The present book is research-based on historical documents and sources about the events, conditions, agreements, and processes implemented by the British during the Qajar period and led to the separation of a large part of Sistan from Iran and its an ...
The present book is research-based on historical documents and sources about the events, conditions, agreements, and processes implemented by the British during the Qajar period and led to the separation of a large part of Sistan from Iran and its annexation to present-day Afghanistan. The period under study is approximately the last three decades of the 19th century, that is, from 1872 when Goldsmith, the official who determined the boundaries of the two sides, issued his arbitration. Mcmahon continued it, until 1906-7 when the boundaries took a definitive and final form. This period coincides with the reigns of Nasser al-Din Shah, Mozaffar al-Din Shah, and Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar. The book consists of seven chapters. The first chapter begins with a description of the geographical location, agricultural situation, and fertile lands of Sistan, then refers to the international competitions between Russia and England during the colonial era and the efforts of England to create a buffer zone between India and Russia, which led to England's influence in the eastern regions of Iran. The author continues by recounting the actions of British agents and representatives of the Iranian government, as well as local rulers and chieftains, from the first agreements and demarcation of borders to the end of Goldsmith's work. Thee second chapte examines, the stage of the division of Sistan and the deprivation of the Iranian part of sufficient wated. In this chapter, the international grounds of competition between Russia and England in the late nineteenth century are first described, then the actions that led to the border dispute between Iran and Afghanistan, which had their roots in Goldsmith's arbitration, and then the mediation of the British government based on the Treaty of Paris and the dispatch of the McMahon delegation in 1903 to definitively determine the borders are recounted. In the third chapter, the effective role of Heshmat al-Mulkane, the then Emir of Qa'in, in advancing the goals of the British in Sistan is discussed. This chapter also describes the dimensions and manner of the rebellion of the people of Sistan against the British in 1902. Chapter four is devoted to the role of two other Iranian agents, Mirza Abdolhamid Khan Ghaffari (Yamin Nizam), (Iranian Commissioner and Border Guard of Sistan) and Mirza Musa Khan (Nayeb Al-Wazara), the agent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sistan, the former of whom was pro-British and the latter opposed British policies in Sistan, as well as the pressures exerted by Britain on the Iranian government to dismiss Musa Khan and retain Abdolhamid Khan. In addition, this chapter recounts how McMahon determined and the results of the division of Sistan's water. In chapter five, the situation of agriculture and livestock in Sistan in 1872, when Sistan was divided, is compared with the three decades later when the water division was carried out to the detriment of Iran. The author believes that the division of Sistan, together with the conditions imposed by Britain, led to the destruction of agriculture and the reduction of livestock, the spread of plague, famine, and rebellion, and ultimately the destruction of Sistan in Iran. Chapter 6 provides a brief overview of the colonial competition between the Russian, British, and German governments in Iran in the 19th century and the concessions and agreements that were concluded in this regard. In the last chapter, the issue of the division of Sistan water and the decisions and actions taken in this regard during the reigns of Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi until 1972 are briefly followed. The book ends with a list of sources and an index of names.
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