File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [89r] (177/646)
The record is made up of 1 file (321 folios). It was created in 7 Jan 1925-31 Dec 1927. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
3SGTI01T I
PAUT l^ARiikJIYE .
PP^JIG 0 -.' GOl^lTTS,
, Pi^jTG UP i'O
Previoua to the year I92o f
the principa
lity of IB 1 T ItASKID was situated between the IPA$
and the territory of I BIT GAUD. In that year,
IBi: SAUD finally overthrew I BIT RASHID and annexed
his territory, thus becoinng a neighbour of IRAQ.
Although the Aidman tribesmea were
desirouu of extending their raids to the
IRAQ, further hostilities might have been avoided
by arrangements between I BIT BAUD and the BRITISH.
At this juncture, however, IB1T SAUD* s bitterest
rival, the Sliarif PAISAL, was roade hing of IRAQ.
Other minor causes of friction also remained unsettl
The IRAQ tribes were in an awlcword \-ed.
dilenma. Their government was unable to protect them
from raiding, nor would it allow them to come to pri-
-vate terns with the Aldiwan. AJdR,AlT
In I9R5, a handful of tribesmen,fleeing
from the anger of IB1T 3A T JB, to oh refuge in IRAQ. They
received a favourable reception from KI1TCT RAX SAL, and
thereupon embariced on a succession of raids against the
AIHILAIT, their former masters. s
Probably largely as a reprisal for these attack
a strong force under PAX SAL AL BOV'I SRI raided the IRAQ
tribes near UITSAB, in March, 1924.
Raids by refugees against the Aiduran continued
uninterrupted during the summer of 1924. As a result,
those m touch with the situation foresaw that retalia-
-tery attacks on an unprecedented scale, would take
place during the winter 1924-5.
Government, however, were slow to realise the
critical nature of the situation, and up to the end of
December,1924, practically no defensive measures had
been taken.
The storm then burst. These heavy raids were
delivered along ^the length of the frontier, betvfeen -•
2G/l. 2 / 2 4 and 12/1/25. By good fortune, two of these
raids were overtaken by aircraft.Defensive measures were
theNadopted in all haste, and a note of protest was
despatched to IBJT BAUD. This note, combined with reports
of aerial activity in the desert, caused IBJT SATJD to
prohibit the AiCKWAK from further aggression.
banwhile, however, a fresh wave of raiders
were concentrating near the frontier. IBS' SAIJD’s prohi
bition arrived in time to prevent the second wave fr©m—
attacking, with the exception of one party under FRAIK
AL IIAMZI, The presence of concentrations near the
frontier, however, maintained the whole desert in a
constant state 01 alarm throughout Pebruary.
The month of March was quieter. The opportunity
was taken to curry out a good deal of topographical
work.
About this item
- Content
This file contains correspondence related to the British Government's relationship with Ibn Sa'ud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].
The correspondence primarily relates to raids that were made into Iraq and Kuwait by Ikhwan forces and associated acts of livestock plunder and killing. As such, the file contains two reports regarding these raids that were submitted to the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Kuwait by the Senior Staff Officer of the Akhwan Defence, a British force that had been established to counter the threat of Ikhwan raids into Iraq and monitor their movements (folios 40-47 and 84-130).
The file also contains correspondence that relates to discussions concerning the construction of a paved road (for the use of motor vehicles) between Southern Iraq and Kuwait. A copy of a concession for its construction that was granted to Sayyid Hamid bin Rajab al-Naqib by the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, is contained in Arabic (folios 67-69) and English (folios 72-75). In this context, the file contains descriptions 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. in Kuwait, Major James Carmichael More, of a number of different routes between Southern Iraq and Kuwait at the time. These descriptions are as follows:
- Jafrah to Safwan (in English, folios 49-53 and Arabic, folios 59-62);
- Kuwait to Basrah via Basrah and then direct to Safwan (folios 54-57);
- Jahrah to Zubair (folios 137-146).
Towards the end of the file, the correspondence in the file discusses reports of the tensions between the Ikhwan and Ibn Sa'ud and the beginning of the Ikhwan revolt.
As well as correspondence between British officials, correspondence between 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. More and the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah (in Arabic with English translations) appears throughout the file.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (321 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.
An index of topics discussed is contained at the rear of the file (on folios 322-323); the folios used in this index relate to an earlier incomplete foliation system that is in uncircled pencil 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.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 323; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-323; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [89r] (177/646), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/38, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035873421.0x0000b2> [accessed 7 June 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/R/15/5/38
- Title
- File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:4v, 5v:11v, 12v:30v, 31v:32v, 35r:36v, 37v:62v, 63v:65v, 66v:131v, 132v:168v, 169v, 171r:196v, 197v:204v, 205v:207v, 208v:214v, 215v, 216v:224v, 225v:240v, 241v:248v, 249v:250v, 251v:284v, 285v:291v, 292v:302v, 303v:310v, 311v:323v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence
![File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [‎89r] (177/646) File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [‎89r] (177/646)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000831.0x0003c1/IOR_R_15_5_38_0177.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)