Excerpts

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The famous Red Line Agreement, signed July 1928, created a closely held oil monopoly within the circumscribed area BP Archive/BP plc	The red line drawn on this map is intended to follow the following lines: A-B.- The frontier defined by the Treaty of Berlin of 13th July 1878 and by the Treaty of San Stefano of 3rd March 1878. B-C.- The frontier demarcated by the Turco-Persian Frontier Commission in 1913-14 on the basis of the Protocol signed at Constantinople on the 4(17) November 1913 excepting in sectors a-b and c-d where the red line is intended to follow the line of the previous de facto frontier described on page 139 and 140 of the Minutes of the Frontier Commission in a note dated the 1/14th October 1914 by the Russian and British Commissioners. C-D-E.- The limit of territorial waters of the Arabian peninsula excepting the Sultanate of Koweit and the Farsan Archipelago. E-F.- The frontier defined by the Anglo-Turkish convention of 1st October 1906. F-G.- The red line is intended to follow the decision of the Conference of London on the 13th February 1914 in execution of Article 5 of the Treaty of London of 17/30th May 1913 and Article 15 of the Treaty of Athens of the 1/14th November 1913. G-H.- The frontier defined by the Treaty of Constantinople on the 16/29th September 1913. H-A.- The limit of the territorial waters of Turkey in the Black Sea.
Akkadian cylinder seal; when rolled upon a surface, authenticated information about ownership; circa 2254-2193 B.C.E. Oriental Institute Museum	Six-sided inscribed clay prism recording eight military campaigns of King Sennacherib; circa 689 B.C.E. Oriental Institute Museum
Artist's conception of Timur Richard Hook	Anglo-Persian Oil Company's original 1901 concession BP Archive/BP plc
Native workman carrying cans of Anglo-Persian kerosene via mule, circa 1905-1910 BP Archive/BP plc	Tribal horsemen hired to protect Anglo-Persian oil wells in Persia, circa 1905 BP Archive/BP plc
Iraq's first oil gusher, Baba Gurgur, October 14, 1927 BP Archive/BP plc	River of oil from Baba Gurgur, October 14, 1927 BP Archive/BP plc
British Indian troops shell the Turks during Mesopotamia Campaign, circa 1916 Imperial War Museum requires specific permission from archive	C. S. Gulbenkian's passport picture, circa 1933 C. S. Gulbenkian Foundation requires specific permission from archive
C. S. Gulbenkian relaxing with kitten C. S. Gulbenkian Foundation requires specific permission from archive	Detail of a Standard Oil highway map in Nazi Germany featuring a gas station attendant giving a Hitler salute Author's Acquisition
Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini reviews Moslem Waffen-SS troops in Bosnia, as shown on a Nazi magazine cover, 1944 Author's Private Collection	Changing of the signs, December 1954 BP Archive/BP plc
Winston Churchill during his Admiralty years before World War I Courtesy of Sir Martin Gilbert	King Faisal in London in 1933 shortly before his death AP Worldwide Photos requires specific permission from archive
Saddam Hussein, 1987 Jim Hollander, Reuters/Corbis requires specific permission from archive	Iraqi Jewish refugees disembarking from plane in Israel during Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. Circa 1950-1951 Government of Israel Press Office Photo Archive
Iraqi Jewish refugees being airlifted to Israel Government of Israel Press Office Photo Archive	Lt. Col. Hughes issuing mission orders to battalion leadership before entering Najaf, April 2003 Courtesy of LTC Christopher Hughes
Lt. Col. Chris Hughes outside Najaf, April 2003 Courtesy of LTC Christopher Hughes	Bravo Company, last inspection before movement to Najaf mosque to meet with Ayatollah Sistani Courtesy of LTC Christopher Hughes

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