An Ottoman Archival Document on Asian Policy of England and Russia in the Early 20th Century

Abstract

The article is prepared on the basis of the study of one document from the Ottoman archives. This document was written by the ambassador of the Ottoman in Washington, Ali Farrukh-bey in 1901, and sent to the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II. The ambassador explains the Asian policies of Britain and Russia and emphasizes that action should be taken against this policy. As is known from history, Britain and Russia had been fighting politically and militarily in Central Asia, especially Afghanistan, for a long time to take over India. This struggle in Central Asia and Afghanistan had been at the center of attention of the Ottoman ruler. This document contains some important points that are of interest to the historians of Azerbaijan, too. For example, the Washington Ambassador points out that Iran was tricked by England and Russia, emphasizing that their real goal is to divide Iran. He writes that Englandconvinced the Iranian Shah of the lie that North Azerbaijan would be occupied by the Ottomans, and in this way it is trying to foment a conflict between Iran and the Ot-toman Empire. He also, paying attention to the problems of confrontation between sects, advises the Ottoman ruler that the two countries should act jointly in “Islamic Asia”, against sectarian conflicts.