontier (folios 172-178).

At the back of the volume (folio 194) is a fold-out map of the northern frontier of Khorassan, with parts of Irak [Iraq] and Mazandaran [Māzandarān].

On the inside front cover and title page are hand-written notes, each reading 'Turkish Dept'.

Extent and format
1 volume (194 folios)
Arrangement

The documents in the volume are arranged chronologically.

There is a table of contents (folio 3v) that refers to the page number.

At the back of the volume (folios 179-192) is an index, arranged alphabetically and referring to page numbers.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: 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 (except for the front cover where the folio number is on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. ).

Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Collection of journals and reports received from Captain the Hon G C Napier, Bengal Staff Corps, on special duty in Persia, 1874' [‎49] (62/396), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/228, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023939590.0x00003f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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