Articles From Our Experts

The Brutal End of Persia’s Zand Dynasty

The Death of Karim Khan Zand, ruler of Persia, in 1779 marked the beginning of a bloody period lasting 15 years and culminating in the rise to power of the Qajar dynasty.

The Brutal End of Persia’s Zand Dynasty

Thesiger’s Clothes: Empire and Exploration in the Arabian Peninsula

Over several centuries, the close relationship between individual explorers of the Arabian Peninsula and the British Empire was made clear in often unpublished journals and accounts held in the India Office Records.

Thesiger’s Clothes: Empire and Exploration in the Arabian Peninsula

A Mughal Musical Miscellany: the creation of Or. 2361

Scribal notes in a Mughal-period manuscript of fourteen musical texts shed light on its historical context and the process of its creation.

A Mughal Musical Miscellany: the creation of Or. 2361

The British Residency in Baghdad

From its foundation at the end of the eighteenth century, the British Residency in Baghdad occupied a strategically important position, linking together various strands of British imperial engagement in the region.

The British Residency in Baghdad

Part 3 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: Non-European Ships in the Age of Sail

There are many different types of vessels used from the Red Sea to India. All of them have developed over the years to suit the local conditions. This is the third article in a series of three by the author, providing context and explanation for nautical terminology in the India Office Records.

Part 3 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: Non-European Ships in the Age of Sail

Finding Aid: IOR/F/4 Board’s Collections (1620-1859)

An overview of the records in the IOR/F/4 Series, including how they were created, their format, and subject matter.

Finding Aid: IOR/F/4 Board’s Collections (1620-1859)

Part 2 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: European Ships in the Age of Sail

Wherever European navies sailed, they introduced their own designs of ships and adapted those they saw being used locally. This is the second article in a series of three by the author, providing context and explanation for nautical terminology in the India Office Records.

Part 2 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: European Ships in the Age of Sail

Reading, transmitting, and making books: The personal touch of Muḥammad Ibn Abī al-Fatḥ al-Ṣūfī, astronomer of Cairo

Fifteenth-century Cairo was the place to be for astronomers and mathematicians. One scholar left his particular mark in a surprising variety of ways on the manuscript records of the period.

Reading, transmitting, and making books: The personal touch of Muḥammad Ibn Abī al-Fatḥ al-Ṣūfī, astronomer of Cairo

Finding Aid: IOR/G/29/2-14 Gombroon (Bandar ‘Abbas) Diaries and Consultations (1708-1763)

What do the Gombroon Diaries convey about eighteenth-century Persia [Iran] and the Gulf (1708-1763)?

Finding Aid: IOR/G/29/2-14 Gombroon (Bandar ‘Abbas) Diaries and Consultations (1708-1763)

Finding Aid: IOR/L/MAR Marine Department Records (1600-c. 1879)

A guide to the East India Company ships’ journals and related records (IOR/L/MAR/A and B series files) and miscellaneous East India Company and India Office marine records (IOR/L/MAR/C files) on the Qatar Digital Library.

Finding Aid: IOR/L/MAR Marine Department Records (1600-c. 1879)

Power and Prognostication in the Cairo Sultanate

Today’s leaders look to their medical, economic, military, and other expert advisers, but historically rulers have also consulted astrologers, dream-interpreters, and specialists in other forms of divination and occult sciences.

Power and Prognostication in the Cairo Sultanate

A Quest for Knowledge: The Basra Date Palm, the Botanical Garden in Bengal

A 1787 letter requesting plants from the Persian Gulf for a newly established botanical garden in Kolkata illuminates the way in which the pursuit of scientific knowledge became part of the EIC’s global economic endeavour.

A Quest for Knowledge: The Basra Date Palm, the Botanical Garden in Bengal

Foundation of an Empire: The East India Company’s Early Trade in Silk and Wool

While Britain’s more distinct political and strategic interests in the Gulf grew over time, it was initially a matter of textile trading with Persia that first lured them to the shores of the Gulf.

Foundation of an Empire: The East India Company’s Early Trade in Silk and Wool

Part 1 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: An introduction

Ships have always been important in the history of the Gulf, and therefore are prominent in the India Office Records and other documents on the QDL. This is the first article in a series of three by the author, providing context and explanation for nautical terminology in the records.

Part 1 – Nautical Terminology in the IOR files: An introduction

The ‘Dreaded’ Death of Karim Khan Zand, Ruler of Persia

It was an event that provoked anxiety among Persians and foreign traders alike and was to trigger a period of profound instability in Iran: the death, in 1779, of the ruler of Persia, Karim Khan Zand.

The ‘Dreaded’ Death of Karim Khan Zand, Ruler of Persia

A Brief History of the English East India Company 1600–1858

From its origins as a small London enterprise, the East India Company (EIC) emerged as a powerful commercial and political organisation, whose presence in the Gulf helped shape the region’s modern history.

A Brief History of the English East India Company 1600–1858

Spies, Ships and Strategic Communication: Anglo-French Competition in the Gulf

Due to increased tensions between the British and French, in the 1780s, the Gulf was drawn into a global battle for supremacy. Spying was a significant aspect of the struggle to control strategic shipping routes.

Spies, Ships and Strategic Communication: Anglo-French Competition in the Gulf