IOR/R/15/1/85

The volume contains translations of letters received by the Residency in the Persian Gulf from August 1839 to May 1840.

The correspondence relates to affairs on the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf, in particular the situation at Braimee [Al Buraymī] (also given as Brenie, Braymee) where the Naiem [Al Na'īm] tribe and the people of Braimee were at war with Sheik Kuleefa bin Shakbut [Shaikh Khalīfah bin Shakbut], Sheik of Abothabee [Abu Dhabi] and the Zuweier tribe; and discussing Captain Atkins Hamerton who was sent to Braimee to provided representation and assistance from the British Government.

Also discussed are the relations between the various Arab chiefs including Sheik Sultan bin Sugger [Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr] of Shargah [Sharjah] and Raasulkhyma [Ra's al Khaymah], Sheik Muktoom [Shaikh Maktūm bin Buṭṭī] of Debay [Dubai], Sheik Abdoolla bin Rashid [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Rāshid] of Umulgaweim [Umm al Qaywayn], Sheik Abdool Azeez bin Rashid bin Humoud [Shaikh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin Rāshid bin Ḥumayd] (of Ajman), Sheik Kuleefa bin Shakbut and Sheik Abdoola bin Ahmed [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Aḥmad Āl Khalīfah] of Bahrein [Bahrain], including their allegiances and disputes with each other and the British Government and concluding with a truce signed between them in April 1840.

Correspondence also relates to the movements and affairs of Koochid Pacha [Khurshid Pasha], Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Forces in Nejd [Najd] and Khaled ben Saud [K̲h̲ālid bin Sa‘ūd] ruler of Nejd; and affairs Oman including fighting between the different tribes there, particularly the Beni boo Allee [Banī Bū ‘Alī], Beni boo Hussun [Banī Bū Ḥasan] and Jiniba [Āl Djanaba] tribes, and correspondence with the Imam of Muscat (Saʻīd bin Sulṭān).

Also included are letters from Meerza [Mirza] Riza , news writer at Sheeraz [Shiraz] reporting on matters in Fars and Persia in general, focusing particularly on the relationship between the Sherazees (people of Shiraz) and the Prince of Shiraz and the Toorks (Persian soldiers from the north of the country), but also including reports on the involvement of Bakir Khan, Chief of Tangistan [Tangestān]; the situation in Bushire, Kharassan [Khorāsān], Meshed [Mashhad], Herat and other towns where affairs were equally unstable; the movements and actions of the Shah of Persia in response to the outbreaks of instability; and the murder of Jumal Khan, the Governor of Bushire in December 1839.

Other matters of note include an outbreak of Cholera in Bahrein and Kuteef [Al-Qaṭīf] in September 1839; acts of piracy in the Gulf; correspondence on trade throughout the Gulf; reports on the pearl fishing season; reports of a battle between the Ottoman and Egyptian Armies near Aleppo; and the affairs of Sheik Abdool Rahman [‘Abd al Rahman] of Kishm [Qeshm]

The correspondence comprises mainly of reports and letters submitted by the Native Agents in the Persian Gulf to the Political Resident, including Meerza Muhammed Ally [Mirza Muḥammad ‘Alī], Native Agent at Bahrein [Bahrain]; Moollah Hossein [Mullā Ḥusayn], Native Agent at Sharjah; Hajee Jassim [Haji Jasim], Native Agent at Lingard [Lengeh]; and the Native Agent at Muscat (Reubed Aslan (also given as Artan), Khoaja Rubil (also given as Khojah Roubin)).