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File 3665/1924 Pt 1 ‘Arabia:- Situation 1924; Wahabi attack on Hedjaz. Capture of Taif & defeat of Hedjaz Army. Abdication of King Hussein.’ [46r] (100/852)
The record is made up of 1 volume (419 folios). It was created in 19 Aug 1924-6 Jan 1925. It was written in English and French. 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.
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EASTERN (Arabia).
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Hi* v® ^ s
CONFIDENTIAL.
L i 924-
[E 9974/7624/91]
No. 1 .
[November 17, 1924.
{Section 1.
Consul Bullard to Mr. MacDonald.—(Received November 17.)
(No. 105.)
Sir, Jeddah, October 30, 1924.
I HAVE the honour to enclose a report on the situatbn covering the period the
21st-30th October.
2 . Copies of this despatch and of its enclosure are being sent to India, Egypt,
Khartoum (through Port Sudan), Jerusalem, Bagdad, Beirut (for Damascus), Aden,
Singapore, Bushire, Koweit and Bahrein.
I have, &c.
R. W. BULLARD.
Enclosure in No. 1 .
Jeddah Report for October 21-30, 1924.
^ THE correspondence between the people of Jeddah and the Wahabis culminated
in the despatch of a deputation to Mecca. According to the report which the deputation
brouo-ht back, the Wahabi general, Khalid, offered the most handsome terms. The only ^
condTtion he laid down was that the Amir Ali should either be seized or forced to leave |
the country ; if that condition was complied with, Jeddah had nothing to fear; ah the
officials would be maintained in their posts, and not only would no harm be done to the
people but Khalid would not even send Wahabi troops to Jeddah, but would leave
the town to govern itself; but if they failed to seize Ah or to force him to leave the
Wahabis would take Jeddah by force, and would treat the town as they treated I ait.
This message was only what was to be expected ; Khahd would naturally wish to
secure Jeddah as he secured Mecca, without fighting. The threat of frightfulness was
very likely bluff, but it was taken at its face value at Jeddah where the population tell
into a state of abject fright. This feeling was intensified when Ah finally announced
his determination to fight. The leading men, stimulated by Khahd 8 message and by a
telegram from Ibn Sand’s secretary at Bahrein, saying that Ibn Saud would never make
peace so long as Hussein or his sons ruled in the Hedjaz, pointed out to Ah a is
presence alone stood in the way of peace, and he promised to abdicate and leave the
country if they would make the demand m writing ; but when the demand signed by
everyone of importance, was presented, he went back on his
to resist he has been encouraged, as was stated in the last report by the Bagdadi and
Syrian officers and by the arrival of reinforcements from Transjordama the
country. Other factors which have contributed to the decision are the co s
encouragement he receives from the ex-King Hussein and the Amir Abdullah the hope
that something will come of Mr. Philby’s visit, the arrival of a stock of ammunition
from Europe aid the discovery of a Turkish officer who is believed to possess the secret
“S'SSgtl. t. Hi. Majesty’s Oov,,—t I
Government that Mr. Philby’s visit was not authorised by them and that he has no
authority to negotiate in their name. They replied that they quite understood this.
Mr. Philby had asked if he might come as a friend and they could refuse^ This
does not prevent their representing the visit, privately, as authorised by His Majesty s
Government and as offering, in consequence, high hopes of a successfu issu
in Jeddah, except perhaps the Amir AH and his entourage, believes that Mr. Pn by
comes as a private person, and one cannot blame them for t eir suspicion . ■ . ^
arrived on the 28th October. He just missed the mail steamer at buez, and, to avmd
a delay of ten days, he came down on a cargo boat, and the He. jaz oveinm ^
launch some miles out to sea to take him off. This unusual method of travelling and
landing only increased the suspicion attaching to the visit. •
s ' 5 On the 21 st October the Khedivial mail boat landed lo 6 cases of ammunition
which they had brought over from Port Sudan. The instructions receiver y
[780 r— 1 ]
About this item
- Content
Correspondence and other papers concerning the invasion of the Hedjaz [Hejaz] by Wahabi [Wahhabi] forces associated with the Sultan of Najd, Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], and the subsequent abdication of the King of Hedjaz, Amir Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī]. The volume contains: reports of the capture of the city of Taif [Ta’if] by Wahabi forces; the British Government’s efforts to ascertain the fate of British Indian Muslims in Taif; correspondence amongst British Government officials about the contents of a message to be sent to Ibn Saud in response to the capture of Taif; correspondence between British Government officials and the Hashemite representative in London, Dr Naji el Assil [Naji al-Asil], regarding the British Government’s decision to pursue a policy of non-intervention in response to events; the abdication of Amir Hussein, and his departure from Mecca via Jeddah and Akaba [Aqaba]; the succession of Amir Ali [‘Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] as King of Hedjaz; Amir Ali’s retreat to Jeddah and reports of Wahabi forces in Mecca; Amir Ali’s attempt to procure loans for troops and war materials; reports of events at Taif and Jeddah, as reported by the British Consul at Jeddah, Reader William Bullard (ff 160-162, ff 83-84, f 46).
The volume’s principal correspondents are: the British Consul at Jeddah; the Foreign Office; the Secretary of State for the Colonies, James Henry Thomas; the British High Commissioner of Iraq, Henry Robert Conway Dobbs; the British High Commissioner of Palestine, Herbert Louis Samuel; Naji el Assil.
The volume contains a single item in French: a draft of a letter addressed to the Wahabi leader, drawn up by the consular corps in Jeddah (f 131).
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (f 2).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (419 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 3665 (Arabia) consists of five volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/1124-1127. The volumes are divided into eight parts, with part 1 comprising one volume, parts 2, 3 and 4 comprising the second volume, part 5 comprising the third volume, and parts 7, 8 and 9 comprising the fourth volume. There is no part 6.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 419; 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 foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 3665/1924 Pt 1 ‘Arabia:- Situation 1924; Wahabi attack on Hedjaz. Capture of Taif & defeat of Hedjaz Army. Abdication of King Hussein.’ [46r] (100/852), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1124, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100060670085.0x000065> [accessed 18 July 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1124
- Title
- File 3665/1924 Pt 1 ‘Arabia:- Situation 1924; Wahabi attack on Hedjaz. Capture of Taif & defeat of Hedjaz Army. Abdication of King Hussein.’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:5r, 6v:16v, 19r:20v, 21v:22v, 24r:35v, 42r:67r, 69r:76v, 80r:84r, 86r:94v, 97r:98v, 103r:106v, 107v:111v, 115r:124v, 126r:126v, 129r:131v, 133r:203v, 208r:215v, 217r:220v, 221v:238v, 241r:247v, 249r:262r, 263r:294v, 298r:299v, 301r:410v, 414r:419v, ii-r:iii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence