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File 2182/1913 Pt 9 'Arabia Policy towards Bin Saud' [‎36r] (69/406)

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The record is made up of 1 item (203 folios). It was created in 27 Dec 1918-2 Jun 1919. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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9?
-J
Dated Cairo Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , the 16th December 1918.
mission^. 18 Ex0ellen ° y the Vicer °y. with the compliments of the High Com-
No. 328.
(5172/317.)
Sir
* 15th December 1918.
With reference to my telegram* No. 1881 of December 14th, I have
• Serui No. 66. honour to forward copies of Colonel
tt . i . . . , . Wilson’s despatch and of a letter from
wTa?D-habj C a 0 h nPlainmg ° f ^ ^ by IkhWan 0n the Emir Shaker ’ s ^VV^J
Copies of this despatch and enclosures have been sent to India and
idan. ^
Baghdad.
The Bight Honourable
Arthur James Balfour, O.M., M.P.,
&c., &c., &c.
I have the honour to be,
with the highest respect,
Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant,
Beginald Wingate.
Copy.
No. 20.
(5172/315.)
KHUBMA. Jeddah,
^ r > 4th December 1918.'
I have the honour to forward herewith translations of the letter and
telegram from King Hussein to myself referred to in my telegram No. W.-503,
December 3rd, the original letter is being sent to the Arab Bureau by this
mail.
I felt it most desirable that Your Excellency should be informed as fully
as possible at an early date and therefore telegraphed my views at leno-th
(W.-504, December 3rd) as this despatch will not reach Cairo until December
13th.
King Hussein appears to be really nervous of the consequences of the
present Ikhwan activity and to this his appeal for British support is probably
due. His statement that Great Britain had agreed to support him is,
I understand, not a fact. (Note by Lieutenant-Colonel Cornwallis, dated
10th September on King Hussein’s letter to Your Excellency, dated 28th
August 1918.)
There appears to be only two courses open—
(1) For His Majesty’s Government to send peremptory orders to Ibn
Sand to withdraw all Ikhwan from Khurma informing him that in event of
his refusal His Majesty’s Government will stop his supplies and subsidy and
may be compelled to break relations with him altogether ; at the same time
informing him of the King’s written guarantee (see my despatch No. 20,
dated 24th November, to lour Excellency) and advising him. to accept the
principle of a Suzerain.
(2) For King Hussein and Ibn Saud to be left alone to fight the matter
out between them.
These two courses are really similar to the alternatives mentioned on page
3 of my note submitted to Your Excellency on 1st May 1918. ihe adoption
of the first must, I think, entail His Majesty’s Government s approva o e
“ Suzerain policy ”, the adoption of the second would possibly lead to a general
upheaval in Arabia and make any settlement in the near futuie extieme y
difficult.

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Part 9 primarily concerns the dispute between Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and King Hussein of Hejaz [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī, King of Hejaz], and British policy towards both. The item includes the following:

  • a note by the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. 's Political Department, entitled 'Arabia: The Nejd-Hejaz Feud', which laments the fact that relations between Bin Saud and King Hussein have to some extent been reflected in the views of the two administrations with which they have respectively been brought into contact (i.e. the sphere of Mesopotamia and the Government of India in Bin Saud's case, and the Cairo administration in King Hussein's case);
  • reports on the presence of Akhwan [Ikhwan] forces in Khurma and debate as to which ruler has the stronger claim to it;
  • attempts by the British to ascertain whether or not a treaty exists between King Hussein and Bin Saud;
  • a copy of a report by Harry St John Bridger Philby entitled 'Report on Najd Mission 1917-1918', which includes as appendices a précis of British relations with Bin Saud and a copy of the 1915 treaty between Bin Saud and the British government;
  • reports of alleged correspondence between Bin Saud and Fakhri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , Commander of the Turkish [Ottoman] forces at Medina;
  • reports of the surrender of Medina by Ottoman forces;
  • discussion as to whether Britain should intervene further in the dispute between Bin Saud and King Hussein;
  • details of the proposals discussed at an inter-departmental conference on Middle Eastern affairs, which was held at Cairo in February 1919;
  • reports that King Hussein's son Abdulla [ʿAbdullāh bin al-Ḥusayn] and his forces have been attacked at Tarabah [Turabah] by Akhwan forces and driven out.

The principal correspondents are the following:

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1 item (203 folios)
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English in Latin script
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File 2182/1913 Pt 9 'Arabia Policy towards Bin Saud' [‎36r] (69/406), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/390/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036528094.0x00004d> [accessed 9 May 2024]

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