Abstract: Enclosure nos. 2-22 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay, dated 28 September 1844. The enclosures are dated 9 August-28 September 1844.The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to affairs in Aden including:Reports that an army led by the Imam of Sana [Sana’a] is marching in the direction of Aden and has reached as far as Kattobah [Qa’tabah], but has been forced to return to Sana by news of ‘disturbances’Defensive measures taken at Aden in case the Imam had hostile intentions towards itReported disturbances in the Hedjaz [Hejaz] due to the cessation of Ottoman payments to various tribal chiefs, and concerns of an adverse effect on British trade at Judda [Jeddah]A complaint by Moolla Jaffer bin Moolla Abool [Mullā Ja’far bin Mullā Abūl] that he was recalled to Bombay [Mumbai] from his position as Native Assistant and Interpreter at the Political Agency, Aden, while sick and without opportunity to settle his personal affairsA visit by Edward Law, Lord Ellenborough, on his return journey to England after having served as Governor-General of India.The primary correspondents are: the Political Agent, Aden; Lieutenant-Colonel William Croker, commanding the troops at Aden; the Imam of Sana; Moolla Jaffer; and the Government of India.Physical description: 1 item (55 folios)
Abstract: The file consists of a confidential printed report entitled 'Sherif of Mecca'. The report contains transcriptions of correspondence, a statement by a messenger (described below), and notes relating to Sherif Hosayn, the Sherif [Shereef] of Mecca [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī], particularly in terms of his relations with the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire. The report contains the following sections:Dispatch from His Majesty's High Commissioner for Egypt (Sir Arthur Henry McMahon), dated 26 August 1915;Communication from the Sherif of Mecca to Mr Storrs [Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs], Oriental Secretary to British Representative Cairo, dated 14 July 1915;Statemement of Messenger, Mohammed Ibn Arif Ibn Oreifan, 18 August 1915;Family and Agents of the Sherif, by 'R S' [Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs], dated 19 August 1915;Note on communication from the Sherif of Mecca, by 'R S' [Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs], dated 19 August 1915;Letter from Sir Arthur Henry McMahon to His Highness the Sherif Hosayn (undated).The file contains five copies of the report, only one of which has been foliated and digitised.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation commences at 1 on the first folio and terminates at 4 on the last folio. The numbers are written in pencil, are enclosed in a circle, and appear in the top right corner of the recto page of each folio.Pagination: the document also has an original printed pagination, numbered 2-7 (folios 1-4).
Abstract: Second edition of the Handbook of Hejaz. The first edition
was compiled by Lieutenant Commander David George Hogarth, Director of the Arab Bureau,
in June 1916, however the development of events in Hejaz, along with improved knowledge
of the area and a large number of errors in the first edition resulted in a second
edition being produced so soon afterwards.The contents of the handbook include:AreaPhysical Character (Relief, Climate)Population (Oasis Life, Urban Life, Beduin
Life)Districts and Towns (Northern, Central and Southern
Districts)Tribal Notes (Huweitât, 'Atîyah, Moahib, Billi,
Juheinah, Harb, 'Ateibah, Ashrâf, Hudheil, Faham, Juhâdlah, Mahdi; Sa'd,
Thaqif, Mâlik, Nasri)Political (Government, Recent History and
Politics)Personalities (Ruling Family, Others)PilgrimageTrade and Industries (Export and Imports, Currency,
Weights and Measures)Communications (Northern Coastal Routes, Southern
Coastal Routes, Inland Routes, Central Routes)Routes (Akaba-Mâ'an, Akaba-Mecca,
Muweilah-Tebûk, Wejh-El-'Ala, Wejh-Medina, Jiddah-Mecca, Jiddah-Lîth,
Medina-Mecca (Darb-es-Sultâni), Medina-Mecca (Darb esh-Sharqi), Tâ'if-Mecca,
Mâ'an-Medina (Hejaz Railway), Mu'adhdham-Teima; Medina-Mustajiddah
(Hâ'il), Medina-Rass (Qasîm), Mecca-Mustajiddah-Hâ'il, Mecca-Qasîm and
Riyâdh)Folio 4 contains an outline map of Hejaz and Folio 38 of
the handbook contains a genealogical table for the Ruling Sheifial Family of Mecca from
1827 onwards.Physical description: Foliation: The handbook has been foliated from the front to
back covers using a pencil number enclosed in a circle located in the top right hand
corner of the recto of each folio. The folio number for folio 4 has been written on the
verso of the folio.
