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‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [45r] (94/490)
The record is made up of 1 volume (243 folios). It was created in 1905-1908. It was written in English. 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.
-• .--.Vi-
59
CHAPTER IX.
Administration.
The question of administration, in dealing with independent Arab
States, is not one which need occupy much space. Such as it is, it varies
in different districts both in nature and degree, but the foundation for
all, the Sharia or Koranic law is the same. The Kadis are entrusted
with the administration of this law: the ruler of the country adjudicates
in serious cases, and assists the Kadi as far as the execution of his deci
sions is concerned. I here is, however, a wide difference between^ theory
and practice and in the majority of districts the ruler s authority over
most of his subjects, with the exception of his personal retainers and
entourage, is very slight.
The Sultan of Lahej exercises a more absolute authority over his
tribe than other rulers, with the exception perhaps of the Jamadar of
Shehr and Makalla. The Haushabi, if a' riiler of stronger character,
would, both from the nature of his country and the character of his people,
wield much the same authority over the majority. In the Amiri country,
which has been already described as a confederacy of various small tribes,
the Amir’s authority, as has been seen, is only absolute over a comparative
ly small proportion. The Upper Yafa’i Sultan has little or no authority
over his tribe as far as administration is concerned. Of the Fadli, several
of the sub-tribes are independent. T. he Aulaki have several rulers, \\ hile many
of the outlying and nomadic tribes are practically beyond the conti ol of their
Sultans. The Subehi are a law unto themselves. It will be seen, therefore,
that the term ” Administration ” is somewhat difficult of application to so
heterogeneous a collection of tribes. ^ ,
Penalties for the more serious crimes are, however, laid down ; their
exaction depends on the power of the ruler to exert his authority, or
perhaps, in many cases, to get hold of the Offender. Murder is broadly
punishable by death, but the question is complicated by the institu
tion of “ diya ” or blood-money, the rules as^ to which seem somewhat
complicated and vary in their application in the different districts.
Human life is very cheap, in the sense of the frequency with which
murder is committed. In the sense of pecuniary compensation, it is
expensive, a sum of 770 dollars (or 100 she-camels, which seems a
^ very disproportionate alternative) being
exacted. *The whole question is still
further complicated by differences in pro
cedure in cases of wilful murder and
accidental killing. It is only worth touch
ing on, in as far as the escape of the crimi
nal, which, in the wilder districts almost
non-payment of the penalty, leads to the
* (Note. — Hunter mentions 1,000
sequins cr 100 she-carels for
murder and 700 doliais for man
slaughter, but 770 dollars or 10 she-
camels was always mentioned in the
country. The i.oco sequins have
probably dropped out which would
account for the disproportion).
invariably occurs, and the
existence of blood-feuds which complicate inter-tribal dealings and, indi
rectly, our own dealings with the tribes. For wounding, there is a scale of
fines computed on the gravity of the injury inflicted.
In the case of the capture of a murderer, the relatives of the Deceased
have the option of killing him or accepting the “ diya. ” .
Amputation of the hand is the punishment for theft in most districts,
but it does not seem to be often exacted at the present day. Fines are in
flicted for the same offence.
About this item
- Content
The volume, a military report compiled in the Intelligence Branch of the QMG’s [Quartermaster General’s] Department and published at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, is comprised of several sections, as follows:
- section I, a Military Report on the British Protectorate of Aden , prepared by Captain Ernest Arthur Frederick Redl (ff 10-52), and including chapters on: geography; ethnography, with details of the different tribes living in the Protectorate; climate and health; natural resources; harbours and anchorages; communications; fortresses; history; native inhabitants’ administration; the military organisation and strength of native inhabitants; and political relations. A handwritten note is included in the report (f 49), and concerns the entitlements of Protectorate Chiefs to salutes, and issue to them of arms and ammunition, 1906;
- section II, a Report on the Amir of Dala’s [Ad Dali’] Territories , prepared by Major J K Tod (ff 54-118), and including chapters on: geography; ethnography; climate and health; resources; communications; forts and fortified posts; history; administration, and military. Following the report is a gazetteer providing greater detail of the sixteen districts in Dala, including: topography; ruling families and allegiances; villages and population figures, including numbers of fighting men; water resources; agricultural and industrial activities;
- section III, Reports on Haushabi, Subehi and Yafa’i Tribes, Turkish and North Western Border Districts and the River Tiban , divided into chapters, all prepared by Captain Redl unless otherwise specified, on: 1) the Haushabi [al-Ḥawshabī] (ff 120-130), and including a handwritten note, dated December 1905 (f 122), noting that the Sultan of Haushabi has agreed to abide by an agreement of 1895; 2) the Subehi tribes near the Turkish border (ff 130-144); 3) the districts of Turkish Yemen adjoining the British boundary (ff 144-165); 4) Tribes of the north-west frontier Region of British India bordering Afghanistan. (ff 165-172); 5) a memorandum of the Yafa’i [Yāfi‘] tribe, prepared by Captain Gonville W Warneford (ff 172-183); 6) The Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Tiban (ff 184-185);
- section IV, Routes (ff 186-228), detailing numerous routes between key points in Aden province, noting: distances; stages; nature of the terrain and its suitability for different modes of transport; available resources en route; territories crossed. A (duplicated) confidential memorandum, written by Captain G A F Sanders of the Aden Brigade, dated 24 August 1905, containing additional information for stages 5 and 6 of route 5 has been added to the volume (ff 195-198);
- appendix I, a brief statement on inland trade between Aden and the Arabian mainland, 1903 (ff 229-230).
The volume is extensively illustrated throughout with fold-out maps, plans and illustrations, prepared by the Intelligence Branch (I.B.) and all of which describe the topography and terrain of the region. There are three maps included in a pocket at the end of the volume: a map of the Aden Protectorate (f 242); a view from the ruined village of Lakmat Magharam about one-and-a-half miles west of Sanah [Ṣanʻā'] (f 240); and a road sketch from Khalla through Awabil [‘Awābil] to the upper plateau of the Rubiatein [Ar Rubay‘atayn] tribe (f 241).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (243 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in four sections (numbered I-IV), with a single appendix. Sections I-III are arranged in numbered chapters while section IV is arranged in twenty-three numbered routes. The volume’s contents page (ff 6-8) lists the sections and their respective chapters/routes, with page numbers referring to the volume’s printed pagination system. A general index (ff 231-238) lists placenames referred to in the volume in alphabetically ascending order, also with page numbers referring to the volume’s printed pagination.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 243; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are 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.
Pagination: the file contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [45r] (94/490), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/59, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x00005f> [accessed 28 June 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/59
- Title
- ‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:11v, 13r:14v, 16r:28v, 30r:30v, 32r:35r, 36r:36v, 38r:56v, 58r:67r, 68r:69r, 70r:79r, 80r:85v, 87r:88r, 89r:89v, 91r:95v, 97r:98v, 100r:101r, 102r:105v, 107r:108r, 109r:113r, 114r:116v, 118r:120v, 122r:124v, 126r:126v, 128r:130v, 132r:132v, 134r:135r, 136r:136v, 138r:157v, 159r:161v, 163r:163v, 165r:165v, 167r:182v, 184r:188v, 190r:190v, 192r:239v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence