"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٤‎٥] (١٧٨٢/٢٨٨)

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joined refused to put to sea. The Shaikh of Bushehr, whom Karim
Khan carlj in J 774 had placed in charge of the negotiations on his part,
consequently found hiitiself unable to effect any settlement. Shortly
befoie this, overtures for naval co-operation had been made on behalf of
Karim Khan both to the British and to the Turks; but the British had
refused to entertain them, and the Turks, though they made fair promises,
were careful to do nothing:.
O
General affairs and British interests during the siege and occupa
tion of Basrah by the Persians, 1775-1779.
At more than one time since the end of 1773 a war between Persia Cause of w*r
and Turkey had been considered imminent; and in March 1775 hosti- iSand
lities were begun by Karim Khan, who sent his brother Sadiq Khan in Turkey -
command of a large force against Basrah. The motives of the Vakil in
declaring war cannot be stated with certainty. The reason which he
himself alleged was the ill-treatment by the Turkish Government of
Persian pilgrims to the Shi'ah shrines in 'Iraq ; but he had also recent
defeats by the Turks in Kurdistan to avenge, and he may have been
influenced besides by a not unnatural desire to extend the frontiers of Persia.
Theie aie also indications of a belief on his part that possession of
Basrah would enable him to reduce 'Oman, of which the trade was
largely with that port, to submission, and to defeat a policy which the
British Agent and Council at Basrah had lately adopted of boycotting
the I ersian Ports and endeavouring to attract all trade to Basrah.
Basrah was invested by the Persians on the 7th of April 1775 and Conduct of
held out gallantly under Sulaiman Agha, the Turkish Mutasallim, until Tndk Cnm.
the 10th of April 1776, when it surrendered. The conduct of Mr. Moore repre-
ii- . . . . _ sentatives and
ana nis associates in connection with the siege, for which event public of the Imam
opinion at Basrah seemed to hold them responsible, was as ill- witl^refereiic#
considered and erratic as might have been expected from their former war
„ , , between the
ueatment or Ivanm Khan They at first gave out that their attitude Persians and
would be strictly neutral, and this would no doubt have been a proper tlieTuik: '-
line of policy to follow ; but no sooner did a Ka'ab fleet appear in the
river to assist the Persian army than they sent cruisers to attaek them;
and for a few days they supported the defence so energetically that the
Mutasallim was encouraged to defy the Persians with what afterwards
appeared to have been unnecessary vehemeoce. On the approach of the