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File 3136/1914 Pt 2 ‘German War. Situation in Turkish Arabia & Persian Gulf’ [‎46r] (98/504)

The record is made up of 1 volume (248 folios). It was created in 1 Oct 1914-8 Dec 1914. 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
——
I
/ 6 ?
Telegram P. ; No. S. 1000, dated the 29th October 1914.
From—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political
Department, Simla,
To—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. , Bushire (repeated to Bomba}’).
Please refer to Foreign and Political Department telegram, dated 25th
instant, No. S. 975. Following further corrigenda and addenda to communique
respecting Turkish attitude should be made :— Begins.
(1) Add the words “ not being ” after the words (< their crews ” and before
the words “ repatriated until omitting word “ and” in first paragraph which
begins “ Attitude adopted by ” and ends “ of 24 hours ”.
(2) Insert the following after the words “adjoining the Egyptian
frontier” and before the words “ Similar intrigues were” in paragraph begin
ning “ In spite of these assurances ” and ending “ dynamite or nitro-glycerine ”
(added, mete Foreign and Political Department telegram No. S. 937, dated the
19th instant:— Begins. “ The Mosul and Damascus Army Corps have since
their mobilisation been constantly sending troops south preparatory for an
invasion of Egypt and the Suez Canal from Akaba and Gaza. A large body
of Bedouin Arabs have been called out and armed to assist in this venture.
Transport has been collected and roads have been prepared up to the frontier
of Egypt. Mines have been despatched to be laid in the Gulf of Akaba to
protect the force from naval attack, and the notorious Sheikh Aziz Shawish,
who has been so well known as a firebrand in raising Moslem feeling against
Christians, has published and disseminated through Syria and probably India
an infiammatory document urging Muhammadans to fight against Great Britain.
It is also reported that Dr. Prueifer, who was so long engaged in intrigues in
Cairo against the British occupation and is now attached to the German
Embassy, Constantinople, has been busily occupied in Syria trying to incite the
people to take part in this conflict. ” Ends.
A new paragraph should be started beginning with the words Similar
intrigues were ” and concluding with the w ords “ dynamite or nitro
glycerine
Repeated to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. who are requested to communi
cate the further corrections and additions to the Naval Commander-in-Chief
and also to 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. at Aden.
Telegram P., No. S. 1001, dated the 29th October 1914.
From—The Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political
Department, Simla,
To—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. , Bushire.
In a telegram received from the Secretary of State for India, the following
report from Aleppo, which was communicated on the 24th October to London
by His Majesty’s Ambassador at Constantinople, was repeated to the Govern
ment of India:—
“ It is reported ♦ * * * men were found. ”
Telegram P., dated (and received) the 29th October 1914.
From—His Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador at Constantinople,
To—His Excellency the Viceroy, Simla.
Please refer to your telegram No. 708, repeating a telegram from His
Excellency the Yieeroy of India, dated the 25th October, and your telegram
No. 711.
It is unnecessary for me to emphasise the extreme importance of observ
ing, at this critical moment, absolute secrecy as to the part w r hich the Britisli
Government is taking in an Arab movement, and of avoiding any commit
ment in a -written form. Saiyid Talib is notoriously untrustworthy and
slippery, and it is not improbable that after his visit to Bushire he will
proceed to Constantinople.

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Content

Papers concerning events in Mesopotamia and in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , leading up to and immediately after the outbreak of war between Great Britain and Turkey. The file is a chronological continuation of File 3136/1914 Pt 1 ‘German War. Situation in Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. & Persian Gulf’ (IOR/L/PS/10/462). Subjects covered include:

  • Concerns amongst British officials that Turkey will lay mines in the Shatt al-Arab.
  • Reports of the spreading of anti-British and pro-German propaganda by Turkish officials, including an undated manifesto (translated into English from Arabic) issued by an organisation called the Moslem Committee of Learned Men (ff 139-143).
  • British intelligence on the movements, actions and correspondence exchanged between the region’s most prominent rulers and key figures, including the former Governor (Wali) of Basra, Seyyid Talib [Saiyid Talib ibn Saiyid Rajab], the Emir of Najd and Al-Aḥsā, Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the Turkish Minister of War, Ismail Enver Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. .
  • Reports on public opinion amongst the Arab populations of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and proposed British propaganda measures, including plans to distribute copies of the Illustrated War News to the various rulers in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (ff 199-203).
  • The breaking-off of diplomatic relations between Great Britain and Turkey on 30 October 1914.
  • Reports, submitted by Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox, Chief Political Officer of Indian Expeditionary Force D (IEFD), on the progress of IEFD at Basra, including reports of military action at Fao [Al-Fāw], (f 56, f 65, ff 67-68, ff 116-120, f 123).
  • The death of Captain Richard Lockington Birdwood, Assistant Political Officer to Cox, at Basra, on 17 November 1914 (ff 90-91).
  • Reports of anti-British propaganda and activities at Erzeroum [Erzurum], as reported by the city’s British Consul (ff 84-89, ff 103-104).
  • Proposals, including those set out in a letter written by Captain Arnold Talbot Wilson of the Indian Political Department, to the British Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr], dated 28 November 1914 (ff 14-17) for Mesopotamia to become an Indian colony after the war.

The file’s principal correspondents include: 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. (John Evelyn Shuckburgh; Edmund George Barrow; Arthur Hirtzel); the Foreign Office (Eyre Alexander Barby Wichart Crowe; Louis du Pan Mallet); the Chief Political Officer of IEFD (Percy Zachariah Cox).

The file includes a small number of copies of diplomatic exchanges between the British, Ottoman and Persian Governments ( notes verbale ), which are written in French.

Extent and format
1 volume (248 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 3136 (German War) consists of 6 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/462-467. The volumes are divided into 6 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 248; 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.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 3136/1914 Pt 2 ‘German War. Situation in Turkish Arabia & Persian Gulf’ [‎46r] (98/504), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/463, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036675431.0x000063> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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