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'Field Notes on Sa'udi Arabia, 1935' [‎13r] (30/248)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (120 folios). It was created in 1936. 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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CHAPTER II
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
1. General Description
Sa’udi Arabia is in theory one kingdom, having a constitution
in the Hejaz but not in Nejd or the parts of Asir administered from
Neid. The Hejaz constitution is of an elementary type. All
authority is vested in the King, who is bound by the religious law.
Certain powers, extensive on paper, are delegated to the Viceroy in
the Hejaz, while provision is made for various councils and other
administrative machinery, including an advisory legislative council
and municipal bodies.
In Nejd the tribal Shaikhs and heads of settlements retain much
influence, although the King has representatives in some places who
may be regarded more as officials in the European sense. All such
officials and those in the Hejaz are liable to instant dismissa. by the
King and, on the other hand, resignation is forbidden.
2. Central Government
Nejd is governed like a Shaikhdom or congeries of Shaikhdoms,
and the Government of Sa’udi Arabia is, in short, an autocracy,
having, in the Hejaz, a constitutional flavour.
H.M. The King.
The Royal Diwan, or Secretariat.
The functioning of the Government machine is so imprecise
according to Western ideals that a tabular layout could not convey
the system in use.
The King appoints a number of Ministers who are separately
responsible to him direct, in the case of affairs within the province
of their function in Nejd, but only indirectly, through the Council of
Ministers and via the Viceroy, in the Hejaz.
The King spends about seven months in a yeai at Riyadh, the
capital of Nejd, and, while there, his second son is Viceroy of the
Hejaz. On arrival in the Hejaz, the Viceroyalty goes temporarily
into abeyance, while the Heir Apparent usually fulfils the function
of a Viceroy in Nejd until the King returns there.
(a) Nejd
In Nejd, the King deals direct with the Governors of the four
largest provinces, and very often direct with the Governois of the
lesser provinces, which, in theory, are under the control of tie

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Content

The volume, marked confidential, is Field Notes on Sa'udi Arabia, 1935 , prepared by Donald Banks of the Air Ministry, by command of the Air Council.

The volume begins with a brief forward (folio 2) in which the geographical scope is outlined. The volume is then divided into nine chapters (I-IX) with appendices, as follows:

I - History

II - System of Government

III - Population

IV - Political Geography

V - Physical Geography

VI - Climate and Meteorology

VII - Communications

VIII - Resources

IX - Armed Forces

Appendices - Weights and Measures, Coinage, Calendar and Time, Note on the state of Wahhabism viewed from a military standpoint, Note on Zakat

The volume contains the following route reports:

1. 'Uqair to Riyadh, via al Hasa

2. Riyadh to Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Fatima (near Jedda)

3. Jumaima to Medina

4. Riyadh to Kuwait

5. Kuwait to Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan Frontier

The volume contains nineteen maps and plans, as follows:

  • Imperial Air and Sea Routes (folio 29)
  • Tribal Areas (folio 23)
  • Administrative Divisions (folio 33)
  • Town Plans of Jedda, Mecca, Medina, Riyadh, and Taif (folios 40, 42, 43, 45, and 46, respectively)
  • Diagrammatic Section of Middle Sa'udi Arabia (folio 50)
  • Physical Geography (folio 54)
  • Chart showing Magnetic Variation in Arabia (folio 59)
  • Communications in Sa'udi Arabia (folio 64)
  • Diagram of Principal Watering Points, Frontier Posts and Garrisons (folio 70)
  • Tribes of Asir (folio 76)
  • Panorama of the town of Marat (folio 98)
  • Panorama of Muwaih (folio 101)
  • Sketch Plan of Muwaih (folio 100)
  • Sketch of route Rumaihiya-Jarya (Route Report No. 4) (folio 109)
  • General Map (folio 121)
Extent and format
1 volume (120 folios)
Arrangement

At the beginning of the volume (folios 4-7) is a list of contents with reference to the original pagination.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 122; 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 volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Field Notes on Sa'udi Arabia, 1935' [‎13r] (30/248), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/384, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049274805.0x00001f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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