"تاريخ الحرب الكبرى استنادًا إلى وثائق رسمية: العمليات في بلاد فارس ١٩١٤-١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎٣‎١] (٥٦٦/٦٧)

34
OPERATIONS IN PERSIA
control was entirely lacking. The local provincial councils
also Droved unequal to their task and neither they nor the
central assembly were able to obtain the money required to
enable them to enforce their authonty.
Anglo- It was in this critical year (1907), when Persia was m special
Russian 0 f iudicious and disinterested advice, that Great Britain,
Convention
1007 by signing the Anglo-Russian Convention lost the populanty
and influence which she, more than any other foreign nation,
enioved in Persia. For over three hundred years, except
for a few short interludes, British intercourse with Persia had
been uniformly of a most friendly character. Since the days
of the Sherley brothers, many British soldiers, merchants
and diplomatists had been honoured in Persia for their dis
tinguished service in the country. British naval and military
forces had cleared the shores of the Persian Gulf of the invading
Portuguese and the sea of marauding Arabs, and British officers
had fought on the side of Persia against Turks, rebellions
subject-tribes and Russians. Moreover, for the^ services she
rendered, Great Britain had only asked for the right to trade,
and her innocence of aggressive intention had been confirmed
by her generous conduct after the one small war between the
two countries. Ever since then, Persia had come to rely on
Great Britain as her main stand-by against Russia, while the
popular respect and admiration for the British had been much
enhanced by the support and sympathy which they had afforded
the recent constitutional movement.
Of the causes which led Great Britain to sign this con
vention and which have been given in his book “ Twenty-five
Years ” by Lord Grey, the following appear the most important.
He says that the cardinal object was to secure ourselves
against further Russian advances in the direction of the
Indian frontier and against further interference with onr
interests which concerned India. Not only had Russian action
brought us at times to the verge of war, but it obliged the
Government of India to incur expenditure on defence which
they desired to utilise on other growing needs of the country.
To India an independent Persia* offered the advantage of a
buffer state, but her internal condition so attracted and
invited foreign intervention as to become at any time the
cause of conflict, more especially as it had become the p°fi c ^
of Persia to play off one Government against the other,
seemed evident to the British Government that nothing short
* The Convention dealt also with Afghanistan and Tibet, but here we are
only considering its relation to Persia.
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