Skip to item: of 885
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎19r] (46/885)

The record is made up of 1 volume (436 folios). It was created in 7 Feb 1912-25 Sep 1912. It was written in English and French. 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

boundary was not Umm Chir, but they protested that as the limit of cultivation
extended westwards in the marshes, so also would they push forward their
grazing limits along the edge of the marsh.
7. It will be seen from the foregoing that there is a patch of territory some
7 miles broad, bounded to the north by the “ Ghor Muhaisin ” and the “ Ghor
ed Douvil-” and on the south by the marsh, which is not occupied (nor as far as
I know claimed) by Turkey, and not occupied by Persia, though claimed locally,
as Persian territorry. Documentary evidence on the subject of this section
of the frontier seems to be entirely lacking*, but we know that the engineers
of the Mediating Commissioners in 18^1 were not accompanied here by the
Turkish Commissioner. Discussion with the Shaikhs elicited the following
arguments in support of the frontier which they claimed for Persia, as distinct
from their own tribal limits: —
(1) That the Turks have never advanced beyond the line of the Dawairij,
and have been careful to build their fort, referred to above, on the
west bank, and that their proposals to strengthen the frontier
posts do not include the establishment of any posts beyond this
line.
(2) That the lands of the Dawairij main stream have never been culti
vated by Turkish tribes, except for a brief period many years
ago when the Bani Lam fled from Turkish territory and camped
there.
(o) I was informed by one Mulla ’Alwan, clerk of Shaikh Asi of the
Bani Turuf, and formerly a writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. in the head office of the Turkish
district of Dawairij, that he himself had seen the official Turkish
Kharita An important letter usually sent in an elaborate textile pouch, dispatched as part of the royal or diplomatic correspondence of rulers and elites. which gave the Dawairij as the boundary between Turkey
and Persia.
(4) I was informed by the Shaikhs that since the breaking of the dam
^ ' on the Karkheh at Kut Hawashim (in 1837?) the silt of the
river which had previously been spread over the lands in the
neighbourhood of Hawizeh, had been ra P ld 'y°" f
either side of the river and in the marshes which the Bam i urut
inhabit, with the result that their rice-fields have extended con-
siderab y westwards and continue to do so every year They
uWed that in order to retain for Persia the natural accretions of
land and to avoid a land frontier with Turkey, t° which they
had the strongest practical objections, it was essential t a
frontier should run through the middle of the marsh to the old
mJn stream of the Dawailj; the portion of the. frontier imme-
diatelv north of the marsh was, they said, practically un.nhabit-
able and before unlikely to be a cause of friction with the
Turkish authorities.
ervnf- a rnmoarison of the present state of things
Observations on the spot he P Commiss i one rs’ map of 1851, and my
with, that shown on r into the question of irrigation
frmn'the fCarkheh,'tend°?o confirm the correctness of the above
view. . , .1
The Karkeh is ^ly “ wuth silt, more^I an an^o ^r
deposited aU its silt in the marshes instead of spreading ,t over
the broad plains around Hawizeh. .
8. The position therefore would appear.to be^ that whdsHor^t^ P y P persian
le present time, the adoption of the j nconv enience to the Persian Govern-
•ibes (Umm Chir) would cause no great ^ , satisfactory settlement
ient or to the Shaikh of Mohammerah a perman^ y ^ observed by
an only be arrived at by ‘he adoptmn of t b J he advanta g e of being a
urkey (Ghor Muhaisin and the Dawa irij), wmcn
.1 ■ t TT 17 ^ nrint 100 * 11 #

About this item

Content

The volume discusses the disputed Turco-Persian Frontier, particularly at Mohammerah, and the negotiations in Constantinople to attempt to settle it.

The correspondence focuses on:

  • the differences of opinion over the actual boundary at Mohammerah, including several maps demonstrating these differences;
  • movements of Turkish and Russian troops;
  • ownership of the Shat-el-Arab and questions of access for navigation;
  • copies of treaties, correspondence and memoranda dating back to 1639 relating to the question of the Turco-Persian frontier.

The principal correspondents in the volume are the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); the Secretary of State for India (Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe); 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. (Sir Percy Zachariah Cox); the British Ambassador to Constantinople (Sir Gerard Lowther); the British Ambassador to Russia (Sir George Buchanan); the Viceroy of India (Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst); the British Ambassador to Tehran (Sir George Head Barclay); representatives of the Foreign Office (particularly Alwyn Parker) and 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. ; and Arthur Talbot Wilson, on special duty in relation to the Turco-Persian Frontier.

This volume is part one of two. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (436 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 1356 (Turco-Persian Frontier) consists of 2 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/266-267. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 436; 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.

The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

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

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎19r] (46/885), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/266, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036171270.0x00002f> [accessed 29 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_100036171270.0x00002f">File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [&lrm;19r] (46/885)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100036171270.0x00002f">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x00009f/IOR_L_PS_10_266_0046.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_100000000419.0x00009f/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image