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'File 61/11 V (D 95) Hejaz - Nejd, Miscellaneous' [‎216v] (449/530)

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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. .

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524
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
little dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. with one gun on it) captured another dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. at 'Aqabah
in which they found a box containing a secret cipher and incrimi
natory letters from high officials of the Amir 'Abdullah. In
one of the letters there was written, "You must press on and
take either Muwaila or Dhaba or we cannot send you any more
money or rifles." Shortly afterwards, under strong pressure,
the Amir 'Abdullah published a proclamation to say that he
strongly disapproved of the affair, but one knows that these
proclamations are not infrequently used in diplomatic circles to
get out of an unfortunate faux pas. Soon after he blotted his
copybook again by giving an interview to an Indian notable,
a report of which was published in the vernacular press of Egypt
and Palestine, in which he said that he would never rest until
Ibn Sa'ud was turned out of the Hejaz. Possibly some of you
may have seen the article in The Times of July 14th, 1932. This
gave great offence to Ibn Sa'ud. None of the facts nor the
implications in it were correct.
From all the evidence in his possession it is not surprising
that Ibn Sa'ud does not feel favourably disposed towards the
Amir 'Abdullah. It is difficult to see how it is possible for
there to be peace and freedom from raiding one way and the
other on the frontier, so long as the Amir 'Abdu'llah remains
ruler of Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan . In view of the fact that Great Britain
has accepted the mandate for Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan and is responsible for
the foreign policy of that country, it is not to be wondered at
that Ibn Sa'ud looks with a certain amount of suspicion on
Great Britain. He may well view with amazement the appli
cation of the doctrine of laissez faire by Great Britain to the
anti-Sa'udian antics of her protege.
The Akhwan are the third important factor in Arabian
politics. Mr. Philby numbers them at about 50,000 fighting
men, but Ameen Rihani puts the number at about 73,000. For
years throughout all the Arabic-speaking countries the Akhwan
have been a bogey with which to frighten not only the children
but also the grown-ups, but I think myself they are little better
than a myth. They are of poor physique. They are certainly
fanatical and brutal fighters, fanatical, perhaps, in view of the
comforting Wahhabi tenet that if you are killed in battle you
will enjoy a large number of houris in Paradise, whilst if you
survive you will share in the loot; brutal, as is shown by the
fact that they put to death every man, woman and child from
Muwaila to the Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan frontier while they were " chas
tising " Ibn Rifada. For months afterwards there was not a

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
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'File 61/11 V (D 95) Hejaz - Nejd, Miscellaneous' [‎216v] (449/530), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/568, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023520518.0x000032> [accessed 27 April 2024]

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