Percy Sykes
Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes | |
|---|---|
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George |
FRGS (28 February 1867 – 11 June 1945) was a British soldier, diplomat, and scholar with a considerable literary output. He wrote historical, geographical, and biographical works, as well as describing his travels in Persia and Central Asia
.
Early life
Percy Sykes was born in
He was educated at Rugby School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[6]
Military career
Sykes was commissioned into the
Khūzestān
in 1906.
In 1915 Sykes was knighted. a book which documents their nine-month journey.
While stationed in Persia he was given the temporary rank of
Brigadier-General, he was placed in command of the South Persia Rifles that he raised himself.[15] His forces, consisting of some 7,000 men, supported the Russians at Isfahan against Bakhtiaras and restored some order to the country. Once stationed at Isfahan, Sykes used numerous excuses to remain, including a supposed Russian request that the South Persia rifles be used as a garrison for Isfahan.[15] By 1917 numerous British authorities, save Lord Curzon, were calling for his removal. Despite this, Sykes was finally recalled in 1918.[15]
Later life
Sykes retired from the army in 1924, retaining the honorary rank of Brigadier-General. From 1932 until his death he was honorary secretary of the Royal Central Asian Society, now known as the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. The society has in its gift an award called The Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal.[16]
The
Patron's Medal in 1902.[17]
Family and legacy
In 1902 he married Evelyn Seton, eldest daughter of Colonel Bruce Seton of the Royal Engineers and they had six children. His daughter Rachel married Sir Patrick Reilly the diplomat.
Percy's family later introduced the "Sykes medal", awarded to those who contributed to the understanding of
Persia and Central Asia.[18]
Publications
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1902). Ten Thousand Miles in Persia. John Murray. [6]
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1910). The Glory of the Shia World. Macmillan Publishers.[6]
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1914). Lectures delivered to the Persia Society, 1913–1914. Morrison & Gibb.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1915). A History of Persia. MacMillan.[6]
- "Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia". MacMillan. 1920.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1921). A History of Persia (2nd ed.). MacMillan.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1922). Persia. Oxford University Press.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1926). The Right Honourable Sir Mortimer Durand. Cassell & Co.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1930). A History of Persia (3rd ed.). MacMillan.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1934). A History of Exploration. George Routledge & Sons.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1936). The Quest for Cathay. A. & C. Black.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1938). À La Recherche du Cathay. Payot, Paris.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Sykes, Sir Percy (1939). Explorers All, Famous Journeys in Asia. George Newnes.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1939). Sir Percy Sykes (ed.). The Story of Exploration and Adventure. George Newnes.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1940). A History of Afghanistan. MacMillan.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1949). A History of Exploration. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Sykes, Sir Percy (1958). A History of Persia (3rd edition, with supplementary essays ed.). MacMillan.
Notes
- ^ a b Two Hundred Years of the S.P.G.: An Historical Account of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1701-1900, Based on a Digest of the Society's Records, vol. I, Charles Frederick Pascoe, 1901, p. 929
- ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 2, p. 2720
- ^ Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, fortieth edition, Sir Bernard Burke, Harrison, Pall Mall, 1878, p. 835
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/73441. Retrieved 15 October 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford 1715-1886, later series, S-Z, ed. Joseph Foster, Parker & Co., 1888, p. 1380
- ^ a b c d e
- "A History of Persia". World Digital Library. 1921. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ^ "Second Meeting, 23rd November, 1891. Election of Fellows". Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. New Series. 13: 731. 1891.
- ^ "No. 27454". The London Gazette. 15 July 1902. p. 4511.
- ^ Percy Molesworth Sykes, Y.M. Choueiri, A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing: A-J, ed. Daniel R. Woolf, (Routledge, 1998), 871.
- ^ a b Hugh Leach and Susan Marie Farrington, Strolling About on the Roof of the World: The First Hundred Years of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, (Routledge, 2003), 185.
- ^ "The Coronation Honours". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 5.
- ^ "No. 27456". The London Gazette. 22 July 1902. p. 4669.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36972. London. 8 January 1903. p. 8.
- ^ Through deserts and oases of central Asia, by Sykes, Ella Constance, d. 1939; Sykes, Percy Molesworth, Sir, 1867-1945 , https://archive.org/details/cu31924023243391
- ^ John S. Galbraithand Robert A. Huttenback, National and International Politics in the Middle East: Essays in Honour of Elie Kedourie, ed. Edward Ingram, (Routledge, 2013), 117-119.
- ^ "RSAA Awards". RSAA. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ^ "Royal Geographical Society". The Times. No. 36716. London. 15 March 1902. p. 12.
- ISBN 9781460280669.
References
- Who’s Who
- Meyer, Karl E. and Shareen Blair Brysac (2008). Kingmakers: the Invention of the Modern Middle East. W.W. Norton.
- Anthony, Wynn (2003). Persia in the Great Game – Sir Percy Sykes: Explorer, Consul, Soldier. John Murray.
External links
Media related to Percy Sykes at Wikimedia Commons
