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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎13r] (30/1062)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (527 folios). It was created in 6 Jan 1929-15 Jan 1938. 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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68
Government had already been informed in writing that a Mission would pro
ceed, Hussein was eventually instructed to leave without the Foreign Mmis-
. r - The latter told me that he had suffered at Hussein’s hands in the past
in the matter of his arrogance and autocratic behaviour. I could not help
remarking that I had only met this princeling in 1937 and that I could amee
taat he was arrogant and autocratic. At my audience with the King on
July 17th last he asked me after his “ boy Hussein ”. I replied that when
I last saw him he appeared to be in rude health. It appears that he has
informed his father that he is suffering from anaemia and that he is consultino-
specialists in London.
(b) Qadhi Abdullah El Amri. —The Prime Minister is as powerful as
ever and is still the King’s most trusted adviser. He is much disturbed
about the succession and constantly prays for the King’s long life. In this
he is sincere as his own future is very uncertain after King Yahya’s death.
In his reference to the Crown Prince he is careful not to criticise him but
prays that Allah may guide him and equip him for rulership which implies
that at present he is no fit person to rule ; this is the general view and I share
it. The Prime Minister is quite certain in his own mind that the Crown
Prince will succeed in the first instance and makes no secret about it.
Qadhi Abdullah’s relations with Raghib have worsened—if that were
possible—and though outwardly they are the best of friends their one desire
is to oust the other. Qadhi Abdullah is more charitable than Raghib and
merely refers to him as a tiresome old man.
(c) Qadhi Muhammad Raghib Bey. —During my stay here this month
I have noticed that Raghib, like the King, has aged considerably since October
1936. He finds it more difficult to grasp matters of detail and sometimes has
to repeat words to himself before they sink in. He is, I think, over 70 years
of age and his thirteen years in this capital without change have worn him
down. At the moment he and the Prime Minister are engaged in under
ground warfare to such an extent that Raghib is obsessed with it. The
vast amount of intrigue in this town and the sinister interpretations attributed
to the most innocent acts sometimes lead me to wonder whether I have
stumbled on a vast mental institution. It surpasses the bounds of all normal
human understanding. As part of my time here is spent listening patiently
to stories about the sinister machinations of this person and that, I have to
hear a donkey bray or a dog bark before I am brought back to a sense of
reality. Raghib suffers from this form of hysteria to a marked extent.
I am quite convinced that he would do anything and sacrifice every
thing to get out of this country at the earliest opportunity. His relations
with all Yemenis are most unhappy but the King will not let him go even if
he spurns him and treats him abominably at times. In spite of this, how
ever, I believe that he is secretly flattered by the King’s refusal to release
him ’and I do not doubt that this alone makes life endurable to him.
(d) Seyyid Abdullah ibn El Wazir Minister. .—TAiQ Governor of Hodeida still seems
to carry his anti-Christian bias to an extreme. He has recently much
embarrassed our political clerk in Hodeida and told him quite openly that
he would be as difficult and as uncompromising as he could with any person
who served the Christians. Mr. Salih Jafar deserves commendation for his
tact and self-possession as his patience has been sorely tried. Seyyid Abdullah
for all his outward show of dignity and grandeur is a chicken-hearted posewr.
I am quite sure that, like his cousin in Taiz, he is piqued at the Aden Govern-
ment’s apparent disregard of the importance of the Wazirs while he knows
that we want no quarrel with the Yemeni Government and its officials. In
the circumstances he feels that he is safe enough to vent his spleen on and
derive malicious pleasure in baiting Mr. Salih Jafar who is wise enough to
remain unruffled. It is clear that he is acting deliberately and for a set pur
pose and his anti-Christian pose serves the object m view Like his cousin
in Taiz, but in a different manner, I think he strives to make it emerge
Wazirs can be a nuisance if they are not placated.
Seyyid Abdullah met his cousin, the Governor of Taiz in Apnl last
These two had not met for fifteen years or more and it is “Atw this meet-
that they discussed future Waziri P ollc y“P^the most corfflafand
ing it was reported that their relations had not been of the most cordial ana
I suppose that this has now been remedied.
59(C) ExAffai/dDfepfi

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Content

This volume compiles printed copies of letters, telegrams, memoranda and newspaper extracts relating to Britain's involvement across the Arabian Peninsula during the period 1929-1938. Whilst the correspondence encompasses all matters concerning British interests in the region, much of it relates to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • Reports of unrest in the Hejaz.
  • Relations between Imam Yeha Hamid-Ud-Din [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn, Imam of Yemen] and Ibn Saud.
  • Reports of raids and arms trafficking on the 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 -Nejd frontier.
  • Reports of the proceedings of British naval ships in the Red Sea.
  • Details of the Akhwan [Ikhwan] revolt against Ibn Saud, including the movements of one of the revolt's leaders, Faisal Dawish [Fayṣal bin Sulṭān al-Dawīsh], and his surrender to the British in Kuwait.
  • Relations between Kuwait and Nejd.
  • Relations between Iraq and Nejd, including a proposed meeting between Ibn Saud and King Faisal [Fayṣal] of Iraq, and reports of a treaty of alliance between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
  • Objections from the Hejaz Government to Royal Air Force aircraft flying over Nejd territory.
  • The purchase of arms by the Hejaz Government from Poland.
  • Ibn Saud's annexation of Asir.
  • The death of King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī].
  • Harry St John Bridger Philby's conversion to Islam, his mapping of Rub-al-Khali, and his reported spreading of Saudi propaganda in the Aden Protectorate.
  • The currency exchange crisis in the Hejaz-Nejd and the financial situation in the kingdom generally.
  • Reports on a survey of the water and mineral content of the Hejaz coastal area.
  • Relations between Soviet Russia and Saudi Arabia.
  • The emigration of Jews from Yemen to Palestine, via Aden.
  • British fears that Italy might harbour ambitions to annex Yemen.
  • Saudi oil concessions.
  • Italian-Saudi relations.

Prominent correspondents include the following: the British Agent (later His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires) at Jeddah; His Majesty's Minister at Jeddah; the High Commissioner for Egypt; the High Commissioner for Iraq; the High Commissioner for 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 ; the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait; the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. (later Chief Commissioner, and later still, Governor), Aden; the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; His Majesty's Ambassador to Iraq; His Majesty's Ambassador to Italy; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Minister (and Acting Minister) for Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia); Ibn Saud; King Feisal of Iraq; the Prime Minister of Iraq; various officials of the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the Air Ministry, and the Admiralty.

The French material in the volume consists of several items of correspondence and a copy of a treaty between France and Yemen, which was signed in April 1936.

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 (527 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The items of correspondence are divided (roughly) into various sections. Each extract or item of correspondence within these sections has its own number, which is enclosed in brackets. These numbers proceed in ascending (and approximate chronological) order from left to right; however, the sections themselves proceed in reverse, from the rear to the front of the volume, in distinct groups (e.g. for 1929 numbers 1-23, which are located at folios 517-526, are followed by numbers 24-49 at folios 509-516, which are then followed by numbers 50-89 at folios 494-508, and so on).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 529; 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: each section of correspondence within the volume (as described in the arrangement field) has its own pagination sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎13r] (30/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x00001f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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