Iran

Iran was previously known as Persia. This page also includes the Persian Gulf and surrounding areas.

Also see

• Persian War 1856-57
• Norperforce
• South Persia Rifles
• Post and Telegraphs Department for information about the Indo-European Telegraph
• Polish Refugees in India 1942-1948. The Polish refugees from Russia first came to Iran. Many subsequently went to India.

FIBIS resources

• FIBIS database: Percy-Smith/Bullock papers Graves and Monuments contains some entries from the Bushire Armenian Church , the source given as "Handwritten C H A Bagshawe Bushire Sept 1926". In particular entries appear in Inscriptions Volume 2 but it is not known if there are additional entries in other volumes.

Records

• See FIBIS resources above
• See General Register Office for births, marriages and deaths.
• Society of Genealogists, London.
  • The Society of Genealogists’ now archived page Geographical Resources Overseas: Iran states that it has records for Iran: Teheran: Akbarabad Prot Cemetery, British B 1811-1969
  • A search for Iran in the Society of Genealogists' Catalogue includes the following entry: Persian Gulf (& surrounds) : MIs: An Indian miscellany, consisting of genealogical & biographical notes & lists of monumental inscriptions by H Bullock and H K Percy-Smith 1941-44
• “Burials and Memorials of the British in Persia” by Denis Wright from the journal Iran published by the British Institute of Persian Studies Vol. 36, (1998) pp. 165-173, Vol. 37, (1999), pp. 173-174, Vol. 39, (2001), pp. 293-298

The journal Iran is available at the British Library. These articles may also be read in full through the website JSTOR, including through the free access provisions, see Miscellaneous tips-Access some articles in the JSTOR subscription website for free

• The LDS Library catalogue has the following entry: Church of England in Iran. Anglican Chaplaincy (Julfa) Baptisms, 1875-1879 Marriages, 1877 Film 574493 Item 2. The original records are now in the London Metropolitan Archives DL/E/E/056/MS11215A (previously in the Guildhall) and are records from the Mission Chapel, Julfa. The chapel appears to have been attached to the Church Missionary Society.

There are also some records for Iran in the "World Miscellaneous" records on FamilySearch

• India Office Records at the British Library. Also refer Qatar Digital Library, below.
  • Iran: Sources in the India Office Records
  • Factory Records: Persia and the Persian Gulf IOR/G/29 1620-1822
  • Records of the British Residency and Agencies in the Persian Gulf IOR/R/15 1763-1951.
  • Indo-European Telegraph Department IOR/L/PWD/7 1865-1931
  • Finding Aid:British Colonial Policy and Intelligence Files on Asia and the Middle East, c. 1880-1950 IDC Publishers. Original records held in the India Office Records. Includes a section on Iran.

FIBIS resources

• "John Isaacson of Exning, Persia and India" by Tony Fuller and Jenny Law FIBIS Journal Number 3 (Spring 2000). FIBIS members may read this article online.

John Isaacson, who at the time was described as a "Sergeant, RE", arrived in Persia on 11 November 1863 and was posted to the Persian section of the IETD. He died in Bushire in 1892.

External links

• Qatar Digital Library has content from the India Office Records at the British Library
• Bushehr (Bushire) Wikipedia
• Indo-European Telegraph Department in Iran Encyclopaedia Iranica. While the IETD was an autonomous department for much of its existence, between February 1888 and April 1893, it was under direct auspices of the Director General of Indian Telegraphs. The IETD was dissolved in March 1931. There was significant intermarriage with Iranian Armenians.
  • "Scientific Instrument with a Story to Tell" by John Packer Bulletin of the Scientific Instruments Society No. 92 (2007), pages 17-18. now an archived webpage.
• "The Raj Reconsidered: British India’s Informal Empire and Spheres of Influence in Asia and Africa" by James Onley Asian Affairs Volume XL, no. I, March 2009 original pdf
• Britain and the Gulf Shaikhdoms, 1820 - 1971: The Politics of Protection by James Onley 2009 Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), Qatar. socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk
• Armenian Graves in Bushire Chater Genealogy
• "Former British Ambassador to Oman discusses Oman during World War One" 24th January 2016 Oman GBnews. In 1913 a detachment of British Indian troops was for the first time deployed to Muscat. The 1920s were to be a decade in which British India became progressively more directly involved in Omani affairs.
• Bibliography of books by British Travelers To Persia iranicaonline.org

