IOR/L/PS/9/76/140

This item contains copies of thirteen letters to or from Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad]:

1. A letter from Brigadier-General George Koehler to Harford Jones, sent from the headquarters of the Vizier [Yūsuf Ẓīa al-Dīn Pasha, Grand Vizier to the Ottoman Sulṭān] at Jaffa and dated 2 August 1800. The letter covers issues relating to the Napoleonic Wars, including support from the Pacha of Bagdad [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad] for the Vizier’s campaign; developments in Europe including the capture of Malta by British and Allied forces; planned operations against the French occupation forces in Egypt; and the state of affairs in Egypt.

2. A letter from Harford Jones to Captain John Malcolm, Envoy of the Governor-General of Bengal to Persia [Iran], sent from Bagdad and dated 6 October 1800. The letter reports an attack on the cossid [messenger] carrying Malcolm’s dispatches at Kerman Shah [Kermanshah] and forwards various correspondence. Jones also reports that the Acts of Union between Britain and Ireland have received Royal Assent.

3. A letter from Harford Jones to Captain John Malcolm, sent from Bagdad and dated 24 October 1800. The letter forwards various correspondence, including news of the capture of Malta, and discusses arrangements for paying the expenses of Malcolm’s mission.

4. A copy of a letter from Lord Elgin, HM Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, to Harford Jones, sent from Constantinople [Istanbul] and dated 28 September 1800. The letter addresses concerns raised by the Pacha of Bagdad concerning rumours of the dispatch of a British force to Bussora [Basra].

5. A copy of a letter from Lord Elgin to Harford Jones, sent from Constantinople and dated 27 September 1800. The letter describes the capture of Malta by British and Allied forces, and reports developments in the Napoleonic Wars in Germany and Denmark.

6. A copy of a letter from Captain John Malcolm to Harford Jones, sent from a camp near Isfahaun [Esfahan] and dated 27 September 1800. The letter reports the progress of Malcolm’s mission in Persia.

7. A copy of a letter from Rear-Admiral John Blankett, Commander of the British naval squadron in the Red Sea, to Harford Jones, sent from HMS Leopard at Jedda [Jeddah] and dated 12 July 1800. The letter reports moves by the Sheriffe [Sharīf] of Mecca to assert his independence from the Porte [Government of the Ottoman Empire]. Blankett states that there is no likelihood of receiving support from the Sheriffe in the campaign against the French occupation forces in Egypt.

8. A letter from Robert Rickards, Secretary to the Government of Bombay, to Harford Jones, sent from Bombay Castle [Mumbai] and dated 1 August 1800. The letter reports that the Governor of Bombay will mediate in the dispute between the Pashaw of Bagdad [Büyük Sulaymān Pāshā] and the Imaum [Imam] of Muscat [Sulṭān bin Aḥmad Āl Bū Sa’īd]. It also states that supplies and a detachment of guards have been dispatched from Bombay to the Bagdad Residency and that Jones is free either to leave or remain in Bagdad in response to the plague outbreak.

9. A letter from Samuel Manesty, Resident in Bussora, to Harford Jones, sent from Bussora and dated 6 September 1800. The letter concerns rumours of the dispatch of a British force to Bussora. Manesty reports that he conceived this idea as a means of supporting the campaign against the French occupation forces in Egypt and discussed the idea with the Mussaleem [Mutasallim, Governor] of Bussora.

10. A letter from Harford Jones to Samuel Manesty, sent from Bagdad and dated 28 September 1800. Jones reports that he has passed on Manesty’s explanation to the Pashaw of Bagdad.

11. A letter from John Barker, Proconsul in Aleppo, to Harford Jones, sent from Aleppo and dated August 1800. The letter concerns George Anastasio, a Hungarian traveller who has arrived in Aleppo and is travelling towards India via Bagdad and Bussora.

12. A letter from John Barker to Harford Jones, sent from Aleppo and dated 24 September 1800. The letter reports that General Jacques-François Menou, commanding officer of the French occupation forces in Egypt, is planning an attack on Ottoman Syria. Barker expects Syria to be overrun, expressing a lack of faith in the Ottoman army at Jaffa and describing a split in the Ottoman ranks caused by Gezzar Pasha [Aḥmad Pāshā al-Jazzār, Governor of Sidon].

13. A letter from Harford Jones to Henry Fawcett, Accountant-General and Civil Auditor of the Government of Bombay, sent from Bagdad and dated 30 September 1800. The letter concerns advances of money lent by Jones to the East India Company.

Attached are tables displaying account disbursements for July and August 1800 and the Company’s cash account with Jones.