Skip to item: of 898
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎254v] (513/898)

This item is part of

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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

fr^ th- |
PJ
j";,~
s Xjs/X^ 0 ^
irD-lc-MAJit
6. A certain Punjabi, by name Mohammed Rashen Akhtar, has been appointed
inspector-general of the municipalities of the Hejaz, and is supposed to be
organising the municipalities of the larger towns of Ibn baud s territories with a
view to making them more efficient in the collection of taxes. Pie is a pan-Islamist
and a keen propagandist. .
7. Another appointment that caused mild surprise locally is that of Suleiman
Taufick Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. as adviser to the King. Suleiman Taufick Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. is a Turk am*}
formerly held important posts under the old Turkish regime, including that of War
Minister. His appointment is naturally distasteful to the Syrian elements and may
also be distasteful to Turkey, as he is an anti-Kemalist. Another Turk, who is at
present residing in Egypt, also an anti-Kemalist, has been requested by the King to
come to the Hejaz and accept a position under the Government as adviser to the
Emir Feisal, the King’s second son. Whether this means, as a number of local
people are prone to consider, that the King is becoming dissatisfied with the Syrian
parasites with which he is surrounded, or merely an effort on his part to make his
entourage even more cosmopolitan than at present, is not for the moment evident.
8. A committee composed of a number of the notables of Mecca has been formed
with the object of inducing the King to employ many of the ex-Turkish employees,
as it is considered that they, bad as they may be, would nevertheless be a big improve
ment on the nondescript crowd at present employed under the Government.
9. Yet another sign of the King’s tendency to rid himself of the Syrian
elements is that the Syrian Tyeb Hazazi, the King’s Chamberlain, whom I have
mentioned previously as being in the pay of the French Government, has been
dismissed and will accompany the King’s son to Egypt and from there proceed to
Syria whence he came.
10. The financial situation, as during the reign of Ali, could hardly be worse,
and although the pilgrimage is just completed, the King is already asking the
merchants of Jeddah for a loan of £40,000. At a private meeting held in the house
of the Governor of the town it was agreed to offer £15,000 only as the pilgrimage had
not been a very large one and the merchants were still suffering from the effects of
the late war. This sum is being chiefly contributed by the three leading merchants in
Jeddah, the houses of Zeinal Ali Riza, Banaja, and Suleiman Gabil.
11. With reference to the dues that the Government are now charging to the
pilgrims over and above His Majesty’s declaration some time previous to the
pilgrimage, a further charge of 5 medjidiehs, or approximately 9s., is being made
on all pilgrims at Medina under the heading of Koshan. This, with the 33 piastres,
approximately 7s., charged for the health certificate upon leaving the Hejaz, and
the further charge of Is. for passport fees makes in all an addition of 17s. per head
over and above what was at first estimated as the total dues payable by the pilgrims.
12. A certain Javanese, by name, Tuan Sheik Mukhtar, has been busy recently
in Mecca collecting funds on behalf of the Senussi to enable him to carry on the
campaign against the Italians in Tunisia. I understand that no great amount has
been collected to date.
13. The World’s Moslem Conference ended on the 5th July last, and 1 attach
hereto a resume of the resolutions passed thereat. The Afghan, Egyptian, and
Turkish delegates left Jeddah on the 6th July, and the majority of the remaining
delegates proceeded to Medina to complete the pilgrimage. One of the main reasons
that Ibn Saud is now in a state of apparent destitution and forced to raise loans
from the local merchants, is that he has had, towards the end of the conference, to
distribute large sums of money to all and sundry of the delegates with few exceptions
to gain their goodwill, and in order to secure them for propaganda purposes in tneir
respective countries. Rashid Ridha, a Syrian residing in Egypt, received £2,00 >
and Emin Husseini, the head of the Palestinian delegation, received £1,00 .
Abu Azaim of the Valley of the Nile Khilafists, received £300, and many of the
with
others received amounts varying from £200 to £600. It is calculated that,
presents, bribes, and other incidental expenditure, the conference cost Ibn Saud no
less than £20,000. Over and above this expenditure he has also been distributing
large sums to the heads of the various tribes, as has been the custom in this par o
the world from time immemorial, to secure peace on the various caravan and pilgn
routes. This, with all the incidental Government expenditure, and approxima e}
£40,000 worth of orders placed in Great Britain for the supply of a condenser, coa^
motor cars and spares, and new coinage, appears to have absorbed the reveni
derived from the pilgrimage, and now leaves Ibn Saud practically penniless.
14. The Taif claims have for the most part been settled satisfactorily, on \
the case of one person was the compensation awarded refused and
oisix
tewa;
the matter

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
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎254v] (513/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998361.0x000072> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100084998361.0x000072">File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [&lrm;254v] (513/898)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100084998361.0x000072">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000466.0x000084/IOR_L_PS_10_1115_0513.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000466.0x000084/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image