Abstract: The volume is
Handbook of Hejaz. Prepared by The Arab Bureau, Cairo, 2nd edn, 26 February 1917 (Cairo: Government Press, 1917).The handbook comprises information about Hejaz under the following headings:Area;Physical Character;Population;Districts and Towns;Tribal Notes;Political;Personalities (including Royal Family, and Others);Pilgrimage;Trade and Expenses;Communications;Routes.The prefatory note states that the handbook was originally compiled by Lieutenant Commander D G Howarth, RNVR; and although the information contained in the second edition had been greatly improved, much about Hejaz 'remains uncertain or unknown'.The volume also contains an 'Outline Map of Hejaz' (f 4) and a table of the 'Ruling Sherifial Family of Mecca' (f 38).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1 on the front cover and terminates at 100 on the inside back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, are enclosed in a circle, and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. This is the system used to make reference to the contents of the volume. Folios 4 and 38 need to be folded out to be examined.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence, numbered 2-179 (ff 8-98).
Abstract: This report was prepared by the General Staff, War Office, 31 Aug 1918. It is a summary of the Hejaz revolt from outbreak in June 1916 to December 1918. Includes account of the attack on the Hejaz railway by Arab forces and T H Lawrence.Appendices on King Hussein; Ibn Saud; Ibn Rashid; the Jemal Pashas; Maurice's report; enemy political activity; Zionist movement; Turkish interposition between main British and Arab forces; Kuwait blockade; attitude of the northern Arabian tribes towards the Hejaz revolt; Fakhri Pasha at Medina; enemy casualties and Turkish troops.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: The booklet also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: British officials in Bahrain and other Arab Gulf States received information at regular intervals about the regulations imposed on pilgrims travelling to the Hejaz, by the Saudi Arabian Government. This information enabled the British authorities to make the necessary administrative arrangements for the many Arab and Indian pilgrims in their territories wishing to travel to Saudi Arabia.All documents in the file were circulated to the Political Agent, Bahrain and others from January 1927 onwards. The earliest document circulated was a copy of rule changes relating to sanitation on Pilgrim Ships, printed in October 1925 by the Government of India Home Department (folios 4 to 7).The file contains Arabic transcripts and English translations of the public notices that were published annually in the Mecca newspaper
Umm ul Qura. These set out the tariff of fees to be collected by the Saudi Arabian Government from pilgrims travelling to the Hejaz. They were compiled by the British Consul, Jeddah and then widely circulated by the Government of India, Department of Education, Health and Lands.Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1-178, 178A, 179-200, 201A, 201B, 202-233, 234A, 234B, 235A, 235B, 236-260, 261A, 261B, 262-266, 267A, 267B, 268-297, 298A, 298B, 299-341. The numbering is written in pencil in the top right corner of the folio and encircled. The numbering starts at the front of the file, on the file cover (f 1) and ends on the inside cover at the back of the file (f 341). Folios 117 and 179 are folded.There is an incomplete, secondary foliation sequence in the file. Most folios from 8 to 322 are also numbered 2 to 329 (with a few gaps) in the top right corner, in pencil but not circled.
