IOR/L/PS/18/B225

The letter from Lieutenant-Colonel William George Grey to Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel encloses a copy of a letter No. C/8 of 1915 by Grey, as Political Agent in Kuwait, to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 9 June 1915, regarding Arab co-operation with the Turks in the Shatt al-Arab [Shaṭṭ al-‘Arab] country.

The letter refers to remarks made by Lord Curzon of Kedleston both in the House of Lords and in relation to an address given by Mr P Landon on Basrah and the Shatt al-Arab at the Society of Arts in April 1915. The remarks are regarding Arab tribes supporting the Turks, and further observations made by the Secretary of State for India on the Battle of Shaiba, at which it was reported that the Turkish troops had been joined by almost 10,000 Arab combatants. The letter also raises the question of why they were now siding with the Turks given their previous relations with Britain.

Grey's response to these observations includes a detailed explanation of the composition of the tribes involved as being primarily from Arab communities in Iraq, and the Muntafiq [al-Muntafiq] tribe of the Euphrates and Shatt-ul-Gharaf [Shaṭṭ al-Gharrāf, also known as Shaṭṭ al-Ḥayy] regions. His response also notes that the tribes involved are not those of the Persian Gulf region as had previously been assumed by Lord Curzon.

The letter goes on to explain these tribes' relations with the Turks and the reasons for their having sided with them. The letter concludes by providing information on some of the tribes of the Persian Gulf, in particular the Zaffir [al-Zafīr] who had declined Turkish invitations to take up arms; and the Yuarin, Bani Malik [Banī Mālik] and Shammar all of whom had chosen to remain neutral.