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File 2182/1913 Pt 6 'Arabia Relations with Bin Saud' [196r] (399/547)
The record is made up of 1 volume (270 folios). It was created in 3 Dec 1916-30 Dec 1917. It was written in English and French. 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.
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RELATIONS WITH IBN SA’DI).
Note prepared by Arab Bureau, Irak Section
• Nbdnl Aziz Ibn Sa nd; the present Hakim of Najd, may he said to
have, begun his reign in 1901, when he was proclaimed Governor of Riyadh
by his father, Abdul Rahman. The Sa'ud family were at that time in
exile, having been driven out of their dominions in 1891 by their hereditary
' !? e f ! b a l R f 1 hld - ln Aziz, with the help of Mubarak Ibn
pa bah, bhaikh of Kuwait, recovered Riyadh iii a daring raid which he led
in person, and by 190b he had so-far re-established the old supremacy of
of Hail
the Sa’ud as to carry hostilities to the 0
succeeding his return to Riyadh he acted m close alliance with^i^ Shaddi
of Kuwait, who had every reason for desiring the curtailing of Rashid
influence, lor the Rashid were allies and, in a remote acceptation of the
term, vassals of the Ottoman Empire, subsidised and backed by Constanti
nople, and they lepiesented m Arabia the 1 urkish polic} 7 of centralisation
which the Shaikh was covertly resisting in his own territories. His
geographical position on the shores of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
had placed him in
relations with the British Government; since 1899 we had had a friendly
understanding with him, and had promised to support him against
Ottoman aggression. But the existence of this connection made us
unwilling to see him drawn into the confused and uncertain feuds of
the interior; and acting on the principle laid down in 1891 that we were
not disposed to mteifeie inoie than was necessary for the maintenance
of gene ml peace m the lersian Gulf, we had discouraged him from
embroiling himself in Central Arabian affairs. Ibn Sa’ud, in spite
of his growing importance, was outside the limits of our interest, thus
appointed, and it was not until 1911 that special attention was drawn to him
in our official reports. In that year Captain Shakespear, 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 Kuwait, while on tour, met him by chance in the desert and was hospitably
entertained in his camp. Ibn Sa’ud expressed to him a desire to be received
into a recognised relationship with Great Britain ; he referred to Colonel
Pelly’s visit to Riyadh in 1865, and to the overtures made to us by his
father, ’Abdul Rahman, in 1904, when a British Agent was first appointed to
Kuwait, l ie spoke in strong terms of the hatred which the Arabs entertained
for the Turks and of his own resentment of their occupation of the Hasa, a
province which he was particularly anxious to regain, not only because'it
formed part of his ancestral dominions, but also because it would give him
access to the sea and control over the tribes from Riyadh to the coast. He
regarded with grave apprehension the aggressive policy of the new regime
in Turkey, and would welcome, if he recovered the Hasa, a British Agent in
one of his ports ; and he added that our trade would benefit fronpthe increased
security which he would maintain on the caravan routes. Captain
Shakespear could make no other rejoinder than that the British Government
confined its interests to the coast, and had never challenged Turkish claims
to the ordering of affairs in Central Arabia, with which we had no concern ;
that we were, moreover, on amicable terms with Turkey and should be
averse from anything in the nature of intrigue against the Ottoman Govern
ment ; but in his comments on. the report of this interview, Sir Percy Cox
pointed out that as the Porte seemed disposed to be intractable in the
adjustment of matters relating to British interests in the Gulf, we could not
afford to ignore Ibn Sa’ud’s attitude. . His personal authority had greatly
increased and it would be well to entertain cordial if distant relations with
him. The Foreign Office, however, decided that it was impossible at that
time to swerve from our policy of strict non-interference.
2. Two years later Ibn Sa’ud, without the assistance which he had tried to
obtain from us, though he was credited throughout Arabia with having
s
;io 2/18
A
About this item
- Content
This volume contains part 6 of the subject 'Persia Gulf'. It concerns British relations with Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]. Much of the volume's correspondence discusses whether the British should offer Bin Saud inducements (in the form of money, titles, arms or personnel) to take action against both Shaikh Saud bin Abdul Aziz bin Rashid, Amir of Hail [Saʿūd bin ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Āl Rashīd, Emir of Ha'il, also referred to by the British as Bin Rashid and Ibn Rashid] and the Turks. The volume includes the following:
- a copy of an article on Bin Saud by Gertrude Bell;
- copies of translations of correspondence between Bin Saud and Bin Rashid, and a copy of a translation of an agreement between the two men, dated 10 June 1915, in which they agree to respect each other's territories;
- a note entitled 'Relations With Ibn Sa'ud', prepared by the Arab Bureau's Iraq section, which provides a British perspective on Britain's relations with Bin Saud from 1899 onwards;
- copies of reports sent to the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. in January 1915 from the late Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, regarding his meetings with Bin Saud;
- reports of Harry St John Bridger Philby's meetings with Bin Saud in December 1917, as part of a political mission.
The volume features the following principal correspondents:
- Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Zachariah Cox, corresponding both as the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and as the Chief Political Officer, Indian Expeditionary Force D;
- Secretary 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. 's Political Department (Sir Arthur Hirtzel, succeeded by John Evelyn Shuckburgh);
- Bin Saud;
- High Commissioner, Egypt (Sir Francis Reginald Wingate);
- Viceroy of India [Frederic John Napier Thesiger];
- Foreign Office.
The volume also contains copies of correspondence between the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Aden (Major General James Marshall Stewart) and both Saiyid Mohamed bin Ali bin Idris, the Idrisi [Sayyid Muḥammad bin ‘Alī Āl al-Idrīsi] and Imam Mahomed Yahya bin Hamid-ul-Din [Yaḥyā Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn].
The part includes a divider that gives the subject and part number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in the part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (270 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 2182 (Persia Gulf) consists of 8 volumes: IOR/L/PS/10/384-391. The volumes are divided into 12 parts with part 1 comprising the first volume, part 2 comprising the second volume, part 3 comprising the third volume, parts 4-5 comprising the fourth volume, part 6 comprising the fifth volume, parts 7-8 comprising the sixth volume, parts 9-10 comprising the seventh volume, and parts 11-12 comprising the eighth volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 269; 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.
The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the one leading flyleaf.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/388
- Title
- File 2182/1913 Pt 6 'Arabia Relations with Bin Saud'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:187r, 188r:226v, 228r:268v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence