Abstract: Correspondence relating to actions against the Bani Bu Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī] in Sur in 1932 who were claiming independence from the Muscat State. Correspondence discusses how the Bani Bu Ali led by Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah al-Hammuda [Muḥammed bin Nāṣir al-Ḥamūdah] were rebelling against the Sultan of Muscat's authority and in particular the creation of a customs post in Aiqa. Shaikh Ali had deployed armed forces to Aiqa fort and prevented the establishment of the customs post. The timing for deployment of aircraft from Iraq including Wapitis and flying boats is discussed and in particular the implications of reconnaissance flights during Ramadan. One Wapiti crashed 40 miles south of Muscat but the occupants were unhurt and safely rescued. Saiyid Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr] visited Sur in a sloop along with HMS
Emerald. Correspondence details the agreement of the Foreign Office, Air Ministry and India Office in London to the use of aircraft. A letter from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty concurs in the action whilst expressing concern over the use of aircraft and the repercussions this could have on relations with Arab rulers, and suggests only use of naval bombardment. The Air Ministry responded noting the Political Resident's view that 'action by warship alone would be entirely ineffective; past history has shewn this.' The India Office notes that the action proposed by the Government of India were based on discussions with the Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf and Air Officer Commanding, Iraq; furthermore, 'aerial demonstration will precede punitive air action.'The Political Agent, Muscat discusses the relations between the Bani Bu Ali ,[Banī Bū ‘Alī] Bani Bu Hassan [Bani Bū ‘Hasan] and Bani Amer; also the likely response of the Bani Bu Ali to any British attack and the need to take precautions to avoid the experience of a British Indian force in 1821. In 1821 a force was dispatched to avenge the defeat there of a different expedition the previous year but three hundred of the Bani Bu Ali attacked at night resulting 16 killed. Correspondence discusses the negotiations with Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah bin Abdullah bin HammudaCorrespondence between the Air Officer Commanding, Edgar Rainey Ludlow-Hewitt and Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe, Political Resident, Persian Gulf discusses the reconnaissance photos and the bombing of the Jaalan [Ja’alān] fort following the dropping from aircraft of warning messages. There are also extracts from a report by Group Captain W L Welsh on reconnaisance by two Rangoons and three Wapitis of the Sur area with arrangements for the deployment of flying boats to conduct bombing missions and their protection by the Muscat Infantry.Correspondence includes letters betweeen Saiyid Said bin Taimur, Sultan of Muscat and Oman, to Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah and Hugh Vincent Biscoe, Political Resident Persian Gulf. Following aerial demonstrations by Rangoon flying boats Shaikh Ali accepted the customs post and agreed to meet the Sultan on board the Sultan's vessel. The Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf wrote to Shaikh Ali informing him that as he had accepted the customs post the bombardment would not take place.Includes aerial photos (ff 128D-128P) of Jaalan and Khor Janaba which were made in preparation for a possible punitive bombing raid. Also includes a sketch map of Khor Janaba and an enclosure with a 'Sheikhly family of Bani Bu Ali.Correspondents include H.V. Biscoe, Political Resident Persian Gulf; Trenchard Craven Fowle, Political Agent Muscat; Edgar Rainey Ludlow-Hewitt, Air Headquarters, Iraq Command, Hinaidi; Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf; Eion Pelly Donaldson, India Office, London; Christopher Llewellyn Bulloch, Air Ministry, London; No. 203 (Flying Boat) Squadron; Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; Saiyid Said bin Taimur, Sultan of Muscat and Oman; Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah bin Hammudah; Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, Simla.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation system in use is the sequence of numbers in the top right hand corner of each folio including the covers.
Abstract: This file follows on from the previous file [IOR/R/15/6/205] in subject matter. It documents actions taken and considered by the Government of Muscat and Oman (with military assistance from the British Government) in order to assert its authority over the coastal town of Sur and the surrounding area, including Aiqa [Al ‘Ayjah], a village inhabited by members of the Bani Bu Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī] tribe.The file primarily concerns customs control, and the correspondence discusses at length a dispute between the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and the Shaikh of Aiqa, Ali bin Abdullah Al Hamudah, regarding the Government's attempts to establish a customs post in the village. Notable correspondents include the following: the Political Agent and Consul, Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Commanding Officer at Air Headquarters, Iraq Command; the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; Captain Reginald George Evelyn William Alban, Financial Adviser to the Government of Muscat and Oman; the Sultan of Muscat and Oman; Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Hamudah.The correspondence covers the following: preparations for combined 'punitive operations' (i.e. the naval bombardment of Aiqa's fort and the aerial bombardment of Ja'alan by the Royal Navy and RAF respectively) in the event of Shaikh Ali's refusal to comply with the Sultan's demands; contributions made by the Government of Muscat and Oman towards expenses incurred by the RAF during its recent aerial reconnaissance of the area; a meeting between the Political Agent and Shaikh Ali at Sur on 17 February 1933; the terms offered by the Sultan to Shaikh Ali.Also included in the file is