'File 61/14 XIV (D 61) Relations between Najd and Iraq'

Content

The volume contains letters, memoranda, and reports concerning relations between Najd, Iraq, and Kuwait. The majority of the correspondence is between Hugh Briscoe, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Bushire, Harold Dickson, Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Kuwait, Ibn Sa'ud, Sheikh Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah of Kuwait, Francis Humphrys, High Commissioner at Baghdad, Robert Brooke-Popham, Air Officer Commanding in Iraq, Abdul Qadir Rashid, Secretary to the Council of Ministers in Iraq, Sidney Webb, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and the British Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Jeddah.

The volume covers a period after the defeat of the Ikhwan rebels by Ibn Sa‘ud and their attempts to find safety and regroup in Kuwait and Iraq. Within this broad context several subjects are contained by the documents:

• rebels, both Awazim and Ajman, seeking refuge in Kuwait and Ibn Sa‘ud's response to that;
• a short conference held in Basra attended by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , the Kuwait Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , the and the Air Officer Commanding;
• Wahhabi propaganda in Kuwait;
• Ibn Sa‘ud's complaints about King Faisal of Iraq's alleged intriguing with the Ikhwanrebels;
• reconnaissance missions in the Kuwait desert and along the frontier zone;
• the possible necessity of an airbase in Kuwait;
• the visit of rebel leader Naif al-Hathlain [al-Hithlain] to Kuwait;
• intelligence of tribal movements and whereabouts in general.

Documents of note within the volume are the following:

• Dickson's report (folios 49-55) on a reconnaissance trip between the Shaqq Depression and al-Batin, with information on wells;
• Biscoe's report (folios 120-29) on the Basra conference;
• Dickson's report (folios 165-71) on the 'Shaikh of Kuwait's point of view vis-à-vis H. M. King Bin Saud, and his fears of a coming attack on his territories by the latter.'

At the back of the volume (folios 263-265) are internal office notes.

Extent and format

1 volume (271 folios)

Arrangement

The volume is arranged chronologically. There is an alphabetical subject index to the contents, at the front of the volume (folios 3, 4). The index entries include the folio numbers of relevant documents, to help identify and locate them within the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the sequence runs from front to back, excluding covers. Numbering is written in pencil, circled, and found in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. Two Arabic letters (folios 191A-191B and 192A-192B) are folded and enclosed in envelopes which are addressed in Arabic. The back of each envelope has been attached by adhesive to a separate blank page (folios 191 and 192). There is a second, inconsistent sequence. It is written in pencil but not circled.

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/1/590

Former external reference(s)

A Series: 61/14 XIV Confidential Series: D 61

History of this record

Date(s)

19 Nov 1929-31 Dec 1929 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Wahhābīyah

Places

IraqKuwait

People & organisations

Ikhwan, military and religious brotherhoodBritish Legation to Saudi ArabiaColonial OfficeHigh Commissioner, IraqAir Officer Commanding, IraqShaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, Hakim of KuwaitNāyif bin Ḥithlayn'Ajmān (Tribe)'Awāzim (Tribe)

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'File 61/14 XIV (D 61) Relations between Najd and Iraq', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/590, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000233> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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