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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎361v] (727/898)

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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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2
orders against the beating of soldiers in such cases in future. What ehect this treat-
ment by itself would have had cannot be judged, for at that moment a contribution of
£20,000 arrived from Hussein, and the troops were made tolerably happy by the issue
of a month's pay.
The detention as soldiers of foreigners who have no written contract and who
wish to leave because their pay is several months in arrears has made it necessary to
apply to His Majesty’s Government again for instructions. The letter had hardly
been posted when a batch of over 200 more recruits arrived from Akaba—most of
them Palestinians.
There is reason to believe that the rumour reported some time ago, that the
Hedjaz Government were trying to recruit men from territories near Aden, was well
founded. The recruiting agent seems to have been one Ahmad Sakkaf, who went to
Aden with several thousand pounds for the purpose. The Foreign Secretary
complained to one of my colleagues that they could have secured thousands of
Hadhrami recruits if His Majesty’s Government had not interfered.
5. No staple food-stuffs have been imported into Jeddah for some months,
merchants having been discouraged by the requisitioning of considerable quantities,
without any security for payment, for the army. It is calculated that the existing
stocks of flour will last only about a month. There will still remain large stocks of
rice, but the local people are not used to a diet of rice and will not take to it gladly.
b. The Foreign Secretary professes to hope that troops may now be obtained
from the Yemen. He boasts that the Imam has written Ali a most friendly letter
offering an alliance. He has shown me a letter which is certainly sealed with the
Imam’s seal, but the only part I w T as allowed to read w r as a non-committal statement
about excluding foreign influence and “European education,” and applying the
Shara’ Law. The Imam’s motive is probably to allay any suspicions Ali may"have
while the Idrisi is being dealt with.
7. Permission to enter India having been received from the Government of
India, the three men whom the Hedjaz Government had selected as a deputation
!e+t for Aden on the 18th April on their way to Bombay. They are :—
Sayyid Tahir Dabbagh, formerly clerk in the Finance Department. He
became Minister of Finance on Hussein's fall, but resigned on his
departure for India.
Ahmad Ghazzawi, chief clerk to the Prime Minister.
A1 Taib-al-Sasi, who in Hussein's time was assistant editor of the “ Kibla.”
It is understood that they are not going as an official delegation; their object
oVnoo s ® cret ’ or at an y rat ® unobtrusive, propaganda. They have with them
£ 6 ,000-—ostensibiy for the purchase of food-stuffs for the Hedjaz army.
nnow-’ s l f lzar ® of a Kamaran dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. at Hali by Hedjaz armed craft raised the
InrT 01 6 S f o 1 k amaran - The Hedjaz Government have placed the dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
w 6 * s P°. sa ^ . t ^ lls a g enc y> an d a member of the crew, who all
Mpanwhim IT' 6 ivf 16 0 f ® ei ^ ire5 18 on ^ 1° Jeddah to take delivery of them.
MocSp M ^ est ^ ^ Government have agreed that for the purposes of the
blockade Kamaran dhows should be regarded as though they were British.
davc-in Mon ^° V wur vr re P r e s eutatiyes returned after spending five or six
was verv qpvprp • ^ 1 n . ^ 16 reaction after this prolonged period of piety
scions for fort ’ ' nf Iai TT kSteacil ty f° r twenty-four hours and was more or less uncon-
Xhp Not ght ' H6 ^ 0e Qn n °^ , Se ?f t0 have been ver y successful with Ibn Sand.
Mecca i n M d ICI^ :COnSU , T bh A e r kh ^ avira > Was allowed to move about freely in
Wahabi attelmu “tho “th^^
great indignation of Ibn Sand’s representative in Mecca.
nersori' nd' a rlr!Tfll'l,' ^ If' ykakimov was taken at his own valuation as a private
ha7e commanded resnect ^ 11 a ? d T1 0th ® rs a / Sheikh Kerim. He does not seem to
Prlvirrjn f a° ne J 11 “ ! ? aud s ci l lef mei1 - Damluji, asked Sheikh
how he eon Id hr in a li aad 80 ^udly that M. Khakimov could not fail to hear,
tie could bring himself to travel with “this miner vcho nretended to be a
Sntativef Ibn Sand 3 t0 1 | I1S : At a dinner g iven to the three consular repre-
iie had no f rrefljw ° U to very emphatically that for himself
European Powers ’ from who - indeed - he
Ihere is good reason to believe that M. Khakimov publicly engaged in violent

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)’ [‎361v] (727/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998362.0x000080> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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