'Historical Memorandum on the Relations of the Wahabi Amirs and Ibn Saud with Eastern Arabia and the British Government, 1800-1934' [‎15v] (30/64)

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Nejd Precis,
§ 150-6.
Pol. A.
Sept. 1875,
53-8.
Nejd Precis,
§ 201 .
Nejd Precis,
§ 217.
Extl. A :
Nov. 1890,
40-9. Feb.
1891, 63-4.
refer to the existence of any such assurance of security matters were to be explained
to him in such a way as to remove any existing misunderstanding which he might
display and prevent the possibility of misunderstanding in the future.”
Amir Saud and the Turks, 1872-1873.
127. A brief reference may be made to the relations between Saud and the
Turks as bearing on the question of the relation of the Saudi dynasty to the Turkish
power. In 1872 it was reported that the terms of the understanding contemplated
were to be his recognition as the Chief of Nejd on condition of his paying the
Turkish war expenses and the same yearly tribute as had been paid by the Amir
Feisul. There w r ere certain supplementary conditions which are immaterial. Both
he and the Turks professed their anxiety for a settlement on this basis, but no
conclusion was reached. In 1872 a letter from Saud offered to invest the Resident
with full power of mediation with the Turks, but the negotiations wdiich succeeded
again came to no conclusion. In 1873 Saud, now in a stronger position in Nejd,
sent Abdul Rahman, the father of the present Saudi King, to Bagdad, with a view
to the reaching of an agreement. Abdul Rahman w T as treated as a hostage and
detained until 1874, but negotiations proved unfruitful. In 1875 Saud died and
Abdul Rahman was elected Amir of the kingdom of Riyadh “ by the general
consent of the people.” Internecine quarrels between members of the Saudi family
continued from 1875 to 1880, but in the latter year it was reported that Abdulla
and his nephews (including Abdul Rahman) were living in peace and friendship.
The nephews possessed Kharj, Hotah, Harik, Aflaj, &c., and had followers of the
Ajman, Murra and Dowasir tribes.
Rise of the Ihn Rashid Family.
128. In 1881, however, the Ibn Rashid dynasty, assisted by the divisions among*
the Saudis, gradually established themselves in control in Nejd, and the Saudis, who
in 1879 had been reported to exercise control only in Riyadh and the district
round it, sank into obscurity for 20 years. The Ibn Rashid dynasty of Hail had
from 1832 occupied the Jebel Shammar and its Sheikhs had paid homage to the
Saudis. The homage to the Saudis was gradually abandoned with the decay of
the Wahabi State, and in 1876 Ibn Rashid is described as the greatest prince in
Nejd.” In 1888 Ibn Rashid decisively defeated the Saudis and captured Riyadh,
and his dynasty remained in complete control in Nejd until 1901. It may be
recorded, however, that in 1890-91, on the Saudis regaining Riyadh, both parties,
wrote to the Mutasarrif of Hasa, Ibn Rashid to denounce Abdul Rahman as
meditating an attack on Hasa ; Abdul Rahman complaining of Ibn Rashid “ and
professing his obedience to the Turkish authorities, who were disposed to listen
favourably to him.” The Ibn Rashid family throughout professed allegiance to the
Turkish Government, though Turkish influence in their dominions appears to have-
been of the smallest; and even on the occasion of his capture of Riyadh in 1888
Ibn Rashid posed as the officer or lieutenant of the Ottoman Government.
Consolidation of British Position on the Arab Littoral of the Gulf, 1870-1901.
129. Between 1870 and 1901 H.M. Government had substantially strengthened
their position on the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . In 1880 they had entered
into an exclusive agreement with the Sheikhs of Bahrein ; in 1887 corresponding
agreements were concluded with the Trucial Sheikhs. In 1892 the agreements
both with Bahrein and with the Trucial Sheikhdoms were confirmed and
strengthened and control of the foreign relations of all the rulers in question:
passed into the hands of the British Government. Muscat, which had entered into-
a revised Commercial Treaty with Great Britain in 1891, in 1899 agreed never to
cede, sell, mortgage or otherwise give for occupation, save to the British Govern
ment, any portion of its territories—an understanding which had at an earlier stage
been secured from the Trucial Sheikhs and Bahrein. In 1899 the British Government
for the first time established relations on the basis of a positive written engagement
with the Sheikh of Koweit and laid the foundations of the situation which emerged
14 years later in the acknowledgment by Turkey under the Anglo-Turkish.
Convention of 1913 of the autonomy of the Sheikhs of that principality.
Turkey established herself in Qatar in 1871 and remained in control throughout
the period 1871-1901. Her claim to the principality was never recognised by
H.M. Government, and considerable correspondence with the Turkish Government,
took place during this period in connection with it.