Maps

• 1875 Map of Central Asia: Left side and 1875 Map of Central Asia: Right side. From England and Russia in the East by Major-Gen. Sir Henry Rawlinson 1875 Archive.org. See Historical bools online, below.
• 1928 Map of Persia and Afghanistan Qatar Digital Library
• Also see below Gazetteer by Lorimer

Historical books online

Also see Gazetteers - Persian Gulf, Oman And Central Arabia

• The voyages and travells of the ambassadors sent by Frederick, Duke of Holstein, to the great Duke of Muscovy and the King of Persia. : Begun in the year M. DC. XXXIII. and finish'd in M. DC. XXXIX. Containing a compleat history of Muscovy, Tartary, Persia, and other adjacent countries. With several publick transactions reaching near the present times; in VII books. Whereto are added the Travels of John Albert de Mandelslo (a gentleman belonging to the Embassay) from Persia, into the East-Indies ... in III books .. by Adam Olearius, 1669. Part 2: The Travels of John Albert de Mandelslo page 317. Archive.org.
• A new account of East-India and Persia : : in eight letters being nine years travels, begun 1672 and finished 1681 by John Fryer 1698 London. Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.

A later edition, edited, with notes and an introduction, by William Crooke, formerly of the Bengal Civil Service. in three volumes, printed for the Hakluyt Society, (Second Series, 2/19, 2/20 and 2/39) 1909-1915. Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 Pdf downloads, Digital Library of India, with additional digital files available. Archive.org mirror versions: Volume 1, Volume II, Volume III.

• "Gombroon" or Bunder-abass, the chief port for merchandize in the Gulph of Persia page 215 An account of the trade in India: containing rules for good government in trade, price courants, and tables: with descriptions of Fort St. George, Acheen, Malacca, Condore, Canton, Anjengo, Muskat, Gombroon, Surat, Goa, Carwar, Telichery, Panola, Calicut, the Cape of Good-Hope, and St. Helena... To which is added, An Account of the Management of the Dutch in their Affairs in India by Charles Lockyer 1711 Archive.org. There is also a brief mention in the section on " Management of the Dutch"
• Travels Into Muscovy, Persia, and Part of the East Indies by M. Cornelius Le Bruyn 1737 Volume 1, Volume 2 Archive.org
• "Persia" page 68 The New Universal Traveller: Containing a Full and Distinct Account of All the Empires, Kingdoms, and States, in the Known World by J Carver 1779 Google Books.
• ‪Travels from India to England‬, comprehending a visit to the Burman Empire and a journey through Persia, Asia Minor, European Turkey etc in the year 1825-26 by James Edward Alexander, Lieut, late HM’s 13th Light Dragoons. 1827 Google Books
  • With an Appendix "Summary of the causes and events of the existing War between Russia and Persia 1826-27" , page 269
• Sketches of Persia, from the Journals of a Traveller in the East [by Sir John Malcolm] 1827. Volume I, Volume II. Archive.org.
• An historical and descriptive account of Persia, from the earliest ages to the present time; with a detailed view of its resources, government, population, natural history, and the character of its inhabitants, particularly of the wandering tribes; including a description of Afghanistan and Beloochistan by James B Fraser 1834 Archive.org
• Travels into Bokhara; being the account of a journey from India to Cabool, Tartary, and Persia; also, Narrative of a voyage on the Indus, from the sea to Lahore, with presents from the king of Great Britain; performed under the orders of the supreme government of India, in the years 1831, 1832, and 1833 by Lieutenant Alexander Burnes 1834 Volume I, Volume II, Volume III Archive.org
• Journey to the North of India: Overland from England, Through Russia, Persia, and Affghaunistan by Lieut. Arthur Conolly 1834. 2nd edition revised 1838 Volume I 1834, Volume II 1834; Volume I, 1838, Volume II 1838 Google Books
• "Notes on Central Asia" page 267 The Bengal and Agra Annual Guide and Gazetteer for 1842 Volume II Google Books
• Selections from the Records of the Bombay Government. Google Books
  • No XXIV New Series: Historical And Other Information, Connected With The Province Of Oman, Muskat, Bahrein, And Other Places In The Persian Gulf. Etc. Includes Measures Adopted By The British Government For The Suppression Of The Slave Trade In The Persian Gulf 1856
  • No XLIX New Series: A History: Arabia Felix Or Yemen, From The Commencement Of The Christian Era To The Present Time; Including An Account Of The British Settlement Of Aden 1859
• From Bombay to Bushire, and Bussora; including an Account of the Present State of Persia and Notes on the Persian War by William Ashton Shepherd 1857 Google Books
• Central Asia Part IV: A contribution towards the better knowledge of the topography, ethnology, resources, & history of Persia complied (for political and military reference) by C.M. MacGregor. 1871Archive.org.

