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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [139r] (282/617)
The record is made up of 2 volumes (301 folios). It was created in 22 Jun 1896-3 Mar 1900. 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. .
Transcription
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i£
of a certai^ measuTof^ 0 ™ Tnd tt ’ 1 t® intro<3uction
faXTelt ^XTf ? ^ S ° Utl1 ’ w^XStlrbfaS
run the risk of IhrSadr-i-AzaS^wh 11 ^v™ 30 ”” in . liicated > w e
the Eegie Debt, and of driving him and" the SwJ 0 ^ een S °j e witl1 us al30ut
increasing with age, into som/com^g "
place since theseVor^ww^writtem thG pnnci P al clian g es which have taken
now dead? ld He^as^een^cceedndIby^his^cond^on Moz^d^ ^ "
proved an amiable but very weak ruW Tho *’ ^ I - ozatfer "^ _ . dln » w ^o has
all-powerful la * IJSSSS &!$&?£»% fi**
e nrned to office, hut with a shadow of his former power. All real power is
at present m the hands of the Shah’s irresponsible advisers, notably hk doctor
the Hakim-ul- Mulk. There is practically no Government. Someffi the troops
ve disbanded themselves and the rest are unpaid. The pay of the Civil
establishments is also m serious arrears. The finances, which were in disorder
m 1895, are m worse disorder now. The Sadr-i-Azam has borrowed three
hundred thousand pounds (£300,000) from the Russian Bank in Tehran, hut
all attempts at raising a substantial loan have broken down; the revenues,
except from customs, are coming in very slowly; and at this moment the one hope
of getting any considerable sum of money lies in the sale of the Provincial
Governorships to the highest bidder. This destructive system, abolished by the
new Shah when he came to the throne, has been revived by the Sadr-i-Azam.
And it is said that this year’s auction is to be on a very large scale indeed.
There is much murmuring throughout the country at the state of things in
Tehran, and the discontent is increased by the high price of food, which has led
here and there. to some serious rioting. Altogether the internal condition of
Persia is very unsatisfactory.
The Russians meanwhile have not been inactive. To the north a road
from Enzeli to Tehran, which had but little progress before the visit of General
Kuropatkin to Persia in 1895, has since then been vigorously pushed on, and
it is now nearly ready for wheel traffic throughout its length. This is a most im
portant advantage to Russia, both from a commercial and from a military point
of view r . Even now two-thirds of the imported goods sold in Tehran arc
Russian. In the north-west Russia has pushed forward her railway towards
Kars, and has surveyed a line from Kars to the Tabriz frontier, while within
Azerbaijan there has been a remarkable propaganda among the Nestorian
Christians, some thousands of whom have been won over to the orthodox
Church, thereby obtaining Russian protection, and opening the door to Russian
interference. To the north-east the Russians have constructed a good cart-
road from Asterabad to the IMeshed frontier, and by energetically encouraging
their trade in Khorassan they have secured a commanding position in this
valuable market. Thev have also made use of the outbreak of plague in
India to push down “'Sanitary” posts along the Afghan border, in the
direction of Seistan, where also they are trying to introduce their trade and
where they are shortly to have a Consul. Even in the centre of Persia, as far-
south as Ispahan, the Russians have shown fresh activity by establishing there
a Consulate on a considerable scale of expenditure ^ and our Consul reports that
the sale of Russian goods has already begun to increase. I will not go into
i • t i a- nm’sistent rumours which reach me as to Russian
tue sent; UA , ~
detail here, or enumerate the perastent rumours^ .^ from the facts j
haXuentionedTha’t the Russians haVe been working consistently, and not
without effect, to push their trade and to enhance their political influence in
natural that their operations, and the unsatisfactory state of
should have had a depressing effect upon British trade.
internal affairs,
About this item
- Content
The volumes contain papers relating to Persia [Iran], including Seistan, and the tract of land south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary between Nushki and Persia, which had become British territory following the demarcation of the Afghan-Baluch border.
The papers largely consist of printed copies of correspondence between the Governor General of India in Council (Government of India Foreign Department) and the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), and enclosed correspondence and papers.
Letters from the Governor General of India in Council to the Secretary of State for India include:
- Number 170, 16 September 1896, relating to the opening up of a trade route between Nushki and the Persian frontier, crossing the tract of British territory south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary, and the protection of the newly-demarcated frontier, with enclosed memorandum by Captain Arthur Henry McMahon, British Commissioner, Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, containing his proposals for the management and administration of the tract and for the protection of the trade route
- Number 58, 31 March 1898, concerning the trade route between Baluchistan and Persia, including the suggestion that Consular Agents should be appointed at central points along it between Seistan and Meshed, with enclosures including a report by Lieutenant Frank Webb-Ware, Political Assistant at Chagai, on his visit to Seistan at the beginning of 1896, and the measures introduced for the development of trade between Baluchistan and Persia (which includes a blueprint map, Mss Eur F111/350, f 33)
- Number 163, 15 September 1898, forwarding copies of papers regarding the situation in Makran and Panjgur, following recent ‘disturbances’ in Makran.
The file also includes:
- Copies of Government of India Foreign Department papers numbered 40-58 relating to the Kerman Consulate and British interests in Southern Persia, including correspondence between the Government of India Foreign Department and the Secretary of State for India
- A letter from the Secretary of State for India to the Governor General of India in Council, with enclosed despatch from Sir (Henry) Mortimer Durand, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Foreign Office, dated 12 February 1899, in which he gives his opinion on suggestions for the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia (this includes a map titled ‘Skeleton Map of Telegraph Lines in Persia.’ Mss Eur F111/350, f 187)
- A letter from Durand to the Secretary to the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 24 February 1899, enclosing a copy of his memorandum (with appendices) drawn up in 1895 on the situation in Persia, and the steps he proposed should be taken to improve the British position there
- Copies of a draft despatch from the Governor General of India in Council, 2 September 1899, regarding relations between Great Britain and Persia, including improving the British Political and Consular service in Persia, and the extent of the share of responsibility for Persia that should be devolved upon the Government of India, followed by printed comments upon the draft
- Copies of a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, on Seistan, dated 4 September 1899, including the question of a railway connection between India and Seistan
- Handwritten pencil notes by Curzon relating to Persia and the ‘Seistan Question’.
In addition to the two maps noted above, the file also includes the following maps: map of the area south of the border between Afghanistan and Baluchistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 300); map of the area west of the border between Persia and Afghanistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 301); and ‘Route Plan of Robat Nala’ (Mss Eur F111/350, f 302).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes (301 folios)
- Arrangement
Most of volume A is arranged in reverse chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume (from folios 6 to 76); volume B is arranged is rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-150) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 151-304); 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 View the complete information for this record
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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [139r] (282/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x000053> [accessed 28 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/350
- Title
- ‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’
- Pages
- front , back , spine, edge , head , tail, front-i, 2r:32v, 34r:62v, 64r:84r, 86r, 89r:93v, 96r:96v, 99v:100v, 101v:128v, 129v:149v, back-i, front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 152r:186v, 188r:189r, 190r:299v, 303r:304v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence