'File 3/8 Affairs of Sh. Khaz`als sons.' [188v] (376/508)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
6
Conf. 9878,
No. 272.
Conf. 9878,
No. 416.
Conf. 11794.*
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
area, and, having satisfied themselves that the fault in the inci
dent had lain with the Turkish Vali and that Sheikh Khazal had subsequently
acted correctly and in accordance with British advice, it was arranged that
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.
should proceed to Mohammerah in a warship, present the
Sheikh with the insignia of the K.C.I.E., and convey to him the revised
assurances on which His Majesty’s Government and the Government of India
had agreed.
16. The presentation of the insignia took place with due ceremony at the
Sheikh’s palace at Eailiyah on the 15th October, 1910. In his speech 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.
referred to His Majesty’s Government’s good-will and esteem
and to their appreciation of the Sheikh’s sustained efforts to preserve order and
security for trade in the districts under his control. In his reply, the Sheikh
spoke of the friendship between the Persian and British Governments and of his
hopes that he might be able to render service and devotion to the former and
to earn the approval of the latter. As regards the assurances, the Political Resi
dent addressed a letter to the Sheikh on the 15th October, the text of which is
reproduced as document No. 5 in the Annex, and also another in identic terms
(except for the omission of the words “to be acceptable to your tribesmen”)
which the Sheikh could show, if necessary, to the headmen of the tribes under
his control. The written assurances were accompanied by an important oral
statement by 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 presence of His Majesty’s Consul
at Mohammerah and the Rais-et-Tujjar, to the effect that the Sheikh must under
stand that circumstances might arise in which it would be impossible for His
Majesty’s Government to intervene by force on his behalf. The Sheikh replied
that he quite understood this and that it was sufficient for him to know that
His Majesty’s Government really meant to safeguard him to the best of their
ability in case of emergency. Thus ended a long chapter, to which need be
added only the fact that in the following December the Persian Minister for
Foreign Affairs spoke to His Majesty’s Minister on the subject of the Sheikh,
saying that information had been received that the latter was under British
protection; to this Sir G. Barclay replied that the Sheikh was not a British
protected person but that His Majesty’s Government had special relations with
him, and that, in the event of any encroachment on his rights, he would receive
their support; the text of the assurances were not, however, communicated to the
Persian Government.
t
<
The Assurances of 191 A.
17. In December, 1913 (at a time when His Majesty’s Government were
contemplating the acquisition of a controlling interest in the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company), the Sheikh asked Sir Percy Cox for further assurances on the following
lines :—
{a) that we should make the position regarding the succession more secure
by a modification of the existing assurances;
(5) that we would take cognisance of a definite peace compact between the
Sheikh and the Bakhtians which would render him immune from the
necessity and expense of protecting his territory against their
aggression; and
(c) that we should endeavour to devise and take measures with the Persian
Government to secure to him the status of local autonomy to which
the history of the past entitled him and Which he was then enjoying in
practice, although on a precarious basis.
These matters were still under discussion by His Majesty’s Government when
the outbreak of war in 1914 transformed the" situation; the disintegration of
Persia and the encroachment of Russia, which had previously been the main pre
occupation of His Majesty’s Government in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, were eclipsed by the
more immediate menace from Germany and Turkey, and it was regarded as clearly
essential that we should reaffirm and strengthen our assurances to the Sheikh,
who, there was reason to believe, was ready to act in collusion with the Sheikh
of Koweit, with Ibn Sand and with certain notables of Basra, in preparing the
way for a peaceful British occupation of that port. The Government of India
now recommended that the former assurances should be reaffirmed and
strengthened and that, in addition, we should undertake to maintain the Sheikh
in secure and untaxed possession of his date gardens on the Turkish side of the
Shatt-el-Arab.
18. On the 3rd November, 1914 (i.e., before the formal announcement by
His Majesty’s Government on the 5th November that a state of war existed with
Turkey but at a time when hostilities had actually commenced), Colonel Knox
About this item
- 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.
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- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/R/15/5/178
- Title
- 'File 3/8 Affairs of Sh. Khaz`als sons.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:44v, 46r:55v, 58r:63v, 65r:66v, 68r:71v, 73r:80v, 83r:118v, 120r:120v, 122r:130v, 132r:143v, 145r:145v, 147r:162v, 164r:165v, 167r:198v, 202r:207v, 211r:216v, 219r:221v, 223r:227v, 230r:239v, 242r:253v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence