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'File 3/8 Affairs of Sh. Khaz`als sons.' [‎184r] (367/508)

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The record is made up of 1 file (252 folios). It was created in 15 Mar 1942-17 Aug 1948. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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21
neighbouring tribes acting or professing to act under its orders; but that you
wished to know whether we should protect you in the event of an attempt by a
foreign Power to depose you or deprive your people of the rights which they at
present possess. This might happen in two ways: either such a foreign Power
might be at war with Persia, and might, as an enemy of the Shah, send ships
to attack your district; or such a Power, pretending to be the friend of the
Persian Grovernment or to act on its behalf, might attempt, also by means of its
ships, to conquer you and the Arabs. I replied that both contingencies were
extremely unlikely, but if either were to arise we should, I believed, interfere,
provided you had acted in accordance with our advice; and our fleet, which is
the strongest of any in the Gulf, would be employed to prevent any forcible
measures against you. I stated, however, that I would refer these questions to
the Foreign Minister of the British Government, and he has now authorised me
to say that we shall protect Mohammerah against naval attack by a foreign
Power, whatever pretext for such action may be alleged, and also, so long as you
remain faithful to the Shah and act in accordance with our advice, shall continue
to give you our good offices and support.
As I have, however, said above, I do not regard the danger—at any rate at
present—as a real one.
The Persian Government desires, I am sure, as earnestly as you do, the
preservation of peace in Arabistan, and the establishment of a custom-house at
Mohammerah is, as I assured you last year, a fiscal, not a political, measure.
It has already informed me in a friendly spirit of the conditions under which
the new arrangement has been made, and the British Government has instructed
me to intimate its acquiescence in them. We reserve, of course, our right to
object to any further change which we may consider likely, as affecting peace and
trade on the Karun, to be detrimental to our interests.
I trust that the new arrangement may work smoothly. There will be very
likely some small difficulties and friction at first, but I trust to your wisdom and
judgment to deal with them prudently and patiently.
Our consul has my orders to afford you all help and advice, and you may place
every reliance on my friendship. You can write to me freely should you wish
to do so, as well as to the Resident at Bushire.
ARTHUR H. HARDINGE.
No. 2.
Sir A . Hardinge to the Sheikh.
(After compliments.)
Your Excellency, Bagdad, %Ath December, 1903.
I have received a telegram in reply to the one to His Majesty’s Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs from Mohammerah, after my first interview with your
Excellency.
Lord Lansdowne says that if, as he presumes is the case from my account
of your Excellency’s statement to me, the Persian Government is really attempting
to repudiate the arrangement made with you last year, I am authorised to say
that you are, in his opinion, justified in opposing such attempt. He instructs
me to remind you of the message which he sent you last year, and to add that you
may rest assured of the support of the British Government so long as you on
your side observe the conditions of the arrangement made between the Persian
Government and yourself. He has authorised me to point out to that Government
the necessity for respecting the conditions of the arrangement on their side. I
do not propose to do so until I hear further from you, as I think it will be better
in the interests of good relations between the Persian authorities and yourself
that our intervention should not be invoked until all other means of adjusting
matters directly between them and you have been exhausted. Meanwhile, I should
be obliged if you would send me to Tehran, through His Majesty’s Resident at
Bushire, a copy of the note from M. Naus, promising not to take duty on your
personal imports, and any further information on the subject.
I have, &c.
ARTHUR H. HARDINGE.

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Content

This file relates to the heirs of Shaikh Khaz‘al [Khaz‘al bin Jabir bin Merdaw Āl Ka‘bī], the late Arab Shaikh of Mohommerah [Khorramshahr], and their requests for British assistance.

The first few items of correspondence concern Shaikh Khaz‘al's eldest son, Shaikh Chassib bin Khaz‘al [Shaikh Chassib bin Khaz‘al Āl Ka‘bī], who is now living in Iraq and who is reported to have requested permission from the British Embassy at Baghdad to enter Iran (most of the correspondence in this file refers to Iran as Persia), for the purpose of personally pressing his claims to property belonging to his father, which had been sequestered by the late Shah [Reza Shah Pahlavi].

The remainder of the file relates to Shaikh Chassib's brother, Shaikh Abdullah bin Khaz‘al [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Khaz‘al Āl Ka‘bī], and his wish to return to live in Persia, apparently peacefully, which is treated with suspicion by British officials. Much of the correspondence discusses whether Shaikh Abdullah, who has taken refuge in Kuwait after an unsuccessful attempt to return to live in Persia, should be given a British pension or an allowance, in order to prevent him from attempting to return to Persia, since it is deemed unlikely that he will receive any compensation from the Persian Government for the loss of his father's property.

Also included in the file are a copy of a document from the Combined Intelligence Centre, Iraq, entitled 'The Sheikhdom of Mohammerah A Short History' and a Foreign Office report entitled 'British Relations with Khazal, Sheikh of Mohammerah'.

The principal correspondents are the following: the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait; the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the British Consul, Khorramshahr; 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 Secretary of State for India; the Foreign Office; His Majesty's Ambassador, Tehran; His Majesty's Ambassador, Baghdad; the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmed al Jabir As-Subah [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ]; Shaikh Abdullah bin Khaz‘al.

Extent and format
1 file (252 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the file. Circled serial numbers (red for received correspondence; blue/black for issued correspondence) refer to entries in the notes at the rear of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 254; 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. Additional foliation sequences, one of which is written in pencil and not circled (between ff 3-131 and ff 143-224), and one of which is written in pencil and circled (between ff 1-253), have been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 3/8 Affairs of Sh. Khaz`als sons.' [‎184r] (367/508), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/178, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100030262304.0x0000a8> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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