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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [307r] (618/898)
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.
EASTERN (Arabia)
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 5530/10/91]
Vice-Consul Jordan to Mr'. Austen Chamberlain.—{Received September 14.)
(No. 84 Secret.)
8ir ’ T TT A TTT 7 ’ . Jeddah, August 29, 1925.
1 HAVE tne lionour to enclose n report on the situation coverinsr the period the
llth-29th August. & 1
2 . Copies of this despatch and of its enclosure are being sent to India Egypt
Khartum (through Port Sudan), Jerusalem, Bagdad, Beirut (for Damascus) Aden’
Singapore, Bushire, Koweit, Bahrein and Muscat.
I have, &c.
S. R. JORDAN.
Enclosure in No. 1 .
Report for the Period August 11-29, 1925.
(Secret.)
THE Military situation, though very critical at the beginning of the period
under report, has recently shown slight signs of improvement.
This is due to : ( 1 ) The repulse of the Wahabis at Medina, where they have been,
according to report, attacking incessantly for six days, and having failed to capture
the town, have now retired to a distance of about three hours’ march and guard the
approaches to Medina on all sides; ( 2 ) the arrival of six aeroplanes with twelve
machine guns, 120 cases of s.a.a., and about 500 high explosive and gas bombs in
Jeddah. The people of Jeddah flock out each afternoon to inspect these machines
being assembled, and see in them a speedy means of bringing the war to an end.
The forces of Ibn Sand around Medina were seen passing through Rabigh and
reckoned at about 10,000. Despite their numbers, the small garrison at Medina,
owing to the excellent fortifications erected by the Turks during the Great War and
the huge supply of guns and ammunition left there by them, have been able to stave
off the incessant attacks of the Wahabis, which lasted without a break for six days.
The Wahabis succeeded in advancing right up to the walls of the town in
several places, but could not gain an entry, and eventually retired on three positions
some distance outside Medina and commanding the approaches to the town. All the
gardens outside the walls have been destroyed and the date palms cut down by the
garrison itself as they afforded cover to the attacking forces. I believe the food
question is very serious. One thousand camels loaded with provisions, despatched
by King Ali from Yambo to Medina, were looted by the various tribes on the way
and none of these supplies found their way into Medina. The Harb tribe in the
whole district have gone over to Ibn Saud, and a siege of Medina would appear to
be a more certain and less costly, though perhaps longer, way of securing the
submission of the town. During the hostilities it is rumoured, and is practically
certain, that the forces of Ibn Saud destroyed the tomb of Syedna Hamza, the
Prophet’s uncle and one of the first martyrs of Islam, and also that the Kubba over
the Prophet’s tomb was struck by bullets, which is very probable, as the Wahabi
advance brought them within 50 yards of the Kubba.
I am at the first opportunity transmitting a telegram to Ibn Saud, at the request
of the Government of India, from the Moslem members of the Indian Legislative
Assembly asking for information and details on these reports.
The aeroplanes, of which there are six, arrived in the German steamship
“ R. C. Rickmers,” by way of the Suez Canal, though it was reported in town that
she was coming from the south around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid possible
detention in Egypt. The planes were supplied by the Steffen and Heymann group
in Berlin, and'are supposed to have been paid for by the ex-King Hussein during
Steffen’s visit to him at Akaba.
The planes are British planes, De Havilland 9, mounted with two machine guns
and fitted with a Siddeley-Puma engine. The planes are second-hand, but the engines
f 1060 o—3 !
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
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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [307r] (618/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998362.0x000013> [accessed 25 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1115
- Title
- File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:88v, 90r:104v, 106r:108v, 110r:124v, 126r:128v, 129v:132v, 133v, 134v:137v, 139r:145r, 146r:161v, 162v:180v, 183r:205v, 206v:267r, 269r:271v, 273r:288v, 291r:308v, 309v, 310v, 311v, 312v, 313v, 314v, 315v, 316v, 317v:321r, 324r:335r, 337r:378v, 379v:381v, 383v:389v, 391r:393v, 395v:397v, 399r:400r, 402r:446v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence