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File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎276v] (562/885)

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. .

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Chalderan with Byazud and Van. I, however, believe it to extend from the top of
Little Ararat in the direction I have marked it. The districts of Kotur and Chareh
may also be disputed, but I thought from the documents produced at the time, as
wnll as their situation to the east of the great range which has evidently been
intended as the line of demarcation, they were decidedly Persian lands; they are
positions of considerable importance, commanding two principal routes into Persia,^
to whom they are of more importance than to Turkey.
A lofty chain of mountains forms the boundary of the remaining part of Azerbaijan,
and is well defined. The Turkish and Kurdish tribes within the Turkish frontier
have been in the habit of pasturing their cattle within the Persian limits, but only
on sufferance, for which they paid a sum of money or other valuable consideration.
It has always been difficult to enforce this arrangement, to evade which, as well as to
resist excessive demands, has been the cause of constant disputes and bloodshed.
This was particularly the case regarding the right of pasture on the plain of Lahijan,
much frequented by the Bilbass tribe of Kurds, belonging to Keu Sanjak and subject
to the Babher chiefs of Karachulan, the most powerful and warlike of all the Kurdish
States.
For the last forty years they have been in constant revolt against Turkey, and
have more than once forced pashas on Bagdad ; when pressed by a Turkish army
they have sought the protection of Persia, but always revolted when the Turkish forces
had retired or a true submission been exacted.
The boundary here can hardly be said to be defined, and I believe was vaguely
stated in the treaty as the respective limits of the Persian Kurdish State of Senna
Ardelan and Shaherazur or Karachulan. Both chiefs enjoy sovereign pow r er within
their own limits, supplying troops in case of war, when they likewise furnish some
money and provisions, but more as a free gift than a tax. Every new chief must be
confirmed either by the Courts of Tehran or Constantinople. In Persia formerly the
chiefs of Luristan and Persian Arabia (Hawiza) had under the same title of vali their
own princes, but were abolished by Nadir Shah, on account of their constant revolts.
The treachery of the Vali of Arabia was the principal cause of the defeat of the
Persian army by the Afghans and the fall of the Suffavean dynasty (1722). They
followed the same course with Nadir Shah, but not with like impunity.
Between Kermanshah, which now includes the province of Lusiana or Luristan,
the mountains were to form the boundary, which is an imaginary line running through
uncultivated or desert lands to the village of Banilla, on the Jerrah or Hawiza River,
unmarked by any defined or known object. From this Persia wishes to establish a
claim to the entire possession of the Chaab Sheikh’s lands, which extend to within
8 miles of Bussorah, consequently including the important position of Mohammerah, at
the junction of the Hafar Canal with the Shatt-el-Arab, and commanding the navigation
with India and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. of all the rivers of Mesopotamia and Lusiana, including
the Tigris, Euphrates, and Karun.
Sir J. McDonald (then Lieutenant McDonald) and myself were directed by Sir J.
Malcolm, then Minister in Persia, to examine the country from Bushire to Dorak and
Bussorah, then ascend the Karun to Shuster, Dizful, and the ancient Susa, returning
direct through the mountains to Shiraz. We then considered the frontier as running
as I have marked it, from the before-mentioned village of Banilla to the point where
the Hafar comes out of the Karun, including one or both of the great islands formed
by the channels of the Shatt-el-Arab and the Karun.
The first time I heard the claim to Mohammerah advanced was in 1821, in
consequence, I believe, of the French officers serving with Mohammed Ali Mirza
having pointed out the great importance of the position and the advantage Persia
would derive from commanding the exit of so great a river navigation.
It is said Kerim Khan, when obliged to relinquish Bussorah, made some efforts to
retain Mohammerah.
No English officer or trader has, I believe, traversed Persian Arabia, or gone
direct from Bussorah by Hawiza to Kermanshah. The French officers who served
with the Persian army were employed on several expeditions in this direction, and it
is said made surveys of this hitherto unknown region ; should that be the case, they
will probably exist in the Depot des Cartes in France. The officers in question were'
generally in the habit of keeping routes of all their marches in Persia, and will probably
be found either in Paris or Constantinople.

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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
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File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎276v] (562/885), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/266, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036171273.0x0000a3> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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