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File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎298r] (604/834)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (411 folios). It was created in 1917-1920. 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. .

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17 —
SURRENDER OF MEDINA.
In the last number of the Bulletin, events to January 3
were described, terminating with the desertion of Emin Bey,
Fakhri Pasha’s Chief of Staff.
It has since transpired that he had surreptitiously talked
with Captain Zia, the Turkish envoy, in Medina, and had deter
mined to force Fakhri’s hand. Amongst the officers he had
circulated details of the Armistice conditions and of Fakhri’s
persistent refusal to comply with them. But he was compelled
to leave the city hurriedly, as spies had betrayed him to Fakhri,
and the latter liad sent for him. However, he brought into Bir
Derwish the entire garrison of el-Ayun, the commandant of
which, Captain Arif Effendi, had actively assisted him in his
propaganda.
Other desertions followed, but, as it was considered that
fragmentary surrenders would lead to great confusion at the
Emirs’ camps and would also involve difficulties in preventing
molestation of the prisoners and seizures of arms by the Bedu,
Emin Bey wrote to various officers commanding Turkish posts
instructing them not to march out until he sent them orders
to do so.
Fakhri was not slow to realize the seriousness of Emin Bey’s
action, and at once took steps to counteract it. As it is perfectly
clear that he had no intention of surrendering Medina, the steps
he took were almost certainly designed to prevent further
desertions and to gain time whilst lie got his force under control
again ; and very probably he had also some idea of reducing the
garrison to a number more proportionate to his rationing capacity,
by allowing a surrender of his least effective troops.
After Emin Bey’s departure, two proclamations were issued
in Medina, which, though not bearing Fakhri’s signature, were
no doubt published by his authority. In these documents it was
explained that Fakhri had refused to accept the commands of
the Turkish Minister of War, and that he had called for orders
from the Sultan who, it was claimed, as head of the Turkish
Army, was the only person competent to issue orders to
surrender. The proclamations were an attempt to rally the
garrison, and contained a strange admixture of abuse of Emin
Bey, of confidence in the army’s ability to defend and feed
itself, and of explanations why a victorious force should not
surrender its arms to rebels and be evacuated as prisoners of war.
It is important to remember that Fakhri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. did not ask
for an order from the Sultan until he had exhausted all other
pretexts for delay. In his first communications, sent in answer
to our demands that he should surrender, he made no mention
of it, and it was not until Captain Zia’s visit that the idea
occurred to him.
Throughout the war he has exhibited fanatical tendencies,
especially in his correspondence with the Emirs and others.

About this item

Content

The volume consists of individual copies of the Arab Bulletin produced by the Arab Bureau at the Savoy Hotel, Cairo numbers 66-114. These publications contain wartime, and post-war intelligence obtained by British sources. They deal with economic, military, and political matters in Turkey, the Middle East, Arabia, and elsewhere, which – in the opinion of British officials – affect the ‘Arab movement’; the bulletins cover a wide range of topics and key personalities.

The volume contains the following maps:

  • A map of Central Arabia showing St John Philby's route from Uqair to Jidda 17 November to 31 December 1917: folio 103.
  • Sketch map prepared from RNAS photographs and reconnaissance by HMS City of Oxford of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Mur February to March 1918 : folio 170.
  • Sketch map of Hejaz (1919): folio 317.
  • Tribal sketch map of the Hadhramaut ‘showing only tribes of fighting value’: folios 333v.

Towards the back of the volume is a small amount of correspondence respecting the distribution of Notes on the Middle East ; the Arab Bulletin was superseded by this publication. Copies of numbers 3-4 of this publication can also be found at the back of the volume.

Tables of content can be found at the front of each issue. A small amount of content is in French.

Extent and format
1 volume (411 folios)
Arrangement

The Arab Bulletins are arranged in numerical order from the front to the back of the file. The Notes on the Middle East follow on from the bulletins at the back of the file in reverse numerical order.

The subject 759 (Arab Bulletins) consists of two volumes. IOR/L/PS/10/657-658.

Physical characteristics

Condition: the edges of some of the folios towards the back of the volume have suffered damage to their edges due to general wear and tear. The affected folios are 389-390, 407-409, and 412.

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 413; 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 front cover and the leading flyleaf have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 357-363 and ff 374-412 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎298r] (604/834), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/658, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048056857.0x000005> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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