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File 1356/1912 Pt 1 'Turco-Persian Frontier:- negotiations at Constantinople.' [‎345v] (700/885)

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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I will commence by a brief recapitulation of its history.
2. By article 3 of the Treaty of Erzeroum provision was made for the appointment
of a commission to define the Perso-Turkish boundary (vide Aitchison’s “ Treaties ”
vol. ix, Appendix 17).
This commission, as appears from p. 218 of Hertslet’s “ Persian Treaties,” 189' x
held meetings in Bagdad and Mohammerah in 1849-50-51. In 1851 Lord Palmerston
stated that it was clear that no settlement could be come to except by an arbitrary
decision on the part of Great Britain and Russia, and he therefore proposed that the
general line of frontier should be traced by the agents of the Mussulman Powers at
Constantinople, assisted by the commissioners, leaving doubtful localities to be settled
in detail in future.
3. Ihe Russian Government agreed to this proposal, and the work of surveying
the whole frontier was then commenced. In September 1869 a copy of the map thus
prepared was officially communicated to the Turkish and Persian Governments, but no
boundary was marked on it, the Porte having been informed that, in the opinion of the
mediating Powers, the future line of boundary was to be found within the limits
traced on the map (a strip of country 20 to 40 miles wide), and that the two
Mahommedan Governments should themselves mark out the line. The boundary has
remained unsettled to the present day. '
. August 1869 a protocol was concluded between Turkey and Persia for the
maintenance of the status quo on the frontier. It was renewed in 1873 and is still in
force (vide Aitchison, Appendix 18).
^ ll March 1909 , in discussing the sheikh of Mohammerah’s anxieties regarding
lurkish aggression, Sir George Barclay suggested to His Majesty’s Government “that
the sheikh might be informed of the substance of Sir E. Grey’s despatch No 75 of the
25th February, 1908, to Sir N. O’Conor, in which the latter was informed that in the
Mohammerah district His Majesty’s Government were not prepared to recognize any
other frontier than that laid down by the Mediating Commission in 1850.”
6. It is on the subject of this boundary, and the results that would accrue from
our upholding it now, that I venture to address you.
There is nothing in the pages of Aitchison or Hertslet to show that the Mediating
Commission ever “ laid down” a boundary. The declaration of 1865 (vide paragraph 3
boundary 1 ^!^l ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ the frontier ma P presented in 1869 did not show a
Offl J1 q S ^ confi ^ med . aa inspection of the map, which was published at the Ordnance
Office, Southampton, m 1870 (scale 4 miles = 1").
aS far aS i " com P 1 ® te , information goes, it seems not unreasonable to
ppose that the recommendations of the commission in 1851 were cancelled by the
declaration referred to above. In any case I can discover nothing to show that the
recommendation was ever accepted by the* Persian or Turkish Governments, or that
the line recommended was ever marked out on the ground.
/1fi 8 : 1 A marginal notef in the first edition of the Survey of India Map of Persia
( mi es makes 10 plain that the boundary referred to by Sir E Grey is that
now marked on most maps and shown in the abo^e map* as running from Miya to
awizeh (see enclosure (A)). The third edition of the same map shows the boundary
^74X8 err” ’ ^ t0 & P ° int S ° Uth ° f Hawizeh ’ but this is P r ° b ably a
t-po 9 ’* 1 ^ at thl u is not in accor dance with the frontier locally
jXvis ,* nd “"t » t
From Mohammerah to Hawizeh the couotrv ^ i -j
tbp poeii-t'pn rvf i-lvo u . ,i country is desert, so we need only consider
i £™iS7A* h “” ,wo »»I™-* *
the Shatt-d-Arab^itod ” p 16 i |0mi| lary at the point where it takes off from
Hawizeh This mrt if 1 1, 16 < l e ? e , rb . w b>oh stretches uninterruptedly thence to
th» M k , Th S ,? art °. f t . he bpnndary, which is 5 miles west of that “recommended” by
TheSh hfs toid^r 011 ’! 18 f ^ aS . 1 ku0W not ^puted locally by either part/
The sheikh has built several palaces on it, and no objection having been raised to hi
t* lh“Ski s b tf £idr r “~ftt ( :rA o i?oH’ C0n 1? en “’ ° f 1906 >- A - R
Turkish Boundary Commission in 1851. A b 1 Hawizeh 18 that recommended by the Perso-
t Not printed.

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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.' [‎345v] (700/885), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/266, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036171274.0x000065> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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