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File 4880/1913 Pt 2 'Turco-Persian Frontier Commission: protocol of 1913' [‎103r] (73/499)

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The record is made up of 1 item (248 folios). It was created in 1913. 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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[Tills Document is the Property of His’Britannic Majesty s Government]
PERSIA.
[November 17.]
CONFIDENTIAL.
->
[ 52062 ]
No. 1.
(No. 230.)
Sir,
Sir W. Townley to Sir Edward Grey .—(Received November 17.)
Tehran, October 27, 1913.
I HAVE the honour to transmit to yon herewith copies of a joint note which the
Russian Charge d’Affaires and I handed to the Prime Minister this afternoon upon the
subject of the" arrangement reached at Constantinople settling in principle the long
standing question of the Turco-Persian frontier, and of an aide-memoire in which we
recapitulated the special matters calling for urgent attention outside the actual frontier
question. We did not consider it necessary to communicate copies of the several
documents bearing upon the question in our possession, because we had reason to
know that the Persian Government is already possessed of all these papers. We
enquired of Ala-es-Sultaneh, in handing his Highness the joint note, if the Persian
Government had received copies of all the necessary documents, offering to supply
supplementary information, should such be wanted. We pressed most urgently upon
Ala-es-Sultaneh the advantage of agreeing at once to the arrangement reached, and we
pointed out that Persia had secured a most satisfactory settlement of an old and
thorny question that had often threatened serious danger m the past, and which might
be counted upon to be a still greater cause for anxiety in the future, if this excellent
opportunity for settling it was allowed to escape. . .
Ala-es-Sultaneh replied that the question was at this moment receiving the serious
attention of a special commission. His Highness added that it was true that Persia
acquired a large portion of the disputed territory in some parts of the frontier, but he
pointed out that in other parts she lost large tracts of territory that had been considered
her undoubted possession for centuries. After some further conversation, he went on
to say that the Persian Government was fully alive to the great importance of settling
this century-old question, and gave us to understand that the arrangement would be
accepted in principle, although it is probable that some reserves will be made m the
reply to our note, which we are promised at an early date. _
The Prime Minister further authorised us to report that it had been decided to
appoint Ehtesham-es-Sultaneh commissioner, with Ettila-ul-Mulk as assistant
commissioner, and that a sum of 21,000 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. (say 4,000L) had been voted for the
expenses of the Commission. The fact that commissioners had been chosen and a sum
of money voted for the requirements of the Commission would appear to furnish
good proof that the Persian Government has practically decided to adhere to the
arrangement made at Constantinople.
We urged upon Ala-es-Sultaneh the great importance of the Persian commissioners
reaching Mohammerah not later than the 15th December. His Highness took
note of this, and asked when the British and Russian commissioners were leaving
Constantinople. M. Sabline was in a position to reply that Mr. Wratislaw and
M. Minorsky had arranged to sail from Constantinople on the 16th November.
Ala-es-Sultaneh promised that the several points contained in the aide-memoire should
receive early and favourable attention.
LE Couvernement Imperial de Perse se trouve deja en possession de toutes les
pieces relatives a la question de la delimitation de la frontiere turco-persane, qui,
d’apres 1’avis des soussignes, pent etre a present consideree comme resolue en
Les soussignes expriment le ferme espoir que le Gouvernement persan, ayant pns
I have, &c.
WALTER TOWNLEY.
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Joint Letter addressed to Persian Prime Minister.
M. le President du Conseil,
Teheran, le 27 octobre, 1913.
[1933 r—1]

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Content

Correspondence, reports and maps relating to the 1913 Turco-Persian Frontier Commission, and the production of the Protocole relative à la Délimitation turco-persane, signé à Constantinople le 4 (17) Novembre, 1913 .

The primary correspondents are: HM Consul-General at Teheran (Sir Walter Beaupre Townley); HM Consul-General at Constantinople; HM Vice-Consul at Kashr-i Shirin (E B Soane); 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. Political Department; the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs (Said Halim); the Russian Consul-General in Baghdad (M Orlof); the Russian Ambassador to the UK (Count Von Benckendorff); HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); and Albert Charles Wratislaw, head of the British section of the Commission.

The file opens with correspondence regarding reported Turkish military build-up in Kasr-i Shirin [Qaṣr-e Shīrīn], disturbances on the Baghdad-Kermaāshāh route, local raids by Persian and Turkish tribesmen, possible concessions to Turkey in the Zohab [Zohāb] district, and the difficulty of reaching an agreement which would be acceptable to Sunni and Shia tribes in the Zohab region. A map of the Zohab region is included at folio 305.

The bulk of the file concerns arrangements for the Frontier Commission, discussing: the push for a settlement; the composition of the British, Russian, Turkish and Persian commissions; the need to use surveying and triangulation to improve on pre-existing, inaccurate maps; the wording of the internal rules [ Règlement Intérieur ] to govern the Commission; arrangements over work to be conducted by the northern and southern sections of the Commission; and arrangements to preserve the rights of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in regions to be transferred to Turkey.

Key items:

Folios 224-29 Declaration regarding the frontier, signed by Sir Edward Grey and I Hakky Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , with four accompanying maps:

  • Map No 1, Sketch Map showing Turco-Persian Frontier West and South of Hawizeh [Howeyzeh];
  • Map No 2, Sketch Map of Muhammareh [Khorramshar] to indicate the Turco-Persian Boundary;
  • Map No 3, Sheet No I, Map of Shatt-Al-'Arab & Bahmanshir [Rūdkhāneh-ye Bahmanshīr] including Muhammareh [Khorramshar] & 'Abbádán I [Ābādān];
  • Map No 4, Sheet No II, Map of Shatt-Al-'Arab & Bahmanshir, including Muhammareh & 'Abbádán I.

Folios 68-87 Copy of the Protocole relative à la Délimitation turco-persane, signé à Constantinople le 4 (17) Novembre, 1913, plus: additional copies of the four maps detailed above; Annex (A), Règlement intérieur de la Commission de Délimitation de la Frontière turco-persane ; Annex (B) Statement by the Ottoman Government pledging to maintain, within the territories granted by Persia to Turkey, the rights and obligations granted to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company Ltd by the Persian Imperial Government under the Convention of 28 May, 1901; also included are notes on the meetings of the frontier delegates at Constantinople, 4-9 November, written by the British Commissioner, Albert Charles Wratislaw.

Folio 67 is a collection header sheet, giving the subject heading and a list of correspondence references found within the part, listed by year.

Extent and format
1 item (248 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the section

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 4880/1913 Pt 2 'Turco-Persian Frontier Commission: protocol of 1913' [‎103r] (73/499), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/430/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040878370.0x00000b> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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