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Coll 6/4(1) 'Asir: Assumption by Ibn Saud of control of internal administration of Asir.' [65r] (136/1104)
The record is made up of 1 volume (548 folios). It was created in 17 Nov 1930-12 Oct 1933. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
July 4. 1933.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 3612/2/25]
No. 1 .
Section 2.
Sir A. Ryan to Sir John Simon.—[Received July 4.)
(No. 186.)
Sir.
Jedda, June 18, 1933.
WITH reference to my despatch No. 120 o f the 18th April, relative to the
situation in Asir, I have the honour to state - that the Umm-al-Qura recently
announced the arrival of the Amir Abdul Aziz-bin-Musaid, after completing the
organisation of Asir Tihama, or Tihamat Asir, as it appears now to be called for
choice. According to a later report he reached Mecca on the 13th June.
2. The Umm-al-Qura devoted a good deal of space to Asir in its numbers of
the 9th and 16th June. The article in the issue of the 9th June is worth
summarising. The
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
reproaches the foreign press with confusion of
language in speaking of the theatre of the recent revolt as Asir. He distinguishes
between what has hitherto been officially called the Idrisi territory, i.e., Tihamat
Asir (so named on the analogy of other tihamas or coastal regions) and what he
calls either Asir tout court or Asir-as-Surat. The latter name is unfamiliar to
me, but “ Surat” occurs, apparently as a place name, in another recent article in
the same paper, which touched on the boundary between Saudi Arabia and Yemen
and which I have brought to your notice in a separate despatch.
3. The
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
explains that Tihamat Asir corresponds to what was known
in Turkish times as the districts of Sabya, Jizan and Abu Arish. He defines it as
being bounded on the north by the districts of Qunfida, Birk, Muhail and Rijal-al-
Ma (a tribal name, as you know), on the east by Asir-as-Surat or Asir and on
the south by the districts of Medi and Haradh; and as having a coastal extension
from Qahma to Musim, near the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Ta’shar (cf. my despatch No. 113 of the
14th April). After enumerating the principal localities in the area and the
tribes inhabiting it, he refers to the past existence of the two Amirates of Abu
Arish and Sabya, the eviction of the Sherif of Abu Arish by Muhammad-al-Idrisi,
the eventual appointment of the latter by the Turks as Kaimakam of Sabya, Jizan
and Abu Arish and the later disputes which ended in the triumph of the late
Idrisi Hasan over his nephew Ali, who was given asylum by Ibn baud.
4 . All this leads up to a brief account of the relations between Ibn Saud and
Hasan-al-Idrisi since 1926 culminating in revolt which the Government repressed
“without great trouble and without taking strong military measures. The
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
refers to knavish suggestions that certain persons may be trying to stir
up a further movement. There is no sign, he says, of anything of the sort, as is
proved by the return of Ibn Musaid, the demobilisation of the baudi forces, the
organisation of a new Administration and the appointment of Amirs. He goes
on to say that Tihamat Asir, comprising the three districts already named, is to
be governed by an Amir, assisted by a council consisting of the officer commanding
troops, the Amir in charge of finance, the Qadhi and seven notables. The baudi
Amir at Abha will have a right of supervision.
5. The Umm-al-Qura article of the 16th June is historical and may be
intended to be followed by others. It is based mainly on the relevant portion of
a general w’ork recently published by Fuad Bey Hamza in Arabic, undei the title,
‘‘ The Heart of the Arabian Peninsula.” It deals at some length with the obscure
history of the Sherifs of Abu Arish and the old rivalries between the Turks the
Imams of the Yemen and the Bauds for ascendancy in that area. The article i
contemporary interest, except in so far as it tends to support the distinction
^ . •u, • .l A out’ T-vywrior arm
[851 d—2]
About this item
- Content
This volume mostly contains copies of Foreign Office correspondence (forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India) relating to the assumption by Ibn Sa'ud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] of control of the internal administration of Asir in November 1930, and its impact on his relations with the Imam of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn].
Some of the Foreign Office correspondence refers to the Treaty of Mecca (1926), between Ibn Sa'ud and the Idrisi Ruler of Asir, As Sayyid Al-Hasan-al-Idrisi [Sayyid Āl Ḥasan al-Idrīsī], in which the latter handed over control of his foreign relations, whilst retaining control of his territory's internal affairs. The correspondence discusses the impact that the recent annexation of Asir is likely to have on 1) the present status of Asir, and 2) the Treaty of 1917 between Britain and the Idrisi.
Also discussed are the following:
- Whether or not the British Government should recognise the absorption of Asir into the territories of Ibn Sa'ud.
- Proposals made by the Hejaz and Nejd Government to the British Government for the establishment both of wireless communication between Aden and Jizan, and of postal communication between Jizan and Kamaran, and the difficulties that these proposals pose for the British Government in relation to its decision to withold formal recognition of the annexation of Asir.
- The Italian Government's view on the annexation of Asir.
- Reports of the Imam of Yemen having advanced troops over the Asir frontier.
- Details of a revolt by the Idrisi in Asir against Ibn Sa'ud, in which Abdullah [ʿAbdullāh bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī], Emir of 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 , is alleged to be complicit.
- The British Government's response to the alleged presence of anti-Saudi consipirators in 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 .
- Saudi objections to an Italian sloop entering Asir waters and disagreement between the British and Italian Governments regarding whether British warships have visited Jizan.
- Details of telegram reports from the Senior Naval Officer of the British Red Sea sloops (which are included in the volume).
- Reports of the surrender of the Idrisi rebels, and of Ibn Sa'ud's consent to As Sayyid Al-Hasan-al-Idrisi's permanent exile in Yemen.
- Reports of the alleged detention of a Saudi delegation at Sanaa.
- Extracts from Aden Political Intelligence summaries (which are included in the volume).
- Saudi suspicions that Italy has been supplying both the Idrisi and the Imam of Yemen with arms and ammunition.
The volume also includes copies of translated correspondence between Ibn Sa'ud and the Imam of Yemen dating from 1930 to 1931, and a copy of a translation of a treaty of friendship between the Hejaz-Nejd and Yemen, signed on 15 December 1931.
The volume's principal correspondents are the following:
- His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Jedda (Cecil Gervase Hope Gill, succeeded by Albert Spencer Calvert);
- British Minister at Jedda (Andrew Ryan);
- Foreign Office;
- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir John Simon);
- Secretary of State for the Colonies;
- Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia) [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd];
- His Majesty's Ambassador to Italy (Ronald William Graham);
- Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Ibn Sa'ud;
- Imam of Yemen.
The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (548 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first flyleaf with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 549; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 226-546 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front cover.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2064
- Title
- Coll 6/4(1) 'Asir: Assumption by Ibn Saud of control of internal administration of Asir.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:7v, 15r:18v, 21r:24r, 26r:26v, 28r:34r, 36r:66v, 69r:118v, 120r:124v, 126r:142v, 147r:151v, 153r:156v, 158r:212v, 214r:215v, 219r:329v, 331r:332v, 334r:336v, 338r:339v, 342r:354v, 357r:358v, 361r:373v, 382r:389v, 394r:396v, 398r:419v, 421r:454v, 461r:479v, 481r:494v, 497r:501v, 503r:519v, 524r:525v, 530r:545v, 547r:548v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence