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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.’ [‎83r] (174/852)

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. .

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[752 dd—1] B
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
EASTERN (x^rabia).
CONFIDENTIAL
T
44 2 1
t op SI
[October 27, 1924.]
Section 1.
9344 / 7624 / 91 ]
CWswZ Bullard to Mr. MacDonald.—{Received October 27.)
(No. 99.)
Sir,
Jeddah, October 11, 1924.
I HAVE the honour to enclose a report in continuation of the report on the
capture of Taif which I sent with my despatch No. 95, dated the 21st September.
F 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.
& r I have, &c.
R. W. BULLARD.
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Report.
THE previous report followed the Taif incident up to the 21st September. At
that time a heterogeneous force under the Amir Ali was moving out with t e o jec
of retaking Taif. Local scepticism as to its chances of success was justified 0
the morning of the 25th September reliable information was received that the
Hediaz force had been completely defeated, and that the Amir All was again near,
if not actually in, Mecca, and later in the day King Hussein telegraphed a message
to His Maiesty’s Government which indicated that the situation was critical. A
summary of the message was telegraphed to His Majesty’s Government, who replied
defining/their attitude^ clearly^ King Hussein must at ^
their intervention in his favour was out of the question. He sent another telegranp
it is true but there was no conviction in it. One of the reasons advanced as justifying
thp 8 inter vent imT of His Majesty’s Government was . “ Article itate
Naii-al-Asil brought says that I am to be with his Excellency Ibn baud m the state
which existed before tie Arab revolt.” The reference y??* blhed
unauthorised additions which he made to the treaty m May 1923, befoie hep b .
the famous declaration stating that a treaty with His Majesty s Government hac
been^signed^ ^ Hussein was trying to secure the help of His Majesty s Govern
ment against the \Vahabis, and incidentally against his people, the people weie
tidnW a?ain of the possibility of getting assistance from some foreign Power,
preferably °Great Britain, against the Wahabis, and incidentally against mg
Hussein Two of the leading merchants in Jeddah-one the president of the
municipality the other the nephew of the kaimakan—called on me, separately, to
enlist the sympathy of His Majesty’s Government. They asked for a British pro
tectorate o/mandate over the Hedjaz, or for any form of assistance His Majesty s
Government liked to give, and they showed some indignation when I a^wered m
the terms of the reply sent by His Majesty s Government to King Hussein, ine
local point of view ik of course, that under the Turks they had not , to ,y° rry A°ow
defence and in spite of a certain amount of tyranny, they were pretty tree to follow
theiT profession o? exploiting pilgrims; that His Majesty’s Government drove away
the Turks and established for them a regime which was far more oppressive and
which involved the disagreeable responsibility of defe " c ®
and that, consequently, His Majesty s Government ought to defend them
nwn defence had broken down, and at the same tune to liberate tiiem tiom JAi
Hussein the immediate cause of the Wahabi attack. They are quite unable to t in
of the change of regime as one of many results of the world war, and of enthusias
for an Arab as opposed to a Turkish Government, or for independence itself. I ha
discovered not^a Jrace.^ resources, the notables of Jeddah, supported by nearly
H iparing- men of Mecca who by this time had fled to the coast to escape the
»(s begalTgain to tolk loudly alout deposing King Hussein. With the second
and final defeat of the Hedjaz forces civil government in Mecca collapsed, and

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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
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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.’ [‎83r] (174/852), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1124, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100060670085.0x0000af> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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