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'File 61/11 I (D 41) Relations between Nejd and Hejaz' [256r] (524/600)
The record is made up of 1 volume (295 folios). It was created in 19 Apr 1923-6 Nov 1924. It was written in English and Arabic. 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.
fci^ioS ? nd 116 ™ lunteerea to g° to Mecca to l e ok
14 th lU^tmctiors^rc Tn f ^ general - ? e arrived tllere on September
,. : | instructions were (1) to endeavour to despatch, with the comisance
of King Hussein duplicates of the two letters already seut to Taif W
ger ; (2) to investigate the reports of pillage and maLcre, and (3) to ^t into touch
M a r us ? rltlsh oomm^ities in Mecca, not only with the Indies but
Hat SoTe 'J^rrth^ W f - . K! ^ mS wh o tad performed
J f ' ' that they would be well advised to go home in view of the
economic difficultic 8 incident to the situation; merchants and other residents
who asked for advice must dmde for themselves: if, in case of need, they apphed
to the British
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
at Jeddah, they would be given such assistance as wts
possible and as the circumstances warranted.
WW and Shaikh. Pravira showed King Hussein the two
letters which it was desired to send to the leader of the invaders the King said that
the one signed by the British and Dutch representatives could not be allowed to
pass out oi the Hejaz lines : the protest against the holding of a British Indian to
ransom might go it the form of address (" To the Leader of the Force which has
occupied Taif ) were changed and the name of the Wahabi leader inserted. It
was necessary to telephone to the King personally, and to say that he would be
heid jointly responsible for any further harm suffered by British subjects at the
hands of the invaders, before he would consent to our despatching the joint letter.
As to the other letter I was compelled to insist on the retention of the form of
address I had used, since I had no official information as to the identity of the
attacking force or of their leader. As it turned out the discussion was academic,
since Mr. Yasin Khan was unable to find a messenger who would agree to go to Taif
and in any case the King would probably have had him waylaid ; but the discus
sion was useful m revealing King Hussein's views. He told-me in so many words
that he objected to the letter because it confined its representations to British
subjects and said nothing about the Hejaz. From this and from other remarks
it was quite clear that he was still expecting that His Majesty's Government would
pull him out of the pit he had helped so strenously to dig for himself.
8. Taif has three functions very valuable to Mecca : it is a strong natural posi
tion , it supplies the. capital with the bulk of its fruit and vegetables j and it serves
as a health resort. As a health resort it had been neglected for some years, owing
to the Wahabi menace, but'gradually more and more of the wealthy Meccahs
resumed their old custom and this summer a very large number of families had
installed themselves in their Taif houses, among them two or three Indian families.
There were also many pilgrims of various races. Most of these were Javanese.
9. Apart from the information obtained by Mr. Yasin Khan in Mecca we
have now the evidence of many refugees from Taif who have come to Jeddah. The
outlines of the story are clear. When the Wahabi attack was threatening during
the three or four days preceding the capture of the town many of the Mecca people
asked for permission to leave. This was refused by the Qaimmaqam, the Sharif
Sharaf, on the ground that there was no danger, and that their return to Mecca
would cause a panic there. Many again wished to leave when the Amir Ali eva
cuated the town, but they were told that he was only going to bring up reinforce
ments. After the evacuation some of the people invited the Wahabis into the town
and into their houses. In spite of this, p llage and shooting began at once. Every
thing of value was taken, even to the outer garments : men and women were left
with nothing but their underclothes. The Mecca people had with them many
fine carpets, much money (in this country money is hidden in the house rather
than deposited in a bank), and enormous quantities of jewellery. Everything was
taken,. If a man hesitated to produce his money and valuables, or was suspected
of trying to conceal any, he was shot at once. Some families have lost five or six
men. Most of the people who survived the massacre were sent to the palace of
Shubrah, an enormous building standing in a very large garden just outside the
town walls. There they remained for four days, living on fruit. When the corpses
were already swollen and putrifying about thirty of the survivors were compelled
to remove them : they were given mules and ropes by which to drag the bodies
away. Four days after the capture of the town the Mecca refugees collected in
the Shubrah garden were ordered to return to Mecca, seven men only being kept
until a sum of £l ,000 should be paid for each. They were ordered to convey a
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to relations between Najd and the Hejaz. The majority of the correspondence is between Reader Bullard, the British Agent in Jeddah, 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 Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Bahrain, the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Kuwait, the High Commissioner in Baghdad, the Colonial and Foreign Offices, both in London, the High Commissioner in Jerusalem, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud himself, or his representatives.
Most of the volume covers events leading up to, and immediately after, the Ikhwan's capture of Taif, including Hussein ibn 'Ali's abdication and his son 'Ali's attempts to retain control of the Hejaz. There is a detailed report of the capture of Taif by Bullard (folios 186-201, 273-281). The documents reflect British concern with the reaction of Indian Muslims, with duplicates of correspondence regularly forwarded to numerous offices back in India. Some papers are about the effort to evacuate British Indian refugees and pilgrims from the region.
Other subjects covered in the volume are:
- the build-up to and ultimate failure of the Kuwait Conference of 1923-24;
- King Fuad of Egypt's suspected financial backing of Ibn Sa'ud's takeover of the Hejaz;
- the defining of the Hejaz-Trans-Jordan border;
- the motivations and movements of St John Philby and Rosita Forbes, both of whom were thought to be trying to gain entryinto Central Arabia.
Notable in the volume are a newspaper cutting from The Times of Mesopotamia , dated 13 July 1923, regarding treaty negotiations between Britain and King Hussein (folio 4), and extracts of letters from Ameen Rihani to Ibn Sa'ud that had been intercepted by the British and which offer advice on foreign policy.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (295 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged chronologically. The internal office notes at the back of the volume (renumbered as folios 247-258) include a chronological list of the main contents, together with a simple, running index number from 1 to 111. These index numbers are also written on the front of the documents they refer to, in red or blue crayon and encircled, to help identify and locate them within the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Main foliation sequence: numbers are written in pencil and circled, in the top right corner on the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. The numbering, which starts on the front cover of the volume and ends on the inside back cover, is as follows: 1A-1D, 2-262.
Secondary and earlier foliation sequence: the numbers 1 to 322 are written in pencil in the top right corner on the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio, except for the internal office notes at the back of the volume, which are paginated in pencil from 1 to 23. Published copies of four British Government reports at the front of the volume (renumbered as folios 2-63) also have pencilled page numbers written on them.
Condition: broken spine cover.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/564
- Title
- 'File 61/11 I (D 41) Relations between Nejd and Hejaz'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:1v, 1ar:1bv, 2r:3v, 4v, 6r:36v, 39v:169v, 170v:172v, 174v:177v, 178v:293v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence