Factory Records, Persia, Vol 22, Pt 3

Content

This volume contains letters sent to and from the East India Company Factory An East India Company trading post. at Bussorah [Basra] between 8 October 1787 and 20 July 1790, and covers the following:

• The entry of Mustapha Aga [Musṭafā Āqā] as the new Mussaleem During the eighteenth century this was the third most powerful official in Ottoman Iraq (after the Pasha and the Kiya). The title was given specifically to the Governor of Basra. [ Mutasallim During the eighteenth century this was the third most powerful official in Ottoman Iraq (after the Pasha and the Kiya). The title was given specifically to the Governor of Basra. ]
• The return of Shaik Swiney [Shaikh Thuwaynī bin ‘Abdullāh al-Sa‘dūn] and Hodjee Soliman Bey [Ḥādjī Sulaymān Bey al-Shāwī] with a large body of Montifick [Muntafiq] and Benuchalid [Banū Khālid]
• The appointment of Harford Jones Brydges as a factor to join the Resident and Council at Bussorah
• The re-appointment, by the Ottoman Government, of Shaik Swiney as Shaik of the Montifick Arabs
• The ‘channels of conveyance’ for packets from Constantinople [Istanbul] and Aleppo to London
• The simultaneous wars of the Ottoman Empire against Russia (1787-92) and Germany [Austria] (1788-91)
• The correspondence of the Resident, Samuel Manesty with George Baldwin, Consul in Alexandria
• The conduct of Shaik Nasir [Shaikh Naṣir bin Madhkūr] towards the English at Bushire [Bushehr]
• The dispatches of the Governor General and Sir Archibald Campbell to the Secretary of War
• The victory of Mhadjee Scindia [Mahadji Sindhia] against Myrza Ismael Beg [ Mīrzā A title of honour originally applied to princes, later to military leaders, and later still to secretaries, chieftains, and other ‘gentlemen’. Ismā’īl Beg Hamadānī]
• The grant of a ‘Calaat’ [ khal’at , robe of honour] by Jaafer Khan [Ja’far Khān Zand] to the Resident
• A Farman issued by ‘Jaafer the son of Mohammed Sadek’ [Ja’far son of Muḥammad Ṣādiq Khān Zand]
• A conspiracy involving Mustapha Akau [Musṭafā Āqā], Shaik Swiney, and the Shaik of the Chaub [Banū Ka’b]
• The struggle for power between Jaafer Khan and Mohammed Khan Cajar [Āqā Muḥammad Khān Qājār]
• The preparations of the Musaleem and Shaik Swiney against the Bacha [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā]
• The authorisation of the Resident by the Bacha to negotiate a peace with the Musaleem
• The proclamation of Ismael Aga [Isma’īl Āqā] as Musaleem of Bussorah and the flight of Mustapha Aga
• The murder of Jaafer Khan by Sceid Morad Khan [Ṣayd Murād Khān Zand] and Ally Kooli Khan [Ḥadjī ‘Alī Qulī Khān Kazirūnī], Shaik Nasir’s protection of prince Lutf Ally Khan [Luṭf ‘Alī Khān Zand], and the possibility that Mohammed Khan Khajar might establish ‘compleat sovereignty’ over the Kingdom of Persia
• The possibility of moving the factory An East India Company trading post. from Bussorah to Grain [Kuwait], under the rule of Shaik Abdullah Ibn Subbah [Shaikh ‘Abd Allāh I bin Ṣabāḥ] of the Benichalid [Banū Khālid] Tribe
• The demand from the Bacha to Shaik Abdullah that he surrender the former Musaleem Mustafa Aga
• The departure of Monsieur Moustier, the French agent resident in Bussorah for Bagdad [Baghdad, also spelt Bagdat in the volume]
• The displacement of Shaik Swiney by Shaik Ahmood Ibn Tamar [Shaikh Ḥammūd bin Thāmir al-Sa‘dūn], the appointment of Ally Beg as the new Musaleem of Bussora, and the Bacha’s departure for Bagdad
• The return of Lutf Ally Khan to Scherauze [Shiraz] and the punishment of his father’s murderers
• The death of Shaik Nassir and succession of his son Shaik Nesir [Shaikh Naṣr I bin Nāṣir Āl-Madhkūr]
• The correspondence of the Resident with Soliman the Bacha of Bagdad and his Kia A deputy or lieutenant of the governor in Ottoman Iraq, with additional responsibilities as a high-ranking provincial judge. [Kīyā]
• The correspondence of the Resident with Abdullah ibn Subbah, Shaik of Grain regarding Mustafa Aga
• The victory of Shaik Ahmood over Shaik Swiney and Mustafa Aga at Seffwan [Safwan], the dispersal of the latter’s supporters to Persia and Muscat, and Shaik Swiney’s asylum with Shaik Gathban [Shaikh Ghaḍbān al-Ka’bī]
• The victory of Mahommed Khan against Lutf Ally Khan and the siege of Schyras
• The counter-attack by Lutf Ally Khan, his breaking of the siege, and Mahommed Khan’s retreat
• The challenges of conveying the package entrusted to Lieutenant John Taylor and Adam Blackader
• The attack by Tippoo Sultan [Tipū Sulṭān] on the Rajah of Travancorre [Maharaja of Travancore]
• The departure of Shaik Swiney from Shaik Gathban to Shaik Abdullah, and on to the Whahab [Wahhabī] 'Tribe'.

Extent and format

1 volume (202 folios)

It is part of

Factory Records, Persia, Vol 22, Pts 1-4

1649 images

Ref: IOR/G/29/22

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Archival item

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/G/29/22/3

History of this record

Date(s)

8 Oct 1787-20 Jul 1790 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Maratha-Mysore War (1785-1787)

People & organisations

Maratha EmpireJa‘far Khān ZandMuḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Tamīmīal-‘Ubayd (Tribe)

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Factory Records, Persia, Vol 22, Pt 3, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/G/29/22/3, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100123714648.0x000002> [accessed 29 July 2026]

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