IOR/L/PS/9/70/131

Letter from the East India Company Envoy to Persia [Iran], Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald Kinneir, in camp at Ahar, to the Secret Committee of the East India Company, of 6 September 1826, which was received on 25 November 1826. In the letter Macdonald Kinneir reports his arrival at the camp of the Shah of Persia [Fath-‘Ali Shāh Qājār], and details his views regarding the war between Russia and Persia over territory in the Caucasus [Russo-Persian War, 1826-1828], including:

• The ill-preparedness of the Persian armed forces and its commanders for war with Russia
• The reluctance of the Shah to wage the war and Macdonald Kinneir’s belief that he would avail himself of any opportunity to negotiate for peace
• His belief that the outbreak of the war represents an end to any possible conquest of Persia by Russia, and the attendant threat to India
• An appraisal of the role played by the former rulers of the provinces ceded by Persia to Russia in the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 in opposing Russia and contributing to the military successes enjoyed by the Persians, including Alexander Meerza [Alexander Mirza] of Georgia, Mehdee Khouli Khan [Mahdi Quli Khan Javanshir] of Carabaugh [Karabakh], Meer Hussun Khan [Mir Hassan Khan] of Talish [Talysh] and Mustapha Khan [Mustafa Khan] of Shirivan [Shirvan]
• The territorial dispute over the frontier at Kapan and the lake of Goucha [Lake Sevan] that led to the outbreak of the war.

The letter also originally enclosed copies of dispatches from HM Chargé d'Affaires to Persia, Henry Willock, to HM Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, George Canning (not included in this item), and copies of Macdonald Kinneir’s dispatches to the Government of India (now catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/70/132). Also originally enclosed were translations of letters from members of the Persian Government among themselves and to Macdonald Kinneir (now catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/70/133-143).