Central Asia. Part V. A contribution towards the better knowledge of the History, Ethnography, Topography, and resources of part of Asiatic Turkey and Caucasia compiled by Lieutenant-Colonel C M Macgregor 1872. Qatar Digital Library.

• Military Report on South-West Persia, Including the Provinces of Khuzistan (Arabistan), Luristan, and Part of Fars by Major and Bt. Lieut-Col. Mark S. Bell, V.C., R.E. 1885. Qatar Digital Library, ref: V 8685. Prepared in the Intelligence Branch of the Quarter Master General's Department in India.
• Routes. Compiled in the Intelligence Branch of the Quarter-Master General's Department in India.
  • Routes in Persia 1887 Archive.org. A preliminary volume, based in part on Routes for Asia, Section IV by Macgregor
    • "Telegraph Routes in Persia", page 707
  • Routes in Persia, Section I 1898. Chiefly compiled by Captain E F H McSwiney. Qatar Digital Library.
  • Routes in Persia. Section II. Compiled by Captain J. Vans Agnew, 3rd Madras Lancers 1895. Qatar Digital Library.
  • Routes in Persia. Section III 1898. Compiled under the superintendence of Captain E F H McSwiney. Qatar Digital Library.
  • Routes in Arabia 1915. Qatar Digital Library. From British Library IOR/L/MIL/17/16/3. This volume contains descriptions of the 'more important of the known routes in Arabia proper'. Produced by the General Staff in Simla, India.
• Parliamentary Papers
  • [Foreign Office:] Correspondence relating to Persia and Affghanistan 1839 (524 pages) Contents Google Books
  • Correspondence relating to Persia: Presented to both Houses of Parliament 1841 Google Books
  • Correspondence respecting relations with Persia. Presented to both Houses of Parliament 1857 1857 Archive.org
  • Further correspondence respecting the affairs of Persia. Presented to both Houses of Parliament April 1914 1914 Archive.org
• Personal narrative of military travel and adventure in Turkey and Persia by Robert Macdonald, ex-Sergeant Rifle Brigade, 1859 Google Books. He was appointed in 1836 to go to Persia, (one of a group of nine) and arrived back in England in February 1839.
• A Memoir of Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson by George Rawlinson 1898 Archive.org. Born 1810, he joined the Bombay Army in 1827. In 1833 he was sent to Persia (page 36), the start of a long association with this country. He was recalled to India in 1839 and in 1840 was appointed Political Agent in Western Afghanistan and was involved in the 1st Afghan War until the end of 1842. In October 1843 he was appointed “British Political Agent in Turkish Arabia” 1844-1849 and 1851-1855. He resumed an interest in Cuneiform Studies. (Also see Scholars or antiquarians)
  • "Notes on a March from Zohab… in the year 1836" by Major Rawlinson of the Bombay Army serving in Persia. Page 26 The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society: Volume 9 1839 Google Books
  • "Notes on a Journey from Tabriz, through Persian Kurdistan, to the Ruins of Takhti-Soleïman, and from Thence by Zenjan and Ṭarom, to Gílan, in October and November, 1838" and "With a Memoir on the Site of the Atropatenian Ecbatana" both by H C Rawlinson, Bombay Army, Major serving in Persia. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume 10 1840 Archive.org
  • Discussion on "Notes on the Direct Overland Telegraph to India" by Major-Gen Sir H C Rawlinson page 219 Proceedings of the Royal Geographic Society Volume V Session 1860-61 (this file also contains Volume VI) Google Books
  • "On Trade Routes between Turkestan and India" Report of a paper by Major General Sir H C Rawlinson. Page 10, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume 13 1868-1869
  • England and Russia in the East; a series of papers on the political and geographical condition of Central Asia by Major-General Sir Henry Rawlinson. Reprints of articles originally written 1849-1868 1st edition 1875, 2nd edition 1875 Archive.org. Includes 1875 Map of Central Asia: Left side, 1875 Map of Central Asia: Right side.
• Journal of a Diplomate's Three Years Residence in Persia by ‪Edward B. Eastwick , Late HM’s Chargé d’Affaires at the Court of Tehran 1864 Google Books ‪Volume I, Volume II The author was appointed to Persia in 1860
• Through Persia in disguise, with reminiscences of the Indian Mutiny by Colonel Charles E. Stewart, edited from his diaries by Basil Stewart. 1911 Archive.org
  • The India connection in 1866 page 85
• Eastern Persia: An Account of the Persian Boundary Commission 1870-71-72. Volume I. The Geography with Narratives by Majors St John, Lovett and Euan Smith 1876 Archive.org

