Foreign servants and advisors ion Mashhad

Gholam Reza Azari Khakestar
Translated by: Mohammad Bagher Khoshnevisaan

2015-11-23

The studies of Mashhad -research in the recent decade focusing on contemporary history have been able to provide a proper response for the researchers of this area. Most researches on local history with an approach on new subjects and using of archival documents has caused the produced resources to meet large part of the needs of students and researchers. After the publication and release of books such as "From Constitutional Revolution to Islamic Revolution", and "Immigrant Groups to Mashhad from Safavid Era until Now", in his third research work, Ali Najafzadeh, a history researcher and a lecturer in the history group of Birjand University has reviewed foreign servants and advisors in Mashhad from Qajar era to Islamic revolution. The book has been published by Ansar publications and the National Library and Archives Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran in 994 pages and 1000 copies.

The history of research concerning the presence of foreign countries in Mashhad shows that in the past years, several articles have been written in this regard and published in reliable scientific magazines in addition to a book about the cultural and social activities of Americans in Mashhad.

The author has written this book through reviewing various sources including books, documents, photos, oral history interviews and published reports and news in the newspapers. The writer in general has released the latest book in the area of Mashhad's local history by citing 91 sources and references the most prominent of which are: Agabekov Memoirs, Colonel Stewart Logbook, World War in Iran, Fredrick O'Conner Memoirs, Khanikov Logbook, the books of Sir Percy Sykes, Rabino, Dixon, Dalmani, Richards, Kerzen, Grutteh, Hill, Vambery, Henry Moser, McGregor and so on.   

The writer through citing 38 archival books has also tried to use the released documents by Foreign Ministry Publications, National Archives Organization, the Center for Reviewing Historical Documents of Intelligence Ministry, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Organization of Libraries, Museums and Documents Center of Astan Quds Razavi, and the privately-released collections which somehow have referred to the presence of foreign servants and advisors in Mashhad. Research also constitutes another part of the documentation of the book "Foreign Consulates, Servants and Advisors in Mashhad" among which are the searches carried out by Gholamreza Riazi (Mashhad Guide), Ramin Ramin Nejad (The History of Khorasan Division), Gholamreza Jalali (Mashhad in the Morning of Imam Khomeini (God bless his soul) Movement, Soheila Torabi Farsani (Merchants, Constitutional Movement and Modern Government), Kaveh Bayat (Soulat al-Saltanah Hezarah and Khorasan Uprising), Yusef Motevalli Haqiqi (The Contemporary History of Mashhad), Hossain Makki (The 20-year History of Iran), and so on.

The writer has also used 66 articles released in scientific journals and press. In addition to the above mentioned cases, citing some 70 newspapers and weekly journals including local dailies such as Azadi, Aftab-e Sharq, Tazeh Bahar, Chaman, Yaqma, Dadgostaran, Tolou Khorasan, Mehr Monir, Rasti, Alkamal, Besharat, Bahar, Akhbar-e Tazeh Rouz, Sangar Khavar, Nour, Khorasan, Hirmand and others constitutes other references of the book. The writer has tried to use a few oral history resources, and those who are interested in oral history are open to research in this regard, although oral history interviews have been conducted sporadically about other professions such as foreign physicians and engineers, and in some cases, special plans haven allocated some foreign physicians in Mashhad. 31 old physicians have been particularly conducted interviews in the plan of Mashhad's Medical History. Or some oral history interviews have been conducted about some engineers in Mashhad's sugar industry, but the writer like his other works had just relied on resources, documents and the articles of newspapers.

In the book's introduction, Alireza Rashidian, the Governor of Khorasan Razavi Province has referred to generalities of the subject of the book "Foreign Consulates, Servants and Advisors in Mashhad", dealing with the writing of the book in the area of Mashhad studies. "Although many books have been published in the area of Mashhad studies, the process of being globalized and the increasing recognition of the city as the second metropolitan religious city and its future situation has increased day by day the significance of recognizing the city's history."

In the book's preface, the writer has pointed to the structure, reasons, and goals of establishment of missions, and consulates, their performance and relations with the governor generals and governors, reviewing the reasons behind the short-lived activity some of the consulates such as Turkey, Poland, China, India and so on.  

The book has been compiled in six parts and the reader in the first chapter become familiar with the founding of Russian consulate in Mashhad and its side activities. The Russians were the first country which managed to establish a consulate in Mashhad. They pushed Nasereddin Shah Qajar for getting the permission of opening a consulate. The Shah resisted at first but since he had to create a balance between the two superpowers, he finally agreed to do this against the concessions he gave to the Britain for shipping in Karoun River. Thus, Monsieur  Vellasov who was previously Russian Consul General in Rasht was appointed as Russian General Consul in Mashhad in 1888. The Russian consulate in Mashhad was opened in 1889 and the country's flag was installed in a building in Mashhad's Chahr Bagh neighborhood. Monsieur  Velasove was Russian Consul General in Mashshad until 1896 and then, M. Ponametidin arrived in Mashhad in July 1897.

