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File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎298v] (605/834)

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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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— 18 —
The letter he sent to King Husein is a fair example. In it he
described how he had been commanded in a vision to guard the
Prophet’s tomb against the usurper and the slave of the infidel.
Captain Zia stated that every Friday Fakhn ascended the pulpit
in the Haram putting on a sacred robe of Fatma, and that the
officers and men filed past kissing the garment. However, it is
not yet clear whether he is genuinely fanatical or whether he
merely sought throughout to use religious influence for military
purposes, i.e. to maintain his control over a force which without
it would certainly have become demoralized and rebellious long
before the Armistice.
It is at least certain that one of his prime reasons for
holding out, if indeed it were not the only true one, was his
pronounced objection to surrendering, except under military
pressure, to rebels, especially to Arabs, whom he holds in
supreme contempt. And we may rest assured that had he been .
able to avoid it by joining forces with Ibn Saud, or by marching
out under arms to Qasim, he would certainly have done so.
It is not to be expected that he will now disclose any such
plans he may have proposed to, or formulated with, Ibn Saud, as
there is no doubt that his feelings towards the latter are much
more friendly than those he bears for the Sherifian family whom
he has at times designated as nass haramia. There is no doubt
too that he was in constant communication with Ibn Saud and
that he provided escorts for parties to and from Qasim.
On January 5 Fakhri sent a commission of four officers to
Bir Derwish to arrange evacuation details, but this move w r as
almost certainly merely another subterfuge ; for he published
the appointment of this commission in orders and as a result
desertions at once stopped.
At the first meeting the commission was told that Fakhri
must surrender in person and Ali Negib Bey, the senior
member and Fakhri’s second in command, was instructed to
write to him saying he must appear at Bir Derwish within
forty-eight hours. Fakhri had clearly no intention of appearing,
for he replied that he was too busy ; and in answer to a second
letter wrote that he intended to come, but was unfortunately on
the sick list.
The four members of the commission had clenrly a whole
sale dread of Fakhri. Ali Negib Bey showed himself weak,
dilatory and procrastinating, and it seemed as if he would never
be induced to take a strong line of action.
However, the details of evacuation were finally arranged
and a clause was inserted demanding Fakhri’s personal surrender
within forty-eight hours, under penalty of the termination of
the negotiations and the resumption of a state of war. Ali
Negib Bey was reminded that, in the event of failure, he would
share the responsibility with Fakhri, and that to commit the
Turkish troops to further privations might have serious con
sequences for him.

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’ [‎298v] (605/834), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/658, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048056857.0x000006> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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