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'File 61/11 V (D 95) Hejaz - Nejd, Miscellaneous' [142r] (300/530)
The record is made up of 1 volume (261 folios). It was created in 12 May 1932-28 Dec 1933. It was written in English and French. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC
EASTERN (A rabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
MAJESTY'S GOYERNMENT
June 21, 1933.
S ection 2.
[E 3297/2514/25] No. 1
Sir A. Ryan to Sir John Simon—{Received June 21.)
(No. 155.)
Sir, Jedda, May 23, 1933.
IN my telegram No. 95 of the 13th May I had the honour to inform you of
the publication of an official communique relative to the designation of Ibn Saud's
eldest surviving son as heir to the Saudi Throne, a step which was decided on in
principle, when Ibn Saud's dominions were declared to be a single kingdom, but
which has evidently needed much preparation in various quarters.
2. The procedure followed has turned primarily and essentially on the
acceptance of an oath of fealty in a form known as Bay a. This oath was drawn
up on the 11th May and subscribed to in the first instance by the Amir Feisal as
President of the Council, certain religious dignitaries, the members of the
Council of Ministers and the members of the Legislative Council. I enclose a
translation of the material part of this document, ( l ) following on a pious
exordium. It was presented to the King who approved of it. The communique,
issued the same day and published in the Umm-al-Qura of the 12th May, intimated
that the necessary further ceremonial would take place on the 15th May. An
elaborate programme of the ceremonial was drawn up and circulated.
3. The ceremonies in Mecca on the 15th May were staged impressively in all
respects, except for the absence of Hamlet. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
sat in Riyadh, while his brother Feisal received the Baya on his behalf. At
8 a.m . the latter repaired to the Great Mosque, where, surrounded by high
personages and delegations from Medina, Jedda and Taif, he attended the pre
liminary prayers. A salute in honour of the King was fired, and the Amir
proceeded to receive the general Baya in an adjoining hall by shaking hands with
each of a numerous concourse of people. After this he held a reception at the
headquarters of the Government to receive congratulations, the offerers of which
were regaled with refreshing drinks. After the afternoon prayer congratulations
were offered to the King. The Amir Feisal gave a banquet in the evening. On
the 17th May he and a number of princes, including his younger uncles, two of
his brothers, a cousin and three of his nephews left for Riyadh to convey the
Baya to the Amir Saud and to offer their own homage. They were accompanied by
a delegation composed of three members of the Legislative Council.
4. On the same day, the 15th May, the local Governors in the Hejazi towns
received the Baya of the leading inhabitants in a manner similar to that observed
by the Amir teisal at Mecca. There would appear to have been no corresponding
ceremonial in Nejd pending the arrival of the Amir Feisal. The whole procedure
presents peculiarities, which probably represent the resultant of conflicting
principles. It has been very expressly linked up with the decree of the
18th September, 1932, which, when declaring the union of Saudi Arabia, provided
inter alia that the existing Council of Ministers, acting with other persons at the
discretion of the President, should prepare a rule of succession to the throne to
be submitted for the King's assent. The only documentary Baya so far would
appear to be that signed on the 11th May by the members of the Council of
Ministers and others. This was duly submitted on the same day to the King and
it might be thought that his approval completed the designation of the Amir Saud
as heir. It was obviously thought either politic or necessary, however, to obtain
the acceptance of the nomination by a much wider circle on the 15th May. Even
now it would appear that strictly speaking only the people of the Hejaz have
publicly sworn or endorsed the Baya. On the 13th May the King sent a long
telegram to the Amir Saud, full of pious exhortations, to which the Amir replied
Not printed.
[823 x—2]
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to the Hejaz and Najd. Much of the correspondence is from the British Legation in Jeddah, with regular reports on the situation in that region sent to Sir John Simon, the Foreign Secretary in London. The rest of the correspondence is mostly between the Political 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. in Bushire, the Political Agencies in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Muscat, the Colonial Office, and the Government of India.
The main subjects of the volume are:
- the change in name from 'The Kingdom of the Hejaz-Nejd and its Dependencies' to 'The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia';
- the announcement of Ibn Sa'ud's eldest son, Prince Sa'ud, as the heir apparent to the throne;
- the territorial dispute between Yemen and Saudi Arabia after the latter's absorption of the 'Asir region into its kingdom.
A copy of the 23 September 1932 issue of the newspaper Umm al-Qura is contained in the volume (folios 57-58). It features the Royal Order proclaiming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Other miscellaneous subjects covered in the volume include:
- relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia;
- a dispute between Ibn Sa'ud and his agent in Bahrain, al-Quasaibi [‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Qusaibi], over a debt the former owes the latter;
- a revolt against Ibn Sa'ud by tribes loyal to ex-King Hussein coming from Sinai;
- a request for a loan made by Ibn Sa'ud to the British Government;
- relations between the Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia;
- relations between the USA and Saudi Arabia, including the visit of a Mr Gallant looking for oil concessions;
- concessions for the building of the railway between Mecca and Jeddah;
- the prospect of Saudi Arabia joining the League of Nations;
- the case of two slave girls seeking refuge at the British Legation in Jeddah.
Other documents of note contained in the volume are:
- a copy of a new customs tariff for Saudi Arabia (folios 122-134)
- a 'Who's Who' of Saudi Arabia, produced by the British Legation in Jeddah and covering all those deemed important to know by the British (folios 183-200);
- an envelope containing the torn-out pages of an article in the International Affairs journal (Vol. 12, No. 4, Jul., 1933, pp 518-534) entitled 'Ibn Sa'ud and the Future of Arabia.'
At the back of the volume (folios 245-251) are internal office notes.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (261 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arrranged chronologically.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio and continues to the inside back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, circled and located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Note that following f 1 are folios 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D. The sequence then continues as normal from folio 2. There are two other foliation systems present but both are inconsistent and neither are circled.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/568
- Title
- 'File 61/11 V (D 95) Hejaz - Nejd, Miscellaneous'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:1v, 1ar:1ev, 8v:11v, 15r:43v, 45v:56v, 59r:64r, 69v:118v, 120v:127v, 128v:133v, 134v:149v, 151v:161v, 162v:164v, 166r:166v, 168r:171v, 172v:174v, 175v:179v, 181r:201r, 202v:212v, 222r:225r, 226r:243v, 244v:256v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence