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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [382r] (768/898)
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.
will not allow them to leave Jeddah to join Ibn Sand, unless they sign a declaration
recognising the independence of the Hedjaz under King Ali as the basis of negotia
tions. The delegates called on me (not until ten days after their arrival) in the
hope, apparently, that I would try to get them permission to go to Ibn Saud, but a
reference to the complete independence of the Hedjaz quenched that hope.
The delegates are greatly disappointed, I think, to find no British officers here.
However, they will doubtless make the most of the presence of the Palestinians, whose
enlistment in the Hedjaz army at the critical moment might rouse suspicion in more
open minds than these Indians seem to possess.
The delegates called on the Soviet agent. He attacked them at once, describing
their programme as useless and asking why the Moslems of the U.S.S.R. (who, he
said, constituted one third of the Moslems of the world), had not been consulted.
It is possible that the scene was staged for the benefit of the Foreign Secretary, who
was present, but the Foreign Secretary does not think so; and I think that if the
delegates had been in touch with the Soviet
agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
I should have heard of it, and
I have heard nothing. On the other hand the Caliphate Committee programme has
points which could hardly fail to attract M. Zinoviev.
8. The compulsion to observe the duty to pray five times daily, which has long
been in force in Nejd, has been extended to Mecca. The municipality have issued
an order that everyone is to go to the Great Mosque, or, if that is very far off, to
some other mosque, w T hen the call to prayer is given. Inspectors have been appointed
to see that the order is obeyed; disobedience will be punished in accordance with the
Shara’ Law.
It is pleasant to think of the idle, self-indulgent parasites in Mecca turning out
to prav an hour and a half before sunrise every morning.
F ' R. W. BULLARD.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
C orres'pon dence
between Ibn Sand and the Consular Corps at Jeddah.
(i.) Ibn Saud to Consular Corps.
(Translation.)
(After greetings.) Mecca, January 9, 1925.
OUT of respect for your subjects, and in order to safeguard their precious
lives and their property, to fulfil my undertaking, and to be free from responsibility
before history and the civilised world for what our enemies may do and attribute
to us and our guiltless troops, I have to inform you that opr brave troops have begun
skirmishing and will shortly meet the enemy in battle in order if God wills to
drive them from Jeddah. ... ^
I wish to draw you attention to the fact that during their retreat the army or
our enemv, when they have despaired of defeating our troops, may behave according
to their custom in committing acts of robbery and looting in the houses of the peaceful
inhabitants, for I fear that they may repeat the tragedy of Taif and attack your
subjects and others, and then maintain that the attacks were made by our troops.
I have also to draw your attention to the unintentional damage which our guns may
CctU-SC
We have been driven to this by the Sharif Ali taking refuge in Jeddah and
refusing to come out and fight in the open; and the responsibility for any harm that
may be done to buildings or people, will rest on him who compelled us to take this
action, . . # . .... -i i
I call upon you and upon the civilised world to witness that it is impossible that
q’qj 1 troops should (even) touch one of the non-combatant inhabitants or of your
respected nationals. I have already conveyed this to you in my letter dated
9.5.1343, but I wished to draw your attention so that you might know beforehand
about the harm which our enemy may do to us.
(Compliments.) [SeaJ of Ibn Sau(i]
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)’ [382r] (768/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998362.0x0000a9> [accessed 23 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
- 398r, 398v, 394v, 395r, 382r, 382v, 335v, 322r, 323r, 323v, 309r, 310r, 311r, 312r, 289v, 290r, 290v, 272r, 272v
- Author
- Āl Sa‘ūd, ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal (xx Ibn Saud)
- Usage terms
- Public Domain