IOR/L/PS/9/76/138

This item contains copies of five letters:

1. A letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], to Captain John Malcolm, Envoy of the Governor-General of Bengal to Persia [Iran], sent from Bagdad and dated 24 August 1800.

The letter reports news of the Napoleonic Wars, including:

• The assassination of Jean-Baptiste Kléber, commanding officer of the French occupation forces in Egypt, and his replacement by General Jacques-François Menou
• Menou’s refusal to observe the Convention of Alarish [Al-‘Arish] until orders are received from the new Government in France [the Consulate]
• The sighting of a large force of Greeks and Copts at the French camp
• Developments in Europe, including the departure of the French fleet from Brest and the possibility of an armistice between France and Austria.

2. A letter from Jones to Malcolm sent from Bagdad and dated 8 September 1800, forwarding correspondence addressed to Malcolm and his assistant Richard Strachey (not enclosed).

3. A translation of an official note from Soliman Pashaw [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad] to Harford Jones, dated 24 August 1800. Soliman Pashaw requests clarification concerning rumours of the dispatch of a British force to Bussora [Basra].

4. A letter from Harford Jones to Soliman Pashaw dated 25 August 1800. Jones denies knowledge of any plans to dispatch British forces to Bussora, stating that such a matter would have to be decided between the British and Ottoman governments and pledging to write to Bussora seeking an explanation.

5. A letter from Harford Jones to Samuel Manesty, Resident in Bussora, sent from Bagdad and dated 26 August 1800. The letter forwards the above letters (nos. 3 and 4) between Jones and Soliman Pashaw and asks Manesty for an explanation.