Skip to item: of 1,036
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Coll 17/16(1) 'Iraq. The Assyrian Crisis' [‎150r] (310/1036)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 volume (514 folios). It was created in 17 Jun 1933-31 Aug 1933. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

[This
Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government, and should be
" returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]
(5°
(E 4624/7/93).
10 Z2M
Code telegram to Mr. Ogilvie Forbes (Bagdad).
Foreign Office. 15th August 1933. 10,30 p.m.
Mo, 198. (R).
M M (Ml If M H M II It fl It It It tt M It II II II II II II N tf II ft H fl It It If
Your telegram No, 255 (of August 14th - Assyrian crisis -
King Feisal's desire to meet Sir F. Humphrys in Berne).
For reasons stated in other telegrams (and even more now
-2 in view of your telegram No, £67 (of August 15th)), His
Majesty's Government still consider Sir F. Humphry's immediate
return to Iraq essential. Proposed meeting at Berne, besides
causing great delay, could serve no useful purpose, particularly
in view of King Feisal's complete failure to deal with situa
tion in Iraq.
Sir F, Humphrys will therefore now arrive at Brindisi
early on the morning of Sunday, August 20th. If King Felsal
a,, 1 /;v- carries out his Intention of leaving Bagdad by Imperial Air-
ways on August 18th^ he will presumably arrive at Brindisi the
same morning. If so, there would be no insuperable objection
to Sir F t Humphry's delaying his departure from Brindisi for a
few hours in order to meet King Feisal, but it must be clearly
understood that there can be no question of Sir F e Humphrys
abandoning his return to Iraq as a result of the interview.

About this item

Content

The volume contains papers regarding the Assyrian Crisis in Iraq during 1933. It primarily consists of correspondence between HM Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Francis Humphrys), HM Chargé d’Affaires to Iraq (George Ogilvie-Forbes), and the Foreign Office.

The papers document the negotiations between Mar Shimun XXIII Eshai – the Patriarch of the Church of the East – and the Government of Iraq, regarding: the spiritual and temporal authority claimed by the Mar Shimun; the Assyrian Settlement Scheme; areas designated for settlement; and clashes between Assyrians, Iraqis and Kurds.

Ogilvie-Forbes and Humphrys reported on the movement of Assyrians into Syria, requests to the Syrian and French authorities that they be allowed to remain, proposals to disarm the group, and clashes with Iraqi troops when numbers of Assyrians returned to Iraq. The papers also document the proposed arrest or exile of the Mar Shimun by the Government of Iraq, and the volume also contains copies of letters exchanged by the Mar Shimun, the Iraqi Interior Ministry, and King Faisal.

The papers document the worsening crisis, including reports of looting and village burning at Dohuk [Dahūk], the murder of Assyrian prisoners by Iraqi armed forces led by Bakr Sidqi, and the Simele Massacre of August 1933. These papers include reports submitted by the Head of the British Military Mission in Iraq (Major General Rowan Robinson), the Administrative Inspector at Mosul (Colonel R S Stafford), and Major D B Thomson of the Assyrian Settlement Office. The file concludes with reports on the Simele Massacre, arrangements for the arrival of Mar Shimun and his family in Cyprus, the work of the Refugee Relief Commission in Mosul and Dohuk, and the establishment by the League of Nations of a Small Minorities Commission to investigate the crisis.

The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).

Extent and format
1 volume (514 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 510; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-510; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Coll 17/16(1) 'Iraq. The Assyrian Crisis' [‎150r] (310/1036), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2872, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100086338447.0x00006f> [accessed 28 February 2025]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100086338447.0x00006f">Coll 17/16(1) 'Iraq. The Assyrian Crisis' [&lrm;150r] (310/1036)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100086338447.0x00006f">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x00019e/IOR_L_PS_12_2872_0310.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x00019e/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image