The Persian problem; an examination of the rival positions of Russia and Great Britain in Persia, with some account of the Persian gulf and the Bagdad railway

Front matter

THE PERSIAN PROBLEM

My thanks are due to the Proprietors of the

"Morning Post" for permission to use in this

CHAPTER I Introduction Pp. 1-10

. CHAPTER II

The outpost of the Gulf — History of Maskat — First treaty with England — Maskat and Zanzibar — Separation of the two kingdoms —How England saved Maskat — Our moral claims upon the Sultan — The position of the French — Slave dhows fly the French flag — Attempt of French Government to secure Jissa as a coaling-station — Necessity of supporting the Sultan against French intrigue Pp. 11-27

Chapter III

Navigation of the Gulf — Life on board a Gulf mail-boat — Caught in a " shamal " — Arrival at Bahrein — History of the Pearl Islands — Great Britain refuses to annex Bahrein — Bahrein comes under British protection — British agent appointed — Bahrein a possible naval station — Description of the harbour — Trade of the islands — Turkish control on the mainland . . . . Pp. 28-40 viii CONTENTS

Chapter IV

Lack of harbours — An Arab Sheikh — Illicit trade in arms — Under lee of Sheikh Shuaib — Landing at Lingah— A miniature coup d'etat — The Resident's guard — Unpopularity of the Belgian Customs — Trade of Lingah — English station at Bassiduh — History of the station — Possibility of establishing free port at Bassiduh

Chapter V Shall We Give Russia Bunder Abbas?

Skirting the coast of Kishm — Visit to the salt caves — The town of Kishm — The island of Ormuz — Remains of Portuguese prosperity — Situation of Bunder Abbas — Earmarked by Russia — Caravan routes — Reasons for decline in trade — Insecurity of trade-routes — Competition of Nushki road — Embargo on export of cereals — Future railway lines — Shall we leave the building of railways to Russia ? — Control of Bunder Abbas gives Russia control of Gulf — Advantages of Bunder Abbas as naval base — Need of a definite policy Pp. 57-76

Chapter VI

The promontory of Mussandim — Elphinstone's Inlet — Remains of the Indo-European telegraph station — The aborigines — British Resident visits the Pirate Coast — History of the treaties — Suppression of the slave trade — Moral influence of the British Resident — Characteristics of the Arabs Pp. 77-89

Chapter VII

Description of the harbour — Pelly's account of Koweit — Sheikh Mahomed assassinated by Mubarak — Warlike propensities of Mubarak — Supports the claims of the Wahabis — Defeated with heavy loss by the Amir of Nejd — Position of the Amir of Nejd — Turkish Government assists Nejd against Mubarak — British

CONTENTS ix

Government steps in to save Mubarak — Question of Turkish " suzerainty " over Koweit — Importance of Koweit as a possible terminus of the Bagdad Railway — The Turks occupy Ummkasa — ■ Strategical importance of Umm-Kasa — Mubarakclaims Umm-Kasa

Chapter VIII Persian Rule In The Delta Of The Shat-al-arab

History of the Arab tribes of the Delta — Ascendency of Mohammerah under the late Sheikh Mizal — Khazal compasses his brother's death . and becomes Sheikh of Mohammerah — Strength of Khazal as a ruler — Opposition of the Arabs to the Belgian Customs — Matters finally arranged at Teheran — Visit to Mohammerah — Evading the Turkish quarantine — Trade of Mohammerah — Possibilities of the future . . Pp. 108-124

. CHAPTER IX

The Bar of the Shat-al-Arab — Absurdities of Turkish quarantine regulations — Steaming up the river — Arrival at Basra — Trade of the Shat-al-Arab — Insufficiency of the Tigris river service — Serious hindrance to trade — Cricket on the desert — Shooting wild boar in the marshes — Incompetency of the Turkish officials- Possibility of Turkey losing the control of the Shat-al-Arab

Chapter X

Trade of the Gulf carried almost exclusively by British steamers — New Russian venture — Total trade of the Gulf — Preponderance of British merchandise — Future prospects of this trade — Commerce cannot increase without improvement in internal communications — Very little increase in last decade — Opening of Karun route has only produced slight effect — Caravan routes on Arabian side always insecure — Great improvement can only be brought about by building railways Pp. 140-155 x CONTENTS

