Sykes' History of Persia Vol 2 (pdf) - Heritage Institute

THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 455
were ama/cd at British magnanimity in exacting no
guarantee, no indemnity, and no o the
joy of the Sadr-i-Aa/am at the Kind
for his dismissal may he 1
imagined.
From the British point
1
of view n
became better after the war, which Persians seldom reter
to with bitterness ; and, as the Indian Mutiny broke
a few weeks later, it was fortunate that no British tn
were locked up in Persia or Afghanistan.
The New Ruler of Herat. The Persian Government,
forewarned of the terms of the treaty, hastened to hand
over Mohamed Yusuf to the relatives of Said Mohan
by whom he was put to death. A Barakzai Sirdar,
Sultan Ahmad Khan, a refugee nephew and son-in-law of
Dost Mohamed, was appointed Governor of Herat upon
agreeing to cause the Khutba to be read in the name of
the Shah. The young Sirdar hastened to his principality,
where he arrived before the Persian General, a prince of
The latter,
the blood, had heard of the new agreement.
roused from his slumbers by the intrusion of the
importunate Afghan, promptly ordered him to be sei
and bastinadoed. After this favourite punishment had
been inflicted, matters were duly explained and the Sirdar
was seated on the Herat throne. Consequently, although
Persia had been defeated, she was able both to keep the
terms of the Treaty of Paris and yet
to rule Herat
through Sultan Ahmad Khan, who even visited Tent
and received a robe of honour from his gracious suzerain
the Shah. It is difficult to understand why
the British
Government did not insist on the handing over of the
province to Dost Mohamed, and it looks as if the astute
Persian got the better of the British negotiator.
During this period of transition, a deputation of
British officers from the Teheran mission was despatched
to Herat ;
but the Afghan Prince was not satisfied with
receiving " the moral support of England's recognition
and sympathy" and little else. A Russian mission under
It is not generally known that we owe the invention of khaki to this war
1
Persian word " signifying of dust," and so "dust-coloured." It appears that some
Persian troops dressed in this dust-coloured uniform were almost invisible at a distance,
and the Indian authorities accordingly adopted it.