Volume II. Zoology and Geology by W T Blanford. 1876 Archive.org

• Narrative of a journey through the province of Khorassan and on the N.W. Frontier of Afghanistan in 1875, by Colonel C.M. MacGregor. 1879. Volume I Hathi Trust Digital Library Pdf download Digital Library of India, Archive.org version; Volume II Hathi Trust Digital Library, Pdf download Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
• Through Asiatic Turkey. Narrative of a Journey from Bombay to the Bosphorus by Grattan Geary, Editor of The Times of India 1878 Volume I, Volume II Volume II, from page 90 only, but illustrations may be better, Another file, Volume II Archive.org, including books from the Digital Library of India Collection.
• In the Land of the Lion and Sun; or Modern Persia. Being Experiences of Life in Persia during a residence of Fifteen Years in various part of that country from 1866 to 1881 by C J Wills, MD, late one of the Medical Officers of Her Majesty’s Telegraph Department in Persia. 1883 edition, 1891 New Edition Archive.org.
• A ride to India across Persia and Baluchistan by Harry de Windt 1891 Archive.org
• Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan : including a Summer in the Upper Karun region and a visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Mrs Bishop (Isabella L Bird) 1891. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org
• A Year Amongst the Persians: impressions as to the life, character, and thought of the people of Persia, received during twelve month's residence in that country in the years 1887-8, by Edward Granville Browne 1893 Archive.org
• "The Telegraph Department in Persia" by CE Biddulph page 99 and "The Telegraph Department in Persia, an Explanation" by General A Houtum-Schindler page 321 The Asiatic Quarterly Review New Series Volume 3 January-April 1892 Archive.org
• The Letters Of Gertrude Bell published 1927. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Volume I contains a short section in respect of her time in Persia in 1892. (Volume II)
• Handbook for Travellers in Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Persia, etc. by Major-General Sir Charles Wilson 1895. Archive.org. Another file, pages all same colour Archive.org
• A varied life: a record of military and civil service, of sport and of travel in India, Central Asia and Persia 1849 -1902 by Gen. Sir Thomas Edward Gordon. 1906 Archive.org. Gordon was appointed Military Attache and Oriental Secretary to Her Majesty’s Legation at Tehran 1889 until late 1892, from page 242. He also returned from time to time in a business capacity.

