'File 8/7 I Jidda Intelligence Reports' [‎72v] (144/536)

arrived at his eastern capital, Riyadh, on the 8th September. He was accom
panied by his three surviving brothers, sons numbers 4, 7, 9, 13, 15 and 16, a
couple of nephews, and the usual ex-enemy Rashidi young. Sons 1 and 3, the
Amirs Saud and Muhammad, met him at Riyadh, son 2, the Amir Feisal,
remained in the Hejaz as his Viceroy and apparently in charge of his seven other
little brothers. The family removal this year seems to have been less complete
and to have been attended by much less pomp and expenditure than in 1931 {vide
duly report, paragraph 1). ?\or did it receive the same press attention.
281. It seems that before leaving Taif, Ibn Sand convened a family
conference to discuss succession to his throne. He himself wished to name his
eldest son as heir apparent. His elder brother Muhammad apparently agreed,
thus belying or abandoning the stubborn claim to the succession which he was
believed to have upheld for so long. The King's second and younger brother,
Abdullah, appears to have been more interested in making sure that the family
allowances would continue to be paid. His second son, Feisal, is said to have
raised no objection to Saud s inheritance of the throne. And so it was agreed,
according to hearsay, which may in fact be no more than intelligent guesswork.
But the information given in paragraph 287 below confirms the result, if not the
steps by which it was reached.
282. It is further said that the King has now made over his political
diwan ’ to the Amir Saud, watching his methods, guiding his actions and
retaining for himself only a reduced Royal “ diwan ” headed by Sheikh Yussuf
Yasin and manned by a few clerks. It is too soon to be able to state whether this
is strictly true or not, but it is not altogether improbable, although even the
enlightened Philip of Macedon did not go quite so far in the kingly education of
Alexander the Great.
283. Ibn Saud was more given to deeds than words during the months which
passed after his Meccan oration of May {vide paragraph 155). He granted the
more readily, no doubt, if he did not actually command, an interview with the
rising Mecca newspaper, Saut-al-Hijaz, or' Voice of the Hejaz, which was
published just after His Majesty left for Riyadh. It contained much rambling,
indecisive comment on the ibn' Rifada rebellion and Arab unity, reported in
Legation despatch No. 399 of the 23rd September.
Change of Title.
284. As from the 22nd September the title of “ the Hejaz and Nejd and its
Dependencies ‘ was changed by Royal decree to that of “ Saudi Arabia.” There
is sometimes much in a name. Here is Ptolemy’s 2nd century “ Arabia Deserta ”
that geographic, nomadic interval between provincial “ Arabia Petraea ” in
the north and the verdant, settled southern fringes called “Arabia Felix”—
taking 20th century form and individuality as “ Arabia Saudiya.” Between
whiles, this same space produced one of the great brotherhood religions of the
world, which divided the world at large and failed to unite even its own faithful.
It has since thrown up military chieftains of its own and suffered invasions and
partial occupation by others, but none have left their mark. Recently, it has
bred a king, who for thirty-two years now has combined religious fervour with
military force and political activity, to impose himself and effective unity on its
inhabitants, and finally to mark its map with his name.
28o. Time has begun its test. The first reaction has been vainglorious.
The Government press has tried to make believe that the change of title was made
in response to an Arabia-wide appeal, which sprang spontaneously from the
heartfelt conviction that Hejazis and Nejdis are brothers. There is every reason
on the contrary to believe that the response was decided upon before the appeal
was engineered. It was then launched simultaneously, telegraphically and by
wireless, from all over the country on the word from Mecca. The press has also
been claiming for Saudi Arabia the premier position in the pan-Arabia to be.
This attitude is, no doubt, calculated to impress the politicians of Bagdad, news
of whose preparation for a pan-Arab conference this winter, coupled with
evidence of King FeisaTs penchant to embrace Syria, has not been welcome to
some of their Arab brothers further south. So the Mecca press has been lauding
the past glories of Arabia Deserta, which only faded when unity was lost, anil
boasting of the present unity and strength of Arabia Saudiya, affirming that
Allah oidarned the peninsula as the centre of all Arab union, a country
geographically apart and militarily secure, so that he who holds it must needs be