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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’ [‎177r] (358/490)

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

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267
The Hadrami towns are Ash-Shibr and Dean with 6 C 0 and 500 inhabi
tants, respectively. Other Hadrami villages are—
Population.
(1) Hobat ... ... 200
( 2 ) An-Sasba ... ... 40
( 3 ) Sharafan-Najjarin ... ICO
Villages of the Isai sub-section are—
Population.
( 1 ) Ind-Ahl-bin-Deneni ... 45
2 ) An-Nasbah ... ... 30
( 5 ) Sumara
Villages of the Jauhi sub-section are—
Population.
( 4 ) Al-Hadidah
( 5 ) Kabad.
(6) Sharaf bin Asan.
( 3 ) Habab
( 4 ) Dean ,
40
Population,
... 50
Population.
... 80
... 160
Population.
(1) Dafna
... 40
( 4 ) Al-Malki
... ICO
(2) Kbatha
...
... 40
( 5 ) Ma’zaba
... 60
( 3 ) Janeha
... 100
(6) Al-Atf
... 70
The sub-section of Al-Marfadi live in the following villages:
Population.
(1) Marfad ... ... 600 | ( 2 ) Bait-Al-Armani,
The sub-section of the Al-Bakri live in the town of the Bani Bak which
has between 6,000 and 8,000 inhabitants.
The sub-section of the Alii Masud live in Hatib — which
villages—
(11 A 1 Hamra.
( 2 ) A 1 Kuddam.
( 3 ) As Safal.
( 4 ) Na’aman.
( 5 ) A 1 Hauta.
(6) Ar-Rahwa.
include
III.
The next largest clan among the Yafa’i-as-Sufal is that of the Muflahai
who originally migrated from Sad Marib. The territory of this clan is divid
ed into two portions, the larger of which is located on the eastern side of the
Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Bana, beyond the Halmin and the Shaibi and has for its chief villao-e
Ah Jurba, the smaller portion being north, north-west and north-east of Jabal
Harir and the Shairi country, and having for its chief village Al-Khalla.
The section of the Muflahais are—
(1) As-Sakkaf.
( 2 ) As-Sulmani.
( 3 ) Ad-Dabrosbi. ( 5 ) Al-Mashali.
( 4 ) Ad-Dtharbani. (6) Al-Muflahai of Khalla.
The head of the Muflahai as a elan is Shekh Abdul Rahman bin Kasim
As-Sakkaf of Ah Jurba, who is an influential man in Yafa’i-as-Sufal, with a
large personal following.

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
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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’ [‎177r] (358/490), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/59, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034845248.0x00009f> [accessed 3 August 2026]

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