Kazeroun Issues (c.1916-17)
12Ch handstamped ملت کازرون (Mellat-e-Kazeroun) tied to a piece by Daleki negative seal postmarks.
Shiraz - Kazeroun - Bushire
Iranian nationalists were quite unhappy with the situation and presence of the foreign troops on their soil. As the World War I broke out in Europe, the Russian and British forces invaded Iran from both directions of North and South. Iranian nationalists headed by Nasser Divan Kazerouni took up arms against the invading forces.
On 18 November 1915, Iranian resistance liberated Shiraz from the British forces and arrested the British Council in Shiraz and took him to Tangistan. The same day, the British operator of telegraph in Kazeroun was executed by the firing squad as the Iranian nationalist forces took over the town.
Kazeroun is located about 55 miles west of Shiraz on the main route to Bushire. Thus strategically was very important to all forces.
The nationalists intercepted all mails going through Kazeroun and in late December 1916, overprinted the affixed stamps on the mail by handstamps reading "Mellat-eh Kazeroun". These handstamps were applied on all mails originating from this town, or arriving, and or passing through Kazeroun.
Two types of censor markings are generally found on the Kazeroun covers, as shown below:
Inspected in Kazeroun (Dar Kazeroun Taftish Shod), which applied in Kazeroun, and
Censored in Shiraz (Dar Shiraz
Saansoor Shod), which stamped in Shiraz.
On February 17, 1916, Sir Percy Sykes, heading a British Military force combined of British officers and Indian soldiers landed in Bandar Abbas. His troops were officially named Southern Persia Rifles on March 2nd, 1916.
On 31 December 1916, five hundred British troops attacked Kazeroun which after an intense exchange of fire and 100 casualties on the British side, they retreated toward Shiraz.
On 6 January 1917, British forces occupied the southern part of Iran.
The following shows examples of some of these overprinted stamps used during this period.
5 December 1916, cover to Shiraz
franked with a 6ch
December 1916, cover to Shiraz
franked with 1ch, 3ch, 6ch, 9ch, 12ch, and 1kr.
January 1917, back of a cover
to Shiraz franked with 1ch through 3kr stamps.