The English Amongst the Persians During the Qajar Period, 1787-1921 by Denis Wright lands on the shelves of my shop, where it will be found in my History Middle East section.
London: Heinemann, 1977, Hardback in dust wrapper.
A Later Printing. Contains: Black & white photographs; Black & white plates; Maps; Abbreviations; Appendices [4];
From the cover: Relations between Britain and Persia, excellent though they are today, are more complex than at first meets the eye. Many Persians are inclined to regard the British with an awe and suspicion not reserved for other foreigners; and despite Britains weakened position in the world they are still apt to see a sinister British hand at work behind the scenes.
The reason for this rather special position of the British in Persian eyes lies in past history, more particularly in the period of the Shahs of the Qajar dynasty between 1787 and 1921, when Britain and Russia were competing for influence and were all too ready to act without regard for Persian feelings. Britains interest during this period stemmed from Persias geographical situation on the threshold of India, the Jewel in the Crown of her imperial possessions which she was determined to protect from Russian encroachment.
Against this background of intense Anglo-Russian rivalry Sir Denis Wright describes the multifarious activities diplomatic, military, commercial, missionary, etc. of the British in Persia and their impact on the Persians during the Qajar period. He underlines the unhappy impression left by the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 dividing Persia into spheres of influence between what were then the worlds two super-powers. He concludes with a brief but authoritative account, based on the diaries of the late Lord Ironside, of the events preceding the historic coup detat of 21 February 1921 led by Reza Khan, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty.
Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper. Gently bruised at the head of the spine and the top corners of the boards with commensurate wear to the dust wrapper. Text complete, clean and tight.
Black boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. [XV] 218 pages. Index. Bibliography. 9½” x 6¼”.
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