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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎174r] (352/1062)

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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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27
fISR
ffilSldk
;es
ible as •
d indi0ati01 f of a slow mOTe -
of old. He has left more in the hands of hi °j? & S T ew ^ easier '‘fe than
them all in major matters. He has aecpnfprl tip Vlsers ’ still controls
though they appear to us rather illusory at presenT are not^hoH fOTmS ’i W T ioll,
year he made new secretarial arrangements at ot wholly unreal. Last
to the Amir Sa’ud of his ow cS Tecretarv S’ the transfer
now gone as Charge de’Affaires to Baghdad. y ’ lin 1 n Muammar, who has
4. X collect these indications for two reasons S.1 i..T.i ,, r . .e ,. .
support to the idea that Ibn Samd may end his active career, or at“ny rate Us
public career, by abdication rather than by death Secondlv !v ^ 7 tls
interest to His Majesty’s Government, S ulh fo IxXS
the rather marked tendency which Ibn Sa’ud has shown during the oast vX
to seek to compose various differences which might militate against the success
of a new ruler; to disarm hostility among his own subjects ; Ld to reduce the
possibilities of quarrel with neighbouring countries like ’Iraq, 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
Yemen and perhaps even Kuwait. 4 ansjoraan, the
5. I sought a further audience with the King on June 11, to discuss business
I will report what passed separately m connexion with the subjects I raised in
own 11 aS ^ ^ necessar y to rec °rd it. The King broached no subject of his
6 Ibn Sa’ud returned t 0 Mecca late on June 12. During his short stay
His Majesty gave a great deal of time to Captain H. C. Armstrong, who is writing
his biography and whom he consented, as a result of correspondence through
the Sa udi minster m London, to receive in Jedda. Captain Armstrong arrived
on June 7. He had a general conversation with the King on June 10, and had four
further audiences on June 11 and 12 of an average duration of some two hours
each. The King has been most forthcoming and both parties appear to be
exceedingly pleased^with each other. I have avoided any appearance of promoting
Captain Armstrong’s enterprise but he is staying with my wife and me on the
g trength of old friendship.
7. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Excellency the Viceroy of India
(Foreign and Political Department), His Majesty’s Ambassador^at Baghdad,
His Majesty’s High Commissioners at Jerusalem and Cairo, the Hon’ble 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. , Bushire, and to His Majesty’s Chief Com-
ihissioner at Aden.
( 30 )
(Received on 22nd July 1933, with Political Secretary's letter No. 27, dated the 6th
July 1933.)
Letteb from His Majesty’s Minister, Jedda, to the Foreign Office, No. 110,
DATED THE 16TH May 1933.
No. 1.
In paragraph 32 of the Jedda report for March (F. 81-N./33), enclosed in my
despatch No. 102 of the 7th April, I mentioned that Ibn Sa’ud had given a dinner
to notable pilgrims on the evening of the 31st March. As you are aware, this is
now a regular feature of each year’s pilgrimage season. On the present occasion,
the King entertained some hundreds of guests of various nationalities, including
several Indians. I understand from my Indian Vice-Consul that the attention
shown both to Shia and to Indian pilgrims has been a feature of this year’s
pilgrimage. In the case of the Indians the King and the Minister of Finance,
who is largely responsible for dispensing such attention, had the advantage of
the presence of Jemal Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Ghazzi, who has been conducting since last year an
intensive pro-pilgrimage campaign in India and was able to make play with
the intimacy he had established there with various participants in this year’s
Haj.
2. It is the King’s custom to speak at great length at these annual banquets.
The published version of his address on the present occasion occupied a page and
a half of the Umm-al-Qura of the 6th April. I enclose a short summary prepared
in the Legation.

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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.' [‎174r] (352/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765164.0x000099> [accessed 25 August 2026]

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