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File 2182/1913 Pt 11 'Arabia: relations with BIN SAUD Hedjaz-Nejd Dispute' [‎315r] (184/678)

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The record is made up of 1 item (336 folios). It was created in 16 Oct 1919-28 May 1920. 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. .

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7
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could hardly refuse an invitation of His Majesty’s Government. Such a meeting would
havfc to take place in April to allow Hussein to return in time for the Pilgrimage. In
the meanwhile a truce would be assured, and, to ease the situation, Hussein’s consent
to allow the Pilgrimage from Nejd might be obtained.
On the 5th March the foreign Office received copies of two telegrams from the (E. 1028)
CiHI Commissioner, Baghdad, of the 24th February. In the first he reported that Ibn
baud was anxious to comply with the expressed desires of His Majestv’s Government
as regards a meeting with the Sherif, but that he could not meet him at Jeddah, Aden
or Cairo. He would, however, agree to meet him either at Baghdad or at Bombay,
provided :—
1. That Hussein met him in person.
2 . That he should not himself leave for Bombay until His Majesty’s Government
had assured him that Hussein had left Jeddah.
3. That he was given a month for the settlement of important internal questions.
This would enable him to leave Nejd on the 5th April.
In the second telegram the Civil Commissioner expressed the opinion that Ibn
bauds reply must be regarded as final, so far as Jeddah, Aden and Cairo were
concerned. He did not think that the proposal for a meeting at Bombay or Baghdad
could profitably be pursued, but suggested that both sides might agree to meet at
Khurma or Turaba.
This telegram had crossed the 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. telegram of the 23rd February, in which (E. 1089)
a meeting was suggested on board one of His Majesty’s ships. On the 6 th March the
Foreign Office pointed this out to the 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. , and suggested that strong pressure
should be biought to bear upon Ibn Saud, with a view to his consenting to meet
Hussein on board ship.
On the 8 th March a despatch was received in the Foreign Office from His Majesty’s (E. 1154)
High Commissioner at Cairo, in which he agreed that the statement made by the
Nejd delegati( n on the subject of forcible conversions by the Akhwan should be
communicated to King Hussein, and on the 12th March the Foreign Office authorised
Lord Allenby to make this communication at his discretion.
On the 10th March a telegram was received from Lord Allenby, in which he (E. 1286)
enquired whether he should wait until it was definitely known that Ibn Saud had
agreed to meet Hussein before informing the latter that he was expected to preserve
the sfaiws quo, and on the 12th March the Foreign Office instructed him that he should
make the communication at once, since Ibn Saud had already been informed that this
was being done.
-v? n March the Foreign Office received copies of a telegram of the (E. 1453)
3rd March from the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, in which he stated that he had
that day posted copies of interesting and valuable reports by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. ,
Bahrein, on his recent visit to Ibn Saud. and suggested that His Majesty’s Government
should defer a decision on the proposed meeting between the two rulers until these
reports had reached them.
This telegram was repeated to Cairo, and on the 15th March a telegram was (E. 1452)
received from Lord Allenby, in which he suggested that the Civil Commissioner should
be instructed to telegraph the gist of these reports, since time was an important
factor.
fE e 16th March the Foreign Office received copies of a telegram of the (E. IbbS’'
Ilth March from the 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. to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, in which they
referred to their telegram of the 23rd February proposing a meeting on board ship.
Ihey asked whether it was certain that Ibn Saud would reject this alternative. They
also enquired what were Ibn Sand’s objections to Aden as a meeting place, and where
le -was at that moment. In a reply dated the 13th March the Civil Commissioner said
t at he had regarded it as certain that Ibn Saud would reject the alternative of a
meeting on board ship. He understood from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrein, that Ibn
oaud s objections to Aden were that it was near Hussein’s territory and distant from
ins own, and that he regarded Aden as being under the influence of the Egyptian
authorities, who were pledged to support Hussein against Ibn Saud. Ibn Saud was on
that day at Riadh, though he had intimated his willingness to leave that place for
Hasa on the 5th April, in the event of Hussein agreeing to meet him at Bombav or
Baghdad.
On the 19th March the 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. telegraphed to the Civil Commissioner, (E. 2513)
Baghdad, asking him for the gist of the reports of the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrein, and
[3058J D

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Part 11 concerns British policy regarding the dispute between Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also referred to in the correspondence as Ibn Saud] and King Hussein of Hejaz [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī, King of Hejaz] over Khurma and Tarabah [Turabah]. Much of the correspondence documents the efforts of the British to persuade the two leaders to agree to meet. It is initially proposed that the two should meet at Jeddah; however, it is reported by the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, that Bin Saud refuses to meet King Hussein at Jeddah, Aden, or Cairo, and suggests a meeting at Baghdad instead. A number of other possibilities are discussed, including the following: the Secretary of State for India's proposal of a meeting of plenipotentiaries, either at Khurma or Tarabah, as an alternative to a meeting between the two leaders themselves; a suggestion by the High Commissioner, Egypt, that the two leaders meet in London; a proposal from Lord Curzon [George Nathaniel Curzon], Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, that Bin Saud should be induced to meet King Hussein on board a British ship at Jeddah, or, as is later suggested, at Aden.

Also included are the following:

  • an account from Captain Norman Napier Evelyn Bray, political officer in charge of the Nejd Mission, which recounts the last days of the mission's stay in Paris, in late December 1919;
  • a report from the High Commissioner, Egypt, on his recent meeting with King Hussein, which relays the latter's views on the allocation of control of Syria to France;
  • discussion regarding the growing power and influence of Bin Saud's Akhwan [Ikhwan] forces;
  • a note on the dispute by Harry St John Bridger, in which he volunteers to induce Bin Saud to agree to a meeting at any place (outside of Hejaz) suggested by His Majesty's Government;
  • memoranda and diary entries written by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain, Major Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, all of which discuss at length Dickson's interviews with Bin Saud at Hasa [Al Hasa] in January and February 1920;
  • extracts from a report by the British Agent, Jeddah, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Edwin Vickery, which recounts his recent interviews with King Hussein and the King's son, Emir Abdullah [ʿAbdullāh bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī].

The item features the following principal correspondents:

Extent and format
1 item (336 folios)
Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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File 2182/1913 Pt 11 'Arabia: relations with BIN SAUD Hedjaz-Nejd Dispute' [‎315r] (184/678), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/391/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100032475965.0x00002a> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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