Persia Revisited by General Sir Thomas Edward Gordon, formerly Military Attache and Oriental Secretary to Her Majesty’s Legation at Tehran. 1896 Archive.org, Public Library of India Collection.

• Oriental Memories of a German Diplomatist by Friedrich Rosen, 1930 Archive.org, Public Library of India Collection. The author was born 1856. Friedrich Rosen Wikipedia.
• Ten thousand miles in Persia or, Eight years in Iran by Major Percy Molesworth Sykes, HM Consul, Kerman and Persian Baluchistan 1902 Archive.org

A History of Persia by Lieut-Col P M Sykes 1915 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II;

Vol I, 2nd edition 1921. Also available World Digital Library Library of Congress. Images and maps may be better/ rotatable. Click on image to read online. Vol II, 2nd edition 1921 Archive.org;

Vol I, 3rd edition 1930, Vol II, 3rd edition 1930 Archive.org.

Persia by Brigadier General Sir Percy Sykes 1922 Archive.org including

• "Persia and the Great War" page 154

• The Persian problem: an examination of the rival positions of Russia and Great Britain in Persia with some account of the Persian Gulf and the Bagdad railway by H J Whigham 1903 Archive.org
• '"Railways in Western Asia" by Lieutenant-Colonel H Picot Indian Army (Retired). Proceedings the Central Asian Society, London 1904 Archive.org.
• "Our recent progress in Southern Persia, and its possibilities" by H R Sykes Proceedings of the Central Asian Society March 1905. Archive.org
• "Russian Railways towards India" by Colonel C E de la Poer Beresford Proceedings of the Central Asian Society December 1905 Archive.org
• Gazetteer Of The Persian Gulf, Oman And Central Arabia by J G Lorimer, published 1908 to 1915. Volume I, Historical consists of Part I being the 'Arabian' portion of the History and Part II being the 'Persian' section of the History. Both Parts of Volume I, Historical, have the same extensive index, covering all Parts. Volume I: Historical: Part III Geneaological Tables and a Map. Volume II: Geographical and Statistical.
  • Available on Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.
    • Volume I Historical Part I, published 1915.
    • Volume I Historical Part II
      • Appendix R Books of reference page 2700.
    • Volume II Geographical And Statistical, published 1908.There is no Index. Introduction pages i-iii are missing.
  • Volume I, Part III of a reprint edition is available on the National Library of Australia Digital Collections-Maps Catalogue entry. It contains two maps (including the map of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia) and genealogical trees.
  • Four out of six volumes of a reprint edition are available to read online at Hathi Trust Digital Library. The volumes are Volume I: Historical: Part I (in two volumes), (missing Historical: Part II, Part III) and Volume II: Geographical and Statistical (in two volumes)
  • The Qatar Digital Library contains copies of the original editions held at the British Library. Note: these webpages may be very slow to load at times
    • Volume I: Historical: Part I IOR/L/PS/20/C91/1. The 'Arabian' portion of the History
    • Volume I: Historical: Part II IOR/L/PS/20/C91/2. The 'Persian' section of the History
    • Volume I: Historical: Part III Geneaological Tables and a Map IOR/L/PS/20/C91/3
    • Volume II: Geographical and Statistical IOR/L/PS/20/C91/4. Includes alphabetical entries for tribes, towns and regions, from ‘Abdalilah to Zubārah. It also contains fifty-six reproductions of photographs taken by British colonial officers and others.
    • 1905-1908 Map of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia compiled in the Foreign Office, Simla, by Lieut. F.F. Hunder IOR/L/PS/20/C91/6
    • Click on “About this record” for information about the contents. To select a particular page, click on “View all items”.

