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File 3516/1914 Pt 18 'German War: Persia; general situation - 1916' [‎9v] (27/368)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (175 folios). It was created in 17 Nov 1915-18 Feb 1916. 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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8
ii n
kept m mind to enable a proper judgment to be formed of their difficulties in dealing;
with the agitation in the provinces.
. ^ refcurn ey ents in Tehran : on the 16th November M. de Etter and I were
invited to attend at the Derbar to assist at the reconstruction of the Cabinet. When
we reached the Palace the Ministers were discussing the question among themselves^
and from time to time one of them came to report progress or to ask whether such and
such an arrangement would be acceptable to us. But by degrees the more important
Ministers assembled in the reception-room, where we were waiting, and we took a direct
part m the conversation. The President said that the Ministers, including himself
unreservedly placed their portfolios at our disposal, and expressed the opinion that
Ain-ed-Dowleh should become Prime Minister, with Farman Farma as Minister of the
Intelior. It at once became clear that Ain-ed-Dowleh was the obstructionist, and
though I cannot say that my experience of him in May and June last was encouraging
I strongly urged him to accept office, because I felt that the prestige of his name
would give great weight in the provinces, if not in Tehran. His Highness, however,
flatly refused, and would give no reason for doing so. In these circumstances it
seemed to M. de Etter and me that the best combination was to retain Mustafi-el-
Mamelik as Premier and Farman Farma as Minister of the Interior. The latter would
unquestionably, by reason of his stronger character and greater energy, have been
more suitable to hold the reins of power at so critical a moment; but as against this
his Highness has been so identified with Bussian and British interests in the past six
months, and has incurred so much hatred on the part of the German Democrats and
pro-Germans, and is, moreover, no favourite with the Shah, that it is probable that he
would have been deserted by half the Ministers, and would have had to enter on the
. g. painful task of forming a new Cabinet. Mustafi, on the other hand, is
implicitly trusted by the Shah, and his continuance in office would further * be
acceptable and reassuring to all moderate public opinion. As Farman Farma himself
said, the circumstances were such that he could not even look over the wall, while
Mustafi could carry off the horse. It was still necessary to carry out the compact of
the day before that Ain-ed-Dowleh should take a seat in the Cabinet, but he modestly
declined all the more important portfolios and expressed a preference for the Ministry
of Commerce. Ain-ed-Dowleh as Minister of Commerce would have been farcical
and it was finally arranged that he should enter the Cabinet without portfolio, while
Farman Farma took over the Ministry of the Interior from Mustafi, who had previously
directed that Department. A few days later we succeeded in gettiim Akber Mirza
(Saram-ed-Dowleh), the Zil-es-Sultan’s son, appointed Under-Secretary to Farman
Farma—a very valuable arrangement.
The Shah, however, was still very nervous, his apprehensions being sedulously
kept alive by Colonel Edwall, who was constantly in attendance at the Palace
poisoning His Majesty’s mind with stories that the Bussian troops were advancing
from Keredj for the purpose of securing his person. His activity .as a German agent
was, however, by no means equalled by his courage, for, on a fantastic report that the
Armenians intended to throw a bomb into his house, the chief of the gendarmerie took
bast in the United States Legation for about a week—a comically undignified proceeding.
Colonel Edwall probably had some apprehensions as to his own fate in the event of^a
Bussian occupation of the capital, and I am told that for three or four days he found it
necessary to have constant recourse to the whisky bottle to steady his nerves. From
all I know of him, the story is probable enough. The conduct of this ex-officer of the
Swedish army, as well as that of Major Frick and Captain Poussette, showed perfectly
clearly that they were privy to and actively abetted the German endeavour to induce
the Shah to leave. Three days before the Bussian troops had reached Keredi they
were collecting transport, were openly assisting the Germans to send awav their arms
and ammunition, and connived at the departure of the Austrian prisoners of war whom
the Government had promised to intern; while when Farman Farma bad been
appointed Minister of the Interior, Colonel Edwall point-blank refused to obey his
orders. It was no fault of theirs, unless it was their lack of courage to create a little
disorder m the neighbourhood of the Palace, in which case I am confident the Shah
would have left, that the plot failed; but even by the 17th, though we had got round
the sharp corner, the road was by no means plain. The Shah was in constant need of
reassurance, and sent for M. de Etter that day. The Minister found His Majesty
almost as nervous as ever at the presence of the troops at Keredj, and I fancy that
M de fitter must have given a very positive pledge to obtain their withdrawal, for
when on his return to my house, where he was then staying, he found a telegram to
tne euect that the Grand Duke was opposed to taking that step,; he observed that, if

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Content

The volume concerns the situation in Persia during the First World War. The main focus is the Persian protests against violation of their country's neutrality, British and Russian responses to Persian nationalism, and their attempts to influence the Shah and the Majlis deputies during the events that happened in November 1915.

The volume covers:

  • Advance of Russian troops on Kashan and Tehran.
  • Situation at Kermanshah between August and November 1915.
  • Dismissal of Swedish Commandment of Gendarmerie.
  • Persian Gendarmerie.
  • Arrest of the British Consul at Shiraz by Le Comité National pour la protection de l'Indépendance Persane in November 1915.
  • German and Turkish interests.
  • United States Minister at Tehran's attitude.
  • 'Report on the seizure of the Shiraz Colony' (ff 130-132).
  • Terms proposed by Khans for release of British prisoners at Shiraz.
  • Situation in Bushire.
  • British Consulate at Bunder Abbas moved to Kerman.
  • Kerman branch of Imperial Bank of Persia reported to have been looted.
  • Russian operations on the Caucasian and Persian fronts.
  • Report of Vice Consul on the evacuation of Hamadan.
  • Prisoners at Bushire and Shiraz.
  • Intercepted letter from Wilhelm Wassmuss to Helmuth Listemann, regarding British prisoners at Bushire.
  • Events in the provinces.
  • Capture of Turkish Ambassador at Tehran by the Russians.

The volume’s principal correspondents are: Charles Marling, British Minister at Tehran; Esme Howard, British Ambassador to Sweden; Bertie of Thame, British Ambassador to Italy; Mohtashem-es-Sultaneh, Persian Commissioner on the Turco-Persian Frontier; Alfred Hamilton Grant, Foreign Secretary to the Government of India; Percy Cox, 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 Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; Arthur Prescott Trevor, Deputy 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 Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; British Consuls at Yazd, Kerman (C T Ducat), Sistan and Kain (Francis Beville Pridaux), Batoum (P Stevens), Hamadan (N Patrick Cowan), Shiraz (William Frederick Trevors O'Connor) ; American Minister at Tehran; Arthur Hirtzel, 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. ; Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Shaikh Hussein of Chahkutah; Imperial Bank of Persia.

There is a document in French, an ultimatum addressed to the British Consul at Shiraz by Le Comité National pour la protection de l'Indépendance Persane. There are newspaper extracts, from Jam-e Jam', Tazineh, Tiflisky Listok, and Hayat.

Extent and format
1 volume (175 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 175; 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 3516/1914 Pt 18 'German War: Persia; general situation - 1916' [‎9v] (27/368), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/493, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044734590.0x00001c> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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