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File 3666/1925 'ARABIA: PRINTED CORRESPONDENCE 1924-28' [‎116r] (242/792)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (388 folios). It was created in 27 Dec 1924-28 Oct 1929. It was written in English and French. 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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territory as coming as far south as the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Mur near Loheiya, while Ibn Saud for
his part acknowledged all the country to the south including Hodeida to be the
territory of the Imam. The lack of noticeable excitement in official circles here
would make some such arrangement seem very probable.
7. But, even if Asir is not for the present to bring Ibn Saud and the Imam into
serious conflict, there is,in the new Agreement alone no guarantee of peace for the
future, unless the King of the Hejaz and the Imam Yahya of the Yemen are
permanently reconciled. There are herein many matters between the two rulers
which need adjustment. If there is to be no real peace, the present treaty puts into
the hands of Ibn Saud an instrument which he knows exceedingly well how to
utilize, when the right time comes, for giving a moral foundation to any
expansionist schemes southwards he may decide upon.
8. As regards relations with 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 , the Hejaz-Nejd delegate to the
tribunal to be set up under the Hadda Agreement, Abdul Aziz ibn Zeid, left Jeddah
on January 20th for Jerusalem. The Hejaz authorities, as far as can be seen,
realise the delicate situation which arose at the last meeting and which led to its
failure, and appear desirous that this second meeting should have better success.
They claim that Nejd and Hejaz have lost a considerable number of camels in the
various frontier raids still unliquidated.
9. With reference to paragraph 23 of my report* for October last, this Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
has now notified the Hejaz Government, on behalf of the Government of the Sudan,
that all intending pilgrims from Fellata settlements in the Sudan are being informed
of the new Hejaz regulations to the effect that they will only be allowed to land at
Jeddah, that they must carry regular papers and that they should be in possession
of funds sufficient for their maintenance while on the haj. It is hoped that the main
stream of Takruri pilgrims will now flow naturally along the Suakin-Jeddah steam
ship route. Such a circumstance, coupled with the stricter requirements obtaining
on this side, will undoubtedly make for the pilgrims' greater comfort and security.
10. Switzerland has formally recognised Ibn Saud as King of the Hejaz.
11. Ibn Saud has been during the whole of January in Riyadh, which he
reached by motor car almost direct from Medina, not visiting Hail as was proposed.
The return of their Sultan to the tribesmen of his eastern dominions will in all
probability improve the situation in Nejd. No hint has reached Jeddah of really
serious trouble there, the nursery of Ibn Saud's power : But it is known that the
King’s old supporters have sometimes with their customary frankness expressed
to ibn Saud their naive surprise at the extent to which, since he left them, he has
erred and strayed from the way. They ask why the dome of the Prophet's tomb
has not been destroyed* ; why he tolerates telegraphs and telephones ; why he a’lows
motor cars to poll te the virgin face of the desert; why Christians are still permitted
in the Hejaz, and why the Christian representatives have not been turned out of
Jeddah. They further ask him to abolish Customs dues, no sanction for which
can be found in holy writ, and to prohibit the entry of the Egyptian Mahmal this
year.
12. I am told that a debate was engaged recently in Mecca with a party of
these roundheads by the Qadi of Mecca, who has himself been foremost in destroying
domes over tombs. He explained to them that the Prophet's tomb at Medina had
powerful protectors outside Arabia who might take dire vengeance if it were
destroyed : Further, the dome was very high, too high for worshippers to reach and
touch idolatrously. With regard to telegraphs and telephones, the party were
told that, since their Sultan bad occupied the Holy Places, he had become great
in the eyes of the world and needed to communicate with his representatives
and subjects abroad. As for the foreign representatives and consuls, they were
useful for helping the Kmg to discover what the Powers felt and intended towards
him. Lastly, Customs duties purified goods imported from abroad ; without the
revenue accruing from them the King would not only reluctantly be forced to raise
revenue from his tribes, but would also be unable to pay the periodic donations to
them it pleased him to make.
♦Serial No. (95).
Cf. paragraph 16 of enclosure to Serial No. (107).

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Content

This volume mainly relates to British policy in Arabia, and specifically concerns British relations with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also referred to in the correspondence as Bin Saud]. The papers cover the Hejaz-Nejd War of 1924-25 and political affairs in Ibn Saud's Kingdom of Hejaz and Sultanate of Nejd [Najd] (or the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, as it became in 1927).

The volume mainly consists of compiled sections of printed correspondence, with each section closing with a report from the British Agent and Consul at Jeddah. The most prominently featured correspondents are as follows: the British Agent and Consul, Jeddah; the Secretary of State for India; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Aden; the High Commissioner, Egypt; the High Commissioner, Iraq; the High Commissioner, Palestine; officials of the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the Admiralty, the 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. ; the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department. Also featured as correspondents are Ibn Saud, King Ali [‘Alī bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī], and British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.

Matters covered in the correspondence include the following:

  • Diplomatic relations between Ibn Saud and Britain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Persia [Iran]
  • Information on developments in the Hejaz-Nejd War of 1924-25, mainly in the form of telegrams and letters from the British Agent and Consul at Jeddah, and British policy regarding the conflict
  • British policy in relation to the fate of the ex-King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī]
  • Reports of Wahabi forces having damaged or destroyed holy sites in Mecca and Medina
  • The efforts of King Ali [‘Alī bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī] to raise money in Jeddah
  • Details of the Hadda Agreement and the Bahra Agreement, concluded between Sir Gilbert Clayton and Ibn Saud in late 1925
  • Details of King Ali's surrender and abdication on 19 December 1925, and arrangements for his passage out of Jeddah
  • Britain's recognition of Ibn Saud as King of the Hejaz in February 1926
  • British concerns regarding the spread of anti-British opinion in the Hejaz
  • Public outrage in the wider Muslim world regarding the desecration of holy sites by the Wahabis, and the British Government's refusal to become involved, owing to its stated policy of non-intervention in Muslim religious affairs
  • British efforts to ensure the Government of Hejaz's participation in the International Sanitary Convention of 1926
  • Arrangements for a private visit to London by Ibn Saud's son Faisal [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd] in September 1926
  • British concerns regarding Ibn Saud's diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia [Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR]
  • A change to Ibn Saud's title in 1927, from 'King of Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd' to 'King of Hejaz and Nejd'
  • The conclusion of the Treaty of Jeddah in June 1927
  • Relations between Ibn Saud and the Imam of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn], and the former's suspicions that the Italian Government has been supplying the Imam with arms
  • Profiles of prominent figures in the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd
  • The number of pilgrims arriving each year for Hajj
  • Tense relations between Ibn Saud and the Iraqi Government, particularly concerning the Uqair Protocol.

Also included with the correspondence are the following: minutes of an interdepartmental conference held at the Colonial Office on 20 May 1926, to discuss matters arising out of Clayton's Mission to Ibn Saud (ff 178-179); a Colonial Office memorandum entitled 'British Interests in Arabia', dated 8 December 1926 (ff 111-113).

The volume includes a small amount of correspondence written in French.

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 (f 1).

Extent and format
1 volume (388 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 388; 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. A previous foliation sequence between ff 118-388, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

Pagination: each of the various sections of printed correspondence has its own printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 3666/1925 'ARABIA: PRINTED CORRESPONDENCE 1924-28' [‎116r] (242/792), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1155, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100145454963.0x00002b> [accessed 9 August 2026]

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