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File 1110/1916 Pt 3 'German War: Persia' [‎57v] (119/354)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (173 folios). It was created in 1916. It was written in English. 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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The tribesmen are particularly hardy, and of fighting stock: revengeful
and predatory. In 1909 at the invitation of a Mulla in Bushire they poured
into that port, terrorised it for some days, and carried off considerable plunder
from the bazaars: they escaped all punishment.
Unlike the other districts of the Bushire littoral, they never during the
past 40 years seem to have been under any real Control by the ruling family,
in their case the Khans of Tangistan, who were Zabits on behalf of the Persian
Government.
Prom 1890 onwards, more especially, the two last Zabits of this family
ruled so unwisely that they lost the adherence of the tribesmen, and raised up
enemies for themselves in the village headmen. The latter ceased to pay
revenue, were not brought to book, gradually threw off their allegiance,
and became independent of the Khans. Village warred against. village, and
headmen were put up to kill off other headmen. This coincided with a
period when the arms trade began to make its appearance ; and a few years
later the Blegian regime over the Customs, and the Tariff, made certain
Tangistani ports, particularly Dilwar, a great smuggling depot. . Village head
men became wealthy through the trade in prohibited articles with the
interior: they obtained large supplies of rifles and ammunition, and their men
were well armed, and have been until recently (when the war with Germany,
and the Maskat arms warehouse arrangement cut off most means of supply).
The Persian Governors of the Ports and the Central Government allowed
the state of Tangistan to go to rack and ruin : provided a certain sum was
paid as farm to Tehran, and to the Governor by the Zabit, they did not
interfere. The Bushire Government was left without a force : its guns were
not provided with sufficient ammunition. When the Governor did find the
revenue in arrears, or his own pocket empty, and took out a single gun and a
small number of riflemen with the intention of punishing Tangistan, he was
soon turned from his purpose by being bought off by some guilty headmen, or,
Persian fashion, by the women throwing themselves across the gun, and
asking pardon. As often as not, he played one Khan, or one Khadkhuda off
against the other : the present Governor, Darya Begi, is largely to blame for
this procedure. In the end, the Governors ceased attempting to levy the
revenue at all, particularly after the regular salary was assigned them, and
they no longer had to worry about the sum for which the Provincial Govern
ment was farmed. The fact that Tangistan was nominally part of the Gov
ernment of Pars, which is far removed from all knowledge of the situation
there, and not under the Government of Bushire and the Ports, only served
to diminish Government authority in the district.
In 1902 Nizam-us-Sultaneh, then Governor of the Ports, managed to take
Zair Khidar, the present rebel chief, and confined him as a prisoner at
Bushire: but he soon escaped. In 1903 this man, a mere Kadkhuda (or
village headman) of Baghak led a revolt against the Khan of Tangistan, and,
supported by Darya Begi, soon obtained the upper hand. The rest of the
headmen did not support the Khan, who was pushed aside, and ignored hence
forth. In 1905 Zair Khidar was placed in charge of the district, and
entrusted with the duty of collecting and paying in the revenue. Payment of
the revenue has entirely ceased now for the past six years : whatever he has
been able to extract for himself from the headmen, who consider themselves
his equals, has been due to his being the strongest, and wealthiest among them.
The income derived from profitable sales of smuggled arms, ammunition and
tea through the port of ; Dilwar made him rich enough to leave the others to
their own devices.
Prom 1907 to 1912 Zair Khidar personally was at hitter feud with his
present ally Shaikh Hussain of Chahkutah, a small district some 10 miles
from Bushire on the Shiraz road : raids on each other’s territory were constantly
taking place. ? , .
As to the relations between him and his followers, on the one hand, and
the Persian Government representatives in Bushire and the British Govern
ment, on the other. In 1909 the tribesmen en masse seized Bushire, im
prisoned the Governor and looted the bazaar, being turned out only by a

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, on miscellaneous topics relating to Persia, April to June 1916.

The discussion in the volume includes the following topics:

  • Decoration for the Persian Foreign Minister and Farman Farma for his military support of the British
  • Turkish advance and defeat on Kermanshah road
  • the Russian defeat and withdrawal towards Hamadan
  • the Russian advance on and defeat at Khanikin.

The volume contains correspondence between: 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. ; HBM Minister, Tehran; the Viceroy; and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, London.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (173 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 1110 (Persia) consists of three volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/590-592. The volumes are divided into three parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover 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.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 1110/1916 Pt 3 'German War: Persia' [‎57v] (119/354), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/592, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100055634097.0x000078> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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