Abstract: British officials in Bahrain and other Arab Gulf States received information at regular intervals about the regulations imposed on pilgrims travelling to the Hejaz, by the Saudi Arabian Government. This information enabled the British authorities to make the necessary administrative arrangements for the many Arab and Indian pilgrims in their territories wishing to travel to Saudi Arabia.The first document in the file (folio 2) is a circulation slip dated 3 August 1941, indicating that the Political Agent, Bahrain sent copies of the Pilgrimage Tariff and Guide Book for the 1941-1942 pilgrimage, to the following Bahrain and British officials: Adviser to the Bahrain Government; Publicity Officer in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain; Residency Agent, Sharjah. A copy of the Pilgrimage Tariff and Guide Book, which was published annually by the Government of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is not enclosed in the file.The main documents in the file are: two telegrams from the Charge d’Affaires, British Consul, Jeddah, 1947 and 1949; a memorandum from the Political Agent, Bahrain, 1949, to the Adviser to the Bahrain Government and the Clerk-in-Charge, British Residency, Sharjah. These contain the following information about the Saudi Arabian Government’s modifications to the pilgrimage tariff for 1947 and 1949: the requirements for pilgrims to keep receipts for all fees, dues and transport costs; to travel in one class of transport within Saudi Arabia; the exemption from fees for pilgrim children, introduced in 1947.Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1-13. The numbering is written in pencil in the top right corner of the folio and encircled. The numbering starts at the front of the file, on the file cover (f 1) and ends on the inside cover at the back of the file (f 13).There is an incomplete, secondary foliation sequence in the file. Folios 3 to 5 are also numbered 1 to 3 in the top right corner, in pencil and encircled.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence regarding relations between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.The topics discussed in the file include the signing of a Treaty of Extradition between the Government of Bahrain and the Government of Hejaz-Nejd, a visit made by Amir Saud to Bahrain, visits made by Ibn Saud to Kuwait and Bahrain and territorial issues between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia related to a number of islands between their coasts. The activities of the Bahrain Petroleum Company and the Californian Arabian Standard Oil Company are also discussed.Two maps of Bahrain and its vicinity are contained on folio 156b and folio 157b. The maps contain information related to oil deposits and facilities.A bi-lingual (Arabic and English) copy of the Treaty of Extradition between the Government of Bahrain and the Government of Hejaz-Nejd is contained on folios 6-9.Physical description: A bound correspondence volume. The main foliation sequence commences at the titlepage and terminates at the 5th sheet from the back of the volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A second foliation sequence runs between f 3 and f 193; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled and are located in the same position as the main sequence.A set of index numbers corresponding with the index at the back run through the volume; these numbers are written in red crayon and are circled. Foliation errors: 2A and 2B; 156A and 156B; 157A and 157B; 164A and 164B.
Abstract: The volume consists of letters, telegrams, memoranda, reports, and intelligence reports concerning Ibn Sa'ud and Najd affairs. The bulk of the correspondence is between: Harold Dickson, the Political Agent in Bahrain; Arnold Wilson, the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad; Ibn Sa'ud; King Hussein of the Hijaz; his son, Amir Faisal; the Government of India; the India Office, in London; the Foreign Office, in London; Edmund Allenby, the High Commissioner in Cairo; Arthur Trevor, the Political Resident in Bushire; Siddiq Hassan, the Indian assistant in Bahrain; Colonel Vickery, British Agent in Jeddah; and the Political Agencies in Kuwait and Muscat.The main subject covered by the volume is the dispute between Ibn Saud and King Hussein over territory (the Khurma/Turaba dispute), Bedouin raids near Taif, and the freedom for Najdis to perform the Hajj. Also contained in the volume are reports, memoranda, and letters concerning Siddiq Hassan's mission to Mecca to perform the Hajj and to witness talks between King Hussein and Ibn Sa'ud's deputy, Thanaiyan bin Sa'ud.Other prominent subjects covered by the volume are:intelligence reports and correspondence relating to Ibn Sa'ud and the Ikhwan movement in relation to other tribes and chieftaincies of the Arabian Peninsula, especially al-Rashid (Shammar) and including Ajman and Oman;the border disputes with Kuwait;the spread of Arab Nationalism and socialist thought in Syria and Iraq, including commentary on the 1920 Iraqi Revolt.Other issues covered mainly by correspondence are the appointment of a doctor for Ibn Sa'ud, jurisdiction over Najdi subjects in Bahrain, the subsidy paid to Ibn Sa'ud by the British, the Idrisi statelet in the 'Asir Mountains, Ibn Sa'ud's gift of two oryxes to King George V, and the organisation of a meeting between Percy Cox and Ibn Sa'ud.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation system begins at the front of the volume on the title page (f 1) and ends at the back of the volume on the last page (f 371). The numbers are written in pencil, circled and positioned in the top right corner on the recto of each folio. The inside back cover is irregularly numbered as folios '368-371'. The folios have a secondary and different pencilled number in the same position, from a former and inconsistent foliation system.Condition: the spine cover is detached from the volume and enclosed in a plastic sleeve numbered folio 372, at the back of the volume. The plastic sleeve may cause some loss of sharpness to the digital of the spine cover.