The most important issues reviewed in this chapter are the establishment of Russian consulate during Qajar era and its performance through setting up of institutions like loan bank and charity clinic. Then, the author has dealt comprehensively with the performance of the Russian consulates during Reza Shah rein and the issues such as Russian business companies since Colonel Mohammad Taqi Khan Pessian, the spying activities of Apersov, postal shipments, Lenin School and Russian immigrants in Mashhad. Then, the situation of the consulate during occupation of Mashhad by the Russians and their cultural, educational-development activities until their departure and the disbanding of the consulate have also been reviewed.

The second chapter of the book has been allocated to the British consulate and its performance in Mashhad. The Britain managed to set up a consulate in Mashhad in the late nineteenth century. The first British Consul General in Mashhad was Charles Smith Mclean. He was the British Consul General in Mashhad from first of February 1889 till fourth of December 1891. Then, Sir Charles Edward Yate (born in 1849) became the acting consul general in Mashhad in July 1893 and was the British Consul General in Mashhad from September 1896 to tenth of February 1897.
About the place of the British consulate in Mashhad, he says, "The British consulate had been located in southwestern corner of the city. The place which had been considered for my settlement had an area of some six acres, surrounding by long walls in the middle of which was a white two-storey building … and behind the consulate office, there was stables and the house the deputy consul. And finally, in the corner of the garden, a house had been built for the residence of the doctor. Therefore, the consulate had collected all the necessary facilities in one place and very better conditions had been provided in comparison with the past which each of these departments had been located in the city sporadically."

The book has delved in the issues related to the Britain during Qajar and Pahlavi eras and the most important parts of this chapter are the establishment of the Consulate General, Imperial Bank, the Consulate General Clinic, the Association of Britain-Iran Cultural Relations, Cultural Council of Britain in Mashhad and so on.

Mr. Najaf Zadeh in the third chapter has presented new documented issues concerning the consulates of Asian countries in Mashhad and the activities of Afghanistan's consulates. About the history of Afghanistan's consulate in Mashhad, he writes, "In November 1900, Amir Abdul Rahman Khan tried to provide the grounds for the setting up a consulate in Mashhad by attracting the attention of the Ulema in this important city. In a letter to Aqa Mirza Seyed Ali Yazdi, he asked him to announce his internal agreement for the presence of an official agent in Mashhad so that the flag of Afghanistan is hoisted there…"

The establishment of Turkish Bash Shahbandari and the history of the presence of Turkey in Mashhad at the end of the First World War is another subject of the book. The Ottomans had not established Shabandari in Mashhad but the Turks did so in the first months of 1919. The establishment of Shabandari in Mashhad which is an important religious center for the Shias in neighboring Afghanistan was a plan for the Turks. Thus, it was established by Mohammad Sami Beik in 1922 after the setting up of Turkish Grand National Assembly, and its main slogan was the Islamic unity and propaganda against the British operations in Mesopotamia and the modern Turkey. 

Research about Chinese consulate is another subject of "Foreign Consulates, Servants and Advisors in Mashhad". After August 1941, China opened a consulate in Mashhad for a short period and Ti Yen Pachi was the Consul General. The consulates of Pakistan, India, Japan and Arab countries such as Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the Persian Gulf littoral states have also been studied by Najaf Zadeh. He has compiled detailed subjects about the history and activities of these consulates in Mashhad.

The fourth chapter of "Foreign Consulates, Servants and Advisors in Mashhad" deals with the servants of Eastern Europe including Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia, and their business and industrial activities in Mashhad. The eastern European countries with socialist and communist orientations had commonalities, and except Poland, no such country managed to set up a consulate in Mashhad.  

The fifth part of the book has also been allocated to Western European servants including Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands. A number of the above mentioned nationals work in Mashhad's Imam Reza hospital in medical field.   

In the last part of the book, the writer reviews and analyzes the American advisors and missionaries in Mashhad by relying on medical activities and the fourth principle. Unlike Russia and Britain, the United States arrived in Mashhad with medical and advertising activities. At first, the country presented activities in medical field. Then, it set up a consulate in the city. James Bassett the efficient American missionary who traveled to Mashhad on behalf of "The British and Foreign Bible Society" for his mission to translate a version of the Gospel by Matthew in Takah Turkmanee, evaluated the existing facilities and grounds for starting missionary activity in the city while carrying out his main mission.  Bassett was accompanied by two of the distributors of the Gospel.

The second American missionary who traveled to Mashhad was Lewis F. Esselstyn. He arrived in the city in a895 but after a short while was forced to leave the city. The reason behind his sudden departure is unknown. Apparently he was forced to leave the city as a result the change of conditions and the people's harsh treatment. But Esselstyn once again returned to Mashhad in 1911 and stayed in the city until his death. When Dr. Joseph Cook and his wife came to the city in 1915, the loneliness days of Esselstyn came to an end. Then, with the help the medical service of Dr. Cook set up a small medical center in one of old districts of Mashhad. One year later, Dr. Cook was forced to leave the city due to affliction to tuberculosis and was temporarily replaced by Dr. Hoffman. The activities of the American continued through the establishment of hospitals as well as a consulate in the city.

The author in his book tries to present a new approach toward the local history studies by relying on the documents and newspapers, presenting valuable information to the readers among pile of documents and the studies carried out in this regard. Certainly the release of such book is the result of the efforts during several years which has introduced an important part of Mashhad's contemporary history.