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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎235r] (474/898)

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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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— D0CUment is the ^2Eg|lL^ii|JritanmiMaje S ty’s Government 1
]
EASTERN (Arabia). j ^
CONFIDENTIAL. j
J !» :jif- | Section 1.
f) f [December 4, 1926.]
■*—, « —-—-———
^ [E 6655/367/91]
{No. m" 2lZ7‘ , ‘” * 4.)
Sir,
duri^the^riod]he 0 ls] to^Im^lst ^eUAer^ the Hejaz
I have, &c.
~ NORMAN MAYERS.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Jeddah Report for the period October 1 to October 31, 1926.
have not failed"to disembark^at TddN 4 steamslll P s wh ich tramp the Red Sea
appear to visit the moumM shorefof ]° r tW ° oddities who
interval between pilgrim seasons Thp fi le ^ ejaz at re g ul ar periods m the quiet
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , coming from the Yemen t0 amVe WaS a Certam Ahmed ^ky
Falstaffian p“rt! whorecentK- made aD-k^taS^ 11 ex " offic j al ° f g arrulous habits an d
Dress whafpvpr nnfoo 0 ,7 made a trip to Sanaa m order to collect for the Moslem
up there" He at thp° n Sub {? cts of geographical or historical interest he could pick
at the same time imposed on himself, which was more important a
rrChtratme^s^rroT the Imam T f a ^ a aad Ib “ Sand. ^XnSr princ:
oj;® na ve any measure of success. It is rather like the case of Colonel House
together with his companion, Nabieh Bey-el-Azmeh a Svrian of Cvnt the
but dectariTthafTY t0 i ^ COm {° rtS of Egypt, haVing a^complished^othing,
inevitab V end in it t betwee “ T tbe tw « ra lers of the Jazirat-el-Arab would
Suced to annoih NehA m Tf bi am - u 14 had bee “ ho P ed that Saud would
With the Imam PP The ^bieli Bey-el-Azmeh as his agent in Sanaa for conversations
by such an”ppototmenb g ’ eVer ’ thmkS that n ° USeful P Ur P 0Se would be serred
, f Another traveller to the Hejaz has been a certain Dr. Wolfgang von Weisl
who landed with an unkempt beard and Arab head-dress, but who turned out to be
Burton an^P^lf 11 " 11 ^ dT ^ He had with bim the works ^ghty!
oases which iviy 1 pmdA . de ? ar ^ d hl f. mt ? ntl0 “ °J exploring the obscured Nejdian
not b 7 “ M ,i Phl i b / m bls investigations had not been able to cover. He was
not, of course, allowed to proceed, and I doubt whether he came to the point of asking
o M S wZ ^ rmis . slon - , But he dld 8 et a “ interview with Ibn Saud, in the coursf
the Imam Majesty made an interesting declaration of his policy with regard to
„ m f ha ve no particular quarrel,” he said, “with the Imam Yahya and I
am at peace with him. On the other hand, I have nothing specially in common with
him, and it seems to me that Asir is a useful buffer between us. But that is not the
toiLf?? f ° r Wlsh , t0 f e Asir c °ntinue to exist. The Idrisi is my son and has
iAn She u 61, Un , d u T I ? y ? hadow - 1 cannot for that reason sit still and see Sabia and
to taLTlf °T ed bj ; the Im ? m - 1 sha11 be forced t0 take action if the Imam attempts
to take those two places. I am strong, and I have troops.” F
of what if A h ° an be seen '. this has every chance of being an accurate account
c ' .f t , J ' j n ba nd actually said. It seems reasonable to suppose that Ibn Saud
nAiu t0 ° ^ Uch t0 d ° in hls ow “ dominions to desire war against any of his
SsmeTh 7 18 no easy task to control Nejd, with its vast frontiers and unruly
nnlitA? ’ both • settled and . migratory, and the Hejaz, with the mass of thorny
political, economic and religious questions inherited along with its sovereignty To
fimnAT 68 are added the anxiety of making the next pilgrimage a political and
financial success, the question of relations with the outside Moslem world and with
[1479 d-1]

About this item

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.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎235r] (474/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998361.0x00004b> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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