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Ext 1133/47 'Foreign Office print: Persian Frontiers (with map)' [‎4r] (7/30)

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The record is made up of 1 file (11 folios). It was created in 31 Jan 1947 - March 1954. 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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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNI£ MAJE
CONFIDENTIAL
(17188)
El0136/4029/34
S GOVERNMENT
PERSIA
January 31, 1947
Section 1
vj-opy bo. 245
^<n'
PERSIAN FRONTIERS
[With Maps] L_
Summary
1. Introduction. —Persia, which was
formerly expansive herself at times, has
been herself enclosed by other expansive
Powers during the last century and a half.
Nevertheless, her existing frontiers now
seem to be stabilised. After the entry of
British and Soviet troops into Persia in
August, 1941, Great Britain, the Soviet
Union and Persia signed a treaty (29th
January, 1942) whereby the first two
Powers recognised the integrity and inde
pendence of Persia. The Declaration of
Tehran (1st December, 1943) by the three
great Allied leaders constituted a further
guarantee of Persia’s frontiers and inde
pendence (paras. 1-2).
2. Turkey .—The Turco-Persian frontier,
after many infringements and modifica
tions and several fruitless attempts at
delimitation, was finally demarcated by
an international commission in 1913-14.
Turkey’s loss of Mesopotamia as a result
of her defeat in the first Great War led to
no more than the northern part of this
frontier remaining as the border between
her and Persia (paras. 3-17).
3. Iraq .—The frontier of Iraq with
Persia was inherited from the Ottoman
Empire. Persia recognised Iraq as an
independent state in 1929, but a dispute
over the Shaft al-Arab portion of the
frontier persisted until 1937 (paras. 18-24).
4. The U.S.S.R .—In Transcaucasia and
Azarbaijan the Russo-Persian treaties of
Gulistan (1813) and Turkmanchai (1828)
left Russia in possession not only of all
territory to the north of the Aras, but also
of some districts bordering on the Caspian
Sea to the south of that river. Only a very
slight modification of this frontier was
afterwards made. East of the Caspian, the
western half of the existing frontier was
defined in 1881 and was subsequently
demarcated. Slight modifications were
made in 1893, when the remaining part of
the frontier was defined. By the Perso-
Soviet treaty of 1921 the 1881 frontier was
reaffirmed, except for an adjustment in
favour of Persia, but this territory does not
appear to have been hai2l^l J?4?nd
demarcation has yet to be completed
(paras. 25-44).
5. Afghanistan .—In the XIXth century
Herat and Sistan were bones of contention
between Persia and Afghanistan. Largely
through the intervention and mediation of
Great Britain, Persian claims to Herat
were withdrawn. British mediation was
likewise responsible for the settlement of
the Sistan controversy; in 1903-05 the
MacMahon Mission defined and demar
cated the frontier in this region. In 1935
a Turkish arbitrator settled a further
Perso-Afghan boundary dispute and de
marcated the rest of the frontier between
the two Powers (paras. 45-53).
6. Baluchistan .—Persian territorial pre
tensions led to continual encroachment in
Baluchistan in the middle and latter half
of the NJIXth century. The frontier with
British India was partly defined in 1871
and mortf fully in 1896, when some demar
cation was also carried out (paras. 54-60).
7. Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .—A conflict of views
between (*£fcat Britain and Persia persists
in regard to certain islands in the Persian
Gulf, notably the Bahrein islands. Persia
held the Bahrein islands in Sasanian times
and again, but only intermittently, from
1602 to 1783; in the latter year she was
finally dispossessed by Arabs. Persian and
Turkish claims to Bahrein have been made
on numerous occasions to Great Britain,
but have always been rejected. The islands
of Tamb, Abu Musa, Sirri and others are
also in dispute: Great Britain has never
recognised Persian claims to these islands,
but has acquiesced in Persian control of
Sirri since 1887 (paras. 61-78).
PERSIAN FRONTIERS
Introduction
1. Persia, which was a very expansive
country from time to time in the past, has,
during the last century and a half, been
herself enclosed by other expansive Powers.
Nevertheless, her existing frontiers now
86-12
B

About this item

Content

This file consists of a letter, reports, notes and maps regarding Persia’s frontiers. The Research Department of the Foreign Office produced a report, dated 31 January 1947, covering each frontier in turn. Two maps are included with the report.

Extent and format
1 file (11 folios)
Arrangement

The file's contents are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 13; 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.

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English in Latin script
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Ext 1133/47 'Foreign Office print: Persian Frontiers (with map)' [‎4r] (7/30), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1201, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100059806291.0x000008> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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