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'Eastern Bureau, Basrah Branch' [‎92] (156/188)

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The record is made up of 1 file (117 folios). It was created in 1 Aug 1916-1 Sep 1917. 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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-mission to Bin 8a'ud offered him a providential means of escape. On reaching
Ibn Sa'ud he placed himself in communication with the British authorities and
was allowed at his own suggestion to proceed to India via Kuweit.
Meanwhile, when the possibility of Turkey"s entry into the war had
become likely His Majesty's Grovernment had decided to send an emissary to,
Ibn Sa'ud in our own interests in the person of Captain A>. II I. Shakespear,
formerly 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 Kuweit, who was then in England. By the time
lie had reached the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , war had already been declared, but it was
none the less desired to maintain touch with Ibn Sa'ud and if possible to
get him to move up towards' Iraq in our interests. Captain Shakespear accord
ingly proceeded from Kuweit on this mission and found Ibn Sa'ud with a
large force moving towards the Shammar country to attack Ibn Hashid, and
very confident of success. His force included contingent of the Ajman tribe,
a redoubtable though at the same time disreputable tribe from the A1 Hassa
district who had long been estranged from their overlord but were still under
his suzerainty and obeyed the order for a general union of forces. The Mutair
too were on their way to join and in the circumstances, it w r as believed in the
desert that Ibn Sa'ud was bound to defeat his traditional enemy for, in addition
to the large numbers of his fighting men, he had with him three or four
Turkish mountain guns with trained gunners. But there is one factor in any
Arab fight which is outside prophecy and that is treachery.
It is believed that there could have been no doubt as to the result,
had it not been (according to the tales of the Bedouin) for the treachery of the
Ajman. They are said to have turned upon their own side at a critical stage
of the conflict, killed large numbers, confused the rest, and made off with
a large booty of camels.
Adherents of either side naturally give very different versions of what
occurred, but there is no doubt that while both parties suffered severely from
the shock of the encounter and from the depradations of the Ajman and other
marauders after it, Ibn Sa'ud was the hardest hit and was for the time crippltd.
It w T as in the course of this action that Captain Shakespear, who insisted on
being present as an interested spectator, though pressed by his friend and host
to remain at a distance, met his lamented and untimely end.
No two accounts give the some version of the precise circumstances of his
death, and until the clouds of war have passed over and reliable sources from
both sides can be reached under conditions of peace, it is hardly possible that
they can be ascertained with certainty.
But to return to the fight. The Mutair were some distance away when
the fight began. When they diew near and heard the sound of shots, they
worked round the fight for south and finally came up right behind the Sham-
mar to where they had left their camels. These they seized and made of with
and secured large booty. They then returned to their own country and to the
defeated Ibn Sa'ud said : "Why did you fly ? See, we have captured the very
dhulul of Ibn Rashid himself." As indeed they had. But nothing could
compensate for the reversal of fortune created by the treachery of the Ajman,,
And to this day Ibn Sa'ud cherishes the hope of wiping them out to a man.
Only their repute as fighting men—and it is often said there are no Arabs their
equals— has preserved them from extinction. For they have many enemies and
no friends.
Arabs themselves say that of Bedouin the stoutest fighters are
the Ajman, and of the Muntafik the Budur. The Shammar too are
redoubtable, as are the Zayyad, who occasionally appear to the help of
the Dhafir. Less reputable fighters, though famous raiders, are the Mutair
and the Dhafir. There is no tribe to touch the Dhafir for what seems
to us mere thieving, though it is dignified by the Prophet under the name of
a raid. It will be noticed in this brief history of tribal dissensions that the
Budur continually saved the Dhafir from disaster. And indeed the Dhafir owe
everything to the Budur. Certain tribes like the Azairij are distinguished
nghters on their own ground but helpless for a field. It is not so with the
Budur. At home or abroad they display the same consistency of valour, and
they have a quality almost peculiar to them the quality of always rallying to
the standard of their head chief in the face of a common enemy, notwithstand
ing their internal quarrelsomeness and a certain reputation for ruffianism. It

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Content

The file contains fortnightly reports from the 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. , Bahrain, to the Chief Political Officer Basrah [Basra] / Eastern Bureau, Basrah [Basra], dated 1 August 1916 - 1 September 1917. The file also contains a note on the Eastern Bureau and Basrah [Basra] Office dated [1916].

The reports cover Turkey, trade, Hassa [Hasa], Japanese trade, Oman affairs, plague, inoculation, and Qatif [al-Qaṭīf].

Extent and format
1 file (117 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1 on the front cover and terminates at 108 on the back cover. The numbers are written in pencil and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page of each folio. Foliation anomaly: ff. 1, 1A. The following numbers do not appear in the sequence: 32, 33. The following pagination ranges occur: 56-75; 87-93.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Eastern Bureau, Basrah Branch' [‎92] (156/188), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/68, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023400095.0x00009d> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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