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Coll 6/4(1) 'Asir: Assumption by Ibn Saud of control of internal administration of Asir.' [‎181r] (368/1104)

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. .

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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
r~
CONFIDENTIAL.
E 79/2/25]
No. 1 .
Mr. Hope Gill to Sir John Simon.—(Received January 4, 1933.)
(No. 480.)
Sir,
Jedda, December 17, 1932.
WITH reference to my telegram No. 220 of the 1 st December regarding the
rebellion in Asir, I have "the honour to transmit herewith a translation of a
lengthy extract from the Umm-al-Qura of the 2nd December entitled “ The Jizan
Affair ” and of a short communique published in the same paper’s issue of the
9th December under the heading “ News of Events at Jizan.’’Q These documents
bring up to date the history of the Asir revolt as seen from the point of view of
Saudi publicity. But there is a mass of fact and motive behind them which is at
present hidden. Some I have been able to gather from other sources; the rest
can only be conjectured. The present is a suitable moment to attempt an
interim survey.
2. The Province of Asir has for some years been commonly regarded as a
likely source of trouble for Ibn Saud, but generally in connexion with the Yemen
and the steps which the Imam Yahya might be expected to take to recover a
territory which some have supposed to have been filched from him. Trouble has
but seldom been foreseen in connexion with the tribes of Asir itself and never yet
in connexion with the attitude of its present ruler, the Idrisi. He and his
tribesmen could have been likened to fat trout in a pool, lorded over by a
not-too-voracious pike, but both watched by a hungry old pike No. 2 lying in the
border reeds.
3. The expected has not yet happened and, as far as I at present know
(though there are increasing rumours to the contrary),^ pike No. 2 is still
motionless. It is the trout who are up in arms and pike No. 1 is busy trying to
eat them up. It is difficult to say just what roused them. Asir is a relatively
thickly populated country (say, 1 million) and moderately rich in agucultuie,
lying as it does in the northern fringe of Arabia Felix. It has been the fashion
in flip TTpiny and pvpti A.monffst its more disgruntled inhabitants, impatient o
(O printed.
[683 d—21

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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:

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.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 6/4(1) 'Asir: Assumption by Ibn Saud of control of internal administration of Asir.' [‎181r] (368/1104), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2064, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056677915.0x0000a9> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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