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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎215r] (434/898)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (445 folios). It was created in 13 Mar 1924-18 Mar 1931. 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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EASTERN (Arabia) .
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 1877/644/91]
i 9 2 7
[April 25, 1927.]
Section 2 .
No. 1.
Actmg Consul Mayers to Sir Austen Chamberlain.
-{Received April 25.)
Jeddah, April 3, 1927.
(No. 33. Secret.)
Sir
Hejaz toilg^he per 0 iTtL t0 lst r to 3 “^ reP ° rt ° n situltion^fthe
4 , 2 ' Copies of this report are being sent to Egypt Jerusalem ftwot R h ,
lingapore 6 . 1111 ’ ^ (f ° r Da “^ ^artul '(tWougr^or^ta^
I have, &c.
NORMAN MAYERS.
Enclosure in No. 1.
(Secret ) Jeddah Report for the Period March 1 ft? 31, 1927.
MADAN h ^ Ye COme to an end mucil about tb e same time with a
crop of rumours of approaching alarums m Asir. Reports received in Aden of
warlike preparations m the Yemen have lately begun to find echoes in the Heiaz.
. It is recounted that agents of the Imam are working as far north as Kunfida
tor tke purpose of finding friends among the tribesmen of the Tihama. They are
said to claim that their master will have Italian support. Imamic agents are also
reported m Asir where the ruling Idrisi, Sayed Hassan, and his kinsman, Sayed
Mustaia, are said to have settled their differences and to be opposing simultaneously
me dislike and discontent of some of their own countrymen and the threat from the
south. Even the Emir of the Zahran and Ghamid tribes, who live in the mountainous
country between Turaba and the sea, has received in Mecca, where he is at present
living, messengers from his men to ask which direction they should follow. He has
advised them to remain quiet and to persist in their loyalty to Ibn Saud. On the
ot lei hand, it is reported that spokesmen from the Ghamid and Beni Shahr tribes
have gone up to Sanaa.
3. Meanwhile Ibn Saud is supposed to have reassured the Idrisi of his support
and to have sent provisions and ammunition to Sabia with a promise of arms and
men after Ramadan. Later reports state from one side that the Idrisi forces have
taken Samta (north-east of Medi), and from the other that the Imam’s troops have
taken Nejran (on the desert fringe of the coastal belt), whither Ibn Saud had sent
six t£ flags ” of tribesmen.
4. It ought to be stated here that the above reports are unsifted rumour. The
events of the next month will show what truth there is in them. In view of all the
circumstances, conflict between Ibn Saud and the Imam appears probable. The
question is how much importance will be given to it, and whether the conflict will
be allowed to assume serious proportions at once. Is there cause for a serious
struggle ? The Imam may consider that the time has come to use force, but it is not
yet clear that either he or Ibn Saud wants a final reckoning at this juncture. The
King is not due back in the Hejaz until mid-April at the earliest. He may be
spending his last few days in Nejd, where he is more likely to raise troops than in the
Hejaz, in making preparations for holding his own in Asir. But one cannot help
but surmise that, while taking the necessary precautions, he will let Asir remain a
side-issue until the pilgrimage is over. The latter, of course, need not in any way be
affected by any unrest, even hostilities, round distant Jizan.
5. Report has it that Mahmoud Nadim Bey, the well-known Turkish
ex-Governor of the Yemen, who is at present adviser to the Turkish mission at
Jeddah, devotes some of his time to Yemen affairs. He has been described as an
unofficial Imamic agent in the Hejaz. He certainly is very much attached to the
[91 bb—2]

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Content

The volume mostly contains printed copies of despatches from HM Agent and Consul, Jeddah, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, enclosing reports on the situation in the Hejaz (also spelled Hedjaz in the file) [now a region of Saudi Arabia], from January 1924 to December 1930, and related enclosures to the reports. These despatches were sent to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The volume also includes 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. Political and Secret Department minute papers, which include comments on the reports, and indicate that the reports had been seen by the Under-Secretary of State for India and the Political Committee of the Council of India.

The reports are monthly for January to August 1924, May 1925, September 1925 to March 1927, June 1927 to June 1930, and December 1930. Reports between these dates cover shorter periods, except July and August 1930, which are both covered by one report, and September, October and November 1930, which are also covered by one report.

The reports discuss matters including the actions of King Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi of the Hejaz, including his attempts to gain recognition as Caliph, and the military and financial situation in the Hejaz during the war between the Hejaz and the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd [Najd]. They report on events of the Hedjaz-Nejd war including: the capture of Taif (September 1924) and Mecca (October 1924) by Nejd; the departure of the ex-King Hussein from Jeddah; the fall of Medina and Jeddah and the surrender of the Hejaz to Sultan Abdul Aziz of Nejd [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also known as Ibn Saud] (December 1925); and the formal assumption of the title of King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies by Ibn Saud (8 January 1925).

The reports following the annexation of the Hejaz by Nejd cover internal affairs, including prohibitions introduced for religious reasons, the Hejaz Railway, the financial situation of the Hejaz-Nejd Government, and the Hejaz Air Force. They also report on foreign relations, including: the publication of an agreement, dated 21 October 1926, between Ibn Saud and Sayyid Hassan-el-Idrisi, establishing the suzerainty of Ibn Saud over Asir; relations between Ibn Saud and Imam Yahya of the Yemen; the situation on the frontiers between Nejd and Iraq, and Nejd and 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 ; and the Treaty of Jeddah between Hejaz-Nejd and Great Britain (20 May 1927). They also report Ibn Saud being proclaimed King of the Hejaz, Nejd and its Dependencies (4 April 1927).

In addition, other frequently occurring topics in the reports are: the Pilgrimage [Hajj], including the arrival of pilgrims in the Hejaz, from India, Java and elsewhere, arrangements for the pilgrimage, the welfare of pilgrims, and the repatriation of pilgrims; and the slave trade and slavery in the Hejaz, including the manumission and repatriation of slaves.

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.

Extent and format
1 volume (445 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 1707 (Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)) consists of one volume only.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 447; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-444; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎215r] (434/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998361.0x000023> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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