British Library Untold lives blog ‘Persian Gulf tragedy’ – the death of John Gordon Lorimer 08 February 2014 (retrieved 18 June 2014)

• Persia and the Persian Question by George Nathaniel Curzon (Lord Curzon) 1892 Volume I, Volume II Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.
• Article "Indo British Trade with Persia" by Naoroz M Parveez pages 12-29 Imperial and asiatic quarterly review, and oriental and colonial record 1907 Third Series Volume 23 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. There is a discussion of the paper from page 106.
• The Frontiers Of Baluchistan by G P Tate 1909. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. Full title The Frontiers of Baluchistan : Travels on the Borders of Persia and Afghanistan. [Seistan (Sistan) Arbitration Mission, 1903-1905]
• The Indian Borderland, 1880-1900 by Colonel Sir T Hungerford Holdich 1901 edition, Second and cheaper edition 1909 Archive.org. Contains chapters on the Persian Gulf and the Perso-Baluch Boundary

The Gates of India, being an Historical Narrative by Colonel Sir Thomas Holdich 1910

Political Frontiers and Boundary Making by Col. Sir Thomas H Holdich 1916

"Between the Tigris and the Indus" by Colonel Sir Thomas H Holdich The Geographical Review Volume IV September 1, 1917 Archive.org

• The Penetration of Arabia: a record of the development of Western knowledge concerning the Arabian Peninsula (with illustrations from drawings, photographs, and maps by J. G. Bartholomew) by David George Hogarth 1904 Archive.org
• By Mountain, Lake and Plain : being a Sketch of Sport in Eastern Persia by Major R L Kennion 1911. Archive.org. In 1907 the author was appointed Consul for the Districts of Seistan and Kain in Iran. He had previously served in Kashmir, Gilgit and Leh, with the Indian Foreign and Political Department.
• Persia the land of the magi, or, The home of the wise men; an historical and descriptive account of Persia from the earliest ages to the present time; with a detailed view of its people, their manners, ... including Afghanistan and Beloochistan by Samuel K Nweeya 1913 Archive.org
• A Lady Doctor in Bakhtiari Land by the late Elizabeth N. Macbean Ross, M.B.; Ch.B 1921 Archive.org. Biographical details 1878-1915. Scotland’s War. She died of typhus doing volunteer medical work in Serbia during WW1.
• SW Persia: A Political Officers Diary 1907-1914 by Sir Arnold Wilson 1941 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.

Persia by Sir Arnold Wilson 1932. Link to a pdf download STOU Digital Repository Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand. Note, website has been noticed to be unavailable at times. Possibly may be open only during "office hours".

• Persian Baluchistan (including the Sarhad and Persian Mekran) The Quetta-Nushki extension railway. File created 8 May 1922. British Library: India Office Records IOR/L/PS/18/C208, in Qatar Digital Library . It includes a brief description of these regions, outlines local British activities during the First World War to counter threats to their interests, and presents the current situation in Mekran and Sarhad. The pages relating to the railway appear to commence digital page 15.
• Old Routes Of Western Iran by Sir Aurel Stein 1940. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version.
• Thim Days Is Gone. Qatar Digital Library. A memoir written by Major Maurice Patrick O'Connor Tandy recounting his career, initially in the Royal Artillery in a Light Battery, and an Indian Mountain Battery in the 1930s. He then joined the Foreign and Political Department in October 1936, (page 33) and his later postings included the Persian Gulf and Kuwait. Further details are in Thim Days Is Gone – a colonial memoir 16 February 2017 Untold lives blog, British Library.
• Over Khyber to the Caspian Sea by Ruth Ahlsand 1944. Published by Thackers Bombay. Link to a pdf download PAHAR Mountains of Central Asia Digital Dataset. The Norwegian authoress and her husband followed the trail of the Peacock Throne, which was looted from Delhi and taken to Teheran in 1739. It is thus a different kind of travel book, tracing the path and the history of this Throne and touching on characters and events.
• The British Academy transliteration of Arabic and Persian. Report of the Committee appointed to draw up a practical scheme for the transliteration into English of words and names belonging to the languages of the Nearer East 1917 Archive.org