'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎193v] (391/610)

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He is on bad terms with the Bakhtiaris and fled to Europe in
Tthe autumn of 1911 when Samsam-us-Sultaneh Bakhtlari
became Premier, and remained in exile until 1914. At the
beginning of 1914 ’Ain-ud-Dauleh (No. 6), Minister of the Inte-
srior in Ala-us-Sultaneh’s Cabinet, permitted him to return to
Persia and in June he was made governor of Luristan, Burujird,
•and Arabistan.
On the outbreak of war German agents got hold of him,
Mustaufl-ul-Mamalik (No. 3), then Premier, and other leading
‘Democrats’ were in constant correspondence with him, and
Mustaufi’s circular telegram to all governors in November 1915
that the Shah was leaving Tehran, and that Persia was about to
declare war on Russia and England, led him openly to throw in
his Jot with the Germans and Turks. He assumed the title of
Amir Jang and undertook to raise levies in Luristan, for which
die received and pocketed large sums of money paid in advance.
He collected a few hundred Lurs and started to march on
Hamadan en route for Kazvin, but owing to the advance of
Baratofi’s army he turned off to Kirmanshah and joined the
Turks and the Persian Gendarmerie, who had left Tehran with
the exodus of 15th November and retired via Saveh before the
Russians. Nizam-us-Sultaneh advanced from Kirmanshah
towards Hamadan against the Russians, was completely routed
near Asadabad, fled back to re-join the Turks at Kirmanshah
and remained with them in Persia, Baghdad, and other parts
of Asia until the armistice. He has been sentenced to ten years
exile from Persia and is now (November 1920) in Switzerland.
Throughout the war he was essentially a Turkophil and
was in constant disagreement with the Germanophil party
headed by Sulaiman Mirza.
He is active, energetic, and courageous, but inordinate love
of money is his besetting sin. For his performances in 1915
he is said to have received £80,000.
No. 2. MUKHBIR-US-SULTANEH. Mehdi Quli Khan.
Born about 1860. He has spent several years in Europe,
principally Germany, and speaks German, French, and a little
English.
He came to the fore as a Constitutionalist in 1907 and had
a good record as Governor General of Azarbaijan in 1908 until
dismissed by Muhammad Shah for his espousal of the Constitu-
tionahsfc cause, and a second time after the abdication of the
Shah from 1909 to 1911, when he was forced to resign owing to