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File 3666/1925 'ARABIA: PRINTED CORRESPONDENCE 1924-28' [‎117r] (244/792)

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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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109
APPENDIX “ A
Extract from the Mecca NEWSPAPER " UMM-AL-QURA ”, No. 108 of January 7TR, 1927.
The Mecca Agreement.
Praise be to God alone !
Between the King of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies, and the Imam Sayed
el-Hassan ibn Ali el-Idrisi. With a view to the unity of the word, to the preservation of the
existence of the Arab countries, and to the consolidation of relations between the princes of
the Arab peninsula, the following Agreement has been reached between His Majesty the King
of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdul-Rahman Al Faisal
Al Saud and His Lordship the Imam of Asir, the Sayed el-Hassan ibn Ali el-Idrisi:—
Article I.—His Lordship the Imam, Sayed el-Hassan ibn Ali el-Idrisi, recognises by this
Agreement the ancient frontiers (hudud) which were mentioned in the Agreement of the 10th
Safar, 1339, between the Sultan of Nejd and the imam, Sayed Mohammed ibn Ali el-Idrisi, and
which were, at that date, subject to the Idrisis, as being under the suzerainty of His Majesty the
King of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies.
Article 2.—The Imam of Asir may not enter into political negotiations with any Goverr.
ment nor grant any economic concessions to any person except with the sanction of His Majesty
the King of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies.
Article 3.—The Imam of Asir may not declare war or make peace except with the sanction
of His Majesty the King of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies.
Article 4.—The Imam of Asir may not cede any part of the territories of Asir defined in
Article 1.
Article 5— The King of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies recognises the
present imam of Asir as ruler during his lifetime of the territories defined in Article 1, and there
inafter (as ruler) whomsoever the Idrisis and the competent authorities of the Imamate may
nominate.
Article 6.—The King of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies agrees that the.
internal administration of Asir, the regulation of its tribal affairs, appointments, dismissals
and so on, appertain to the rights of the Imam of Asir provided such administration is in harmony
with Sharia law and justice, as is the case in the two Governments (Nejd and Hejaz ?)
(Nejd-Hejaz and Asir ?.)
Article 7.—The King of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies undertakes to defend
from internal and external aggression the territories of Asir as defined in Article 1. He will do
so by Agreement between the two contracting parties as circumstances and interest may necessi
tate.
Article 8.—Both parties promise to adhere to this Agreement and to carry out its obligations.
Article 9.—This Agreement will be effective after ratification by the two high contracting
parties.
Article 10.—This Agreement has been drawn up in Arabic in two copies, of which one will
be kept by each of the two contracting parties.
Article 11.—This Agreement will be known as the Mecca Agreement.
Signed on Rabi Akhar the 14th, 1345 (October 21st, 1926).
The King of the Hejaz, Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies.
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul-Rahman al Faisal al Saud (Royal Seal).
The imam of Asir, el-Hassan ibn Ali el-Idrisi (official seal).
In the presence of the writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. , the Servant of Is’am, Ahmed el-Sherif el-Senussi (seal).

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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' [‎117r] (244/792), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1155, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100145454963.0x00002d> [accessed 28 July 2026]

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