Chapter XI

Control of the seaports — Description of the harbours of the Gulf — Necessity for improving the harbours — Belgian Customs regime has done nothing to facilitate trade in this direction — Belgian officials regarded by Persians as servants of Russia — Difficulty of obtaining redress of wrongs or recovery of debts — Necessity for an active policy in the Gulf — If Russia builds railways to the Gulf she must control Southern Persia — Great Britain must anticipate her railway policy — Our attitude with regard to the Bagdad Railway— We may still bargain for control of the Bagdad-Basra section — Our responsibility with regard to Koweit — British policy in Arabia handicapped by complete ignorance of the interior — Advantage of opening up communications with Nejd . Pp. 156-175

Chapter XII

Ruins of Mesopotamia — A week's excursion in the neighbourhood of Bagdad — Pleasures of caravaning — First view of Babylon — Welcomed by the German expedition — A lesson in cuneiform and Assyriology — Hospitality of the German savants — New light thrown upon the works of Nebuchadnezzar by the expedition — Description of the " Kasr " — The Holy Way and the temples — The shrunken glories of Babylon — Irrigation schemes of the past — The Arab as a day labourer Pp. 176-191

Chapter XIII

Jewish hospitality in Hillah — Agricultural riches of the Hillah district — Lack of transport — The methods of the Sultan as a landed proprietor — Heavy burden of taxation — An Arab feud — Coldblooded murder — The so-called Tower of Babel — The German expedition at Birs Nimrud — Brickwork of Nebuchadnezzar — Arrival at Kin* — The Jews of the Captivity — Evening service at the Tomb of Ezekiel . . . . . .Pp. 192-203

CONTENTS xi

Chapter XIV

The remains of Kufa — First view of Nejef — Lodgings in the Market-place— An insolent Zaptieh — Mobbed in the bazaar — The Zaptieh apologises — Across the desert to Kerbela — Picturesque aspect of the sacred city — An official reception at the house of the British agent — Discuss the prospects of the Bagdad railway with Turkish officials — Return to Bagdad — Army of Persian pilgrims on the road . . . Pp. 204-215

Chapter XV

Bagdad — Its merchants — Consulate — Climate — As a trade centre — Nejef — Railway to coast and expansion of trade — Route of railway Pp. 216-225

Chapter XVI

Characteristics of the country through which the Bagdad railway will pass— Gheuzni — Rich resources of Cilicia — The port for the Bagdad railway — The passage of the Taurus . . Pp. 226-237

Chapter XVII The Bagdad Railway

Position of the German Syndicate — Reasons of the choice of route — Large guarantee secures interest on capital — Mining rights — Syndicate gets control of the oil-fields of Mesopotamia — Advantages to be gained by Turkey — Regeneration of Mesopotamia — Settlement of the Arab hordes — The question of guarantee — Turkey cannot raise the guarantee unless the existing debt is converted— No other sources of revenue available — British policy with regard to the railway Pp. 238-250 xii CONTENTS

Chapter XVIII

Choice of routes from the Gulf to Teheran — Importance of the Bagdad Kermanshah route previously overlooked — New factor introduced by effort of a British capitalist to exploit the petroleum belt of Western Persia — Collecting a caravan — Cost of travelling — Question of commissariat — Description of route from Bagdad to Kasr-i-Shirin — An Arab festival — The oil-fields of Western Persia — Difficulties of transport — Survey of the pipe-line — Political importance of the concession — Road to Kermanshah — The Tak-igirra pass Pp. 251-270

Chapter XIX Kermanshah

Estimate of inhabitants — Centre of the grain district — Trade of Kermanshah — Previous estimates misleading — Importance of this trade-route to Great Britain — Apathy of the British Government

Chapter XX Persian Carpets

Yarious routes from Kermanshah to Teheran— Hamadan the ancient Ecbatana — Sultanabad — Two European firms — Effect of European control on carpet manufacture — Originality of design no longer to be found in Persia — Aniline dyes — Persian methods — Cheapness of labour the most important factor — How to judge a Persian carpet Pp. 285-303

Chapter XXI

British interests in Western Persia — Attitude of the British Government— Preponderance of British commerce — Growth of Russian competition — The Ahwaz-Burujird route — Western Persia still dependent upon the Tigris steamers — Advantages to be gained by opening up the Ahwaz route — Mule-tracks better than macadamised roads — Luri chiefs must be squared . . . Pp. 304-31 G