Abstract: The volume consists of letters (in English and Arabic), telegrams, and memoranda relating to relations between Ibn Sa'ud, the Hejaz, and Trans-Jordan. The majority of the correspondence is between the Political Residency in Bushire, the Political Agency in Bahrain, the Political Agency in Kuwait, the High Commissioner in Baghdad, the Colonial and Foreign Offices, both in London, the High Commissioner in Jerusalem, the British Agency in Jeddah, the Chief British Representative in Amman, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud.The majority of the papers concern the definition of borders between Ibn Sa'ud's territories (the Najd and later the Hejaz) and Trans-Jordan, most specifically the status of the Jauf [al-Jawf] area and the towns of Kaf [Kāf], Akaba [Aqaba], and Maan [Ma'an], and to a lesser extent, Iraq. Reports on tribal raids and counter-raids are also included, particularly those between the Bani Sakhr and the Ikhwan. The latter's raid just south of Amman in August 1924, and the British military response, is prominent. Details of the Hadda Tribunals, which were set up to settle such disputes, are also given. The question of where ex-King Hussein should settle after his departure from the Hijaz is also discussed.Transcripts from Parliamentary Questions on these subjects are also included (folios 178-185). At the back of the volume is a broadside announcing the Shaw Commission, following the 1929 Palestine Riots.Physical description: Foliation: The sequence starts at the title page and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbers are written in pencil in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. There are the following irregularities: 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D; 141A and 141B; f 202 and f 211 are written on the verso of the preceding folio. Three individual folios have been given a number range, rather than a single number, written respectively as: 17-18, 21-22 and 34-35.
Abstract: The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to relations between Najd and the Hejaz. The majority of the correspondence is between Reader Bullard, the British Agent in Jeddah, the Political Residency in Bushire, the Political Agency in Bahrain, the Political Agency in Kuwait, the High Commissioner in Baghdad, the Colonial and Foreign Offices, both in London, the High Commissioner in Jerusalem, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud himself, or his representatives.Most of the volume covers events leading up to, and immediately after, the Ikhwan's capture of Taif, including Hussein ibn 'Ali's abdication and his son 'Ali's attempts to retain control of the Hejaz. There is a detailed report of the capture of Taif by Bullard (folios 186-201, 273-281). The documents reflect British concern with the reaction of Indian Muslims, with duplicates of correspondence regularly forwarded to numerous offices back in India. Some papers are about the effort to evacuate British Indian refugees and pilgrims from the region.Other subjects covered in the volume are:the build-up to and ultimate failure of the Kuwait Conference of 1923-24;King Fuad of Egypt's suspected financial backing of Ibn Sa'ud's takeover of the Hejaz;the defining of the Hejaz-Trans-Jordan border;the motivations and movements of St John Philby and Rosita Forbes, both of whom were thought to be trying to gain entryinto Central Arabia.Notable in the volume are a newspaper cutting from
The Times of Mesopotamia, dated 13 July 1923, regarding treaty negotiations between Britain and King Hussein (folio 4), and extracts of letters from Ameen Rihani to Ibn Sa'ud that had been intercepted by the British and which offer advice on foreign policy.Physical description: Main foliation sequence: numbers are written in pencil and circled, in the top right corner on the recto of each folio. The numbering, which starts on the front cover of the volume and ends on the inside back cover, is as follows: 1A-1D, 2-262.Secondary and earlier foliation sequence: the numbers 1 to 322 are written in pencil in the top right corner on the recto of each folio, except for the internal office notes at the back of the volume, which are paginated in pencil from 1 to 23. Published copies of four British Government reports at the front of the volume (renumbered as folios 2-63) also have pencilled page numbers written on them.Condition: broken spine cover.
Abstract: The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to the situation in the Hejaz at the time, with Ali entrenched in Jeddah and Ibn Sa'ud's Ikhwan in Mecca. The majority of the correspondence is between Reader Bullard, the British Agent in Jeddah, the Political Residency in Bushire, the British Residency in Aden, the Political Agency in Bahrain, the Political Agency in Kuwait, the High Commissioner in Baghdad, the Colonial and Foreign Offices, both in London, the High Commissioner in Jerusalem, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud himself, or his representatives.Running through the volume and forming its backbone are several reports by Bullard about the situation on the ground in Jeddah. Around these, much of the papers relate to the question of who will govern the Holy Places of Mecca and Medina once Ali finally leaves.Other subjects covered in the volume are:The motivations and movements of St John Philby and Rosita Forbes;The actions of the Wahabi attackers;British concern with Indian Muslim opinion on the state of affairs;the prospect of a safe Hajj that year;reports of Soviet influence in the area;what to do about ex-King Hussein.Physical description: Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio of writing and continues through to the inside back cover. The first four folios are marked 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D, and then proceed as normal from 2 onwards. The numbers are written in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.