CONTENTS xiii

Chapter XXII

Drive from Kum to the Capital — First view of Demavend^- Approach to Teheran — An English hotel — Leading foreigners in Teheran — General Houtum-Schindler — The manager of the Imperial Bank of Persia — The Belgian Customs — The Russian Bank — Foreign schemes in Teheran — Universal failure — Belgian concessionists — Pessimistic outlook for Great Britain . . . Pp. 317-331

Chapter XXIII

Opinion of disinterested foreigner — Is British influence departing ? — Difficulty of arriving at facts in Persia — Figures given in " Statesman's Year Book " — Figures given by Lord Curzon ten years before — Comparison shows rapid decline of British trade — But published figures most untrustworthy — A truer calculation — Russia's advance * has been overestimated — No reason to despair yet of British ' trade . . .Pp. 332-34G

Chapter XXIV

Efforts to undermine British trade not yet entirely successful — Even in the north British manufactures hold their own — Two reasons for Russian predominance in the north — First, her position ; secondly, her system of bounties — Advantages of her position more apparent than real — Manchester almost as near Teheran as , ^J Moscow, as far as cost of transport goes — Bounties much more important — Russian bounties paid for by profit on the Persian loan — Great Britain can only fight the bounty system by improved communications between Teheran and the Gulf # Pp. 347-362

CHAPTER XXV RUSSIA'S POLICY— (continued)

Russian railway policy — Railhead at Erivan— Great Britain must respond by similar advance — Pers'.a cannot be developed without xiv CONTENTS

railways — At present the Russian railway agreement prevents all progress — Natural difficulties of construction by no means insuperable— Question of routes — Whenever Teheran is connected by j-J railway with the Gulf, British goods will have great advantage over Russian — Russia not yet ready to build railways — Her object is therefore to postpone railway building . . . Pp. 363-377

Chapter XXVI

Persian loans — First real victory of Russian diplomacy— Extraordinary shortsightedness of British Foreign Office — Hypothecation of the Customs — Extension of the railway agreement another victory for Russia — Russia appreciates supreme importance of railway control in the East — Her object, therefore, is to obtain monopoly of railway building in Persia — This aim must be opposed to the utmost Pp. 378-392

Chapter XXVII

From Teheran to Resht — Passage of the Elburz mountains — A badly constructed road — Accidents en route — Cost of construction — What Russia has gained by it — Landing-place at Enzeli — Reach civilisation at Baku — A Tartar millionaire and patriot — A cotton factory in the Caucasus — Depression in the oil-trade — M. Witte's financial policy Pp. 393-405

Chapter XXVIII Russia's Advance On Persia Via The Caucasus

Routes from .the Caucasus to Teheran — The Tiflis-Erivan railway — Beautiful drive from Akstafa to Erivan — Mount Ararat — Russian civilisation in the Caucasus — Her advance on Persia — What Great Britain must do to safeguard her interests . . Pp. 406-424

ILLUSTRATIONS

MAPS

Map of Persia showing main Trade-Routes . . Frontispiece Bunder Abbas and the Islands of Ormuz and Larak Safwan, Umm-Kasa, Koweit ....

Map showing the Route of the Bagdad Railway Map showing relative positions of Russia and Persia

Page

A Picturesque View of Maskat

The Wells of Wadi on a Festival Day Phoenician Mounds, Bahrein . . . ■ . Pearl Dealers at Bahrein . . . .

Street Scene in an Arab Town .

Mubarak, Sheik of Koweit

Date Grove, Basra

Yiew on the Creek at Basra

Shrine of Kasimain .......

Birs Nimrud, commonly called the Tower of Babel . Nejef , with Mosque of Ali

To face page 11

Mosque of Imam Abbas, Kerbela 212 xvi ILLUSTRATIONS

To face page

Mosque of Hussein 214

Inmost Shrine of Kasimain . . 222

The Cilician Gates — Road through the Taurus .... 228

Canon of the Chakit Su, through which railway will pass —

Road Scene in the Taurus 234

Bridge at Mosul, over the Tigris . . . . . . 241

Canon of the Chakit Su 248

Making the Russian Road from Resht to Teheran through the

Elburz Mountains 337

Yiew of the Russian Road from Teheran to Resht . . . 368

Delijan on the Akstafa-Erivan Road 412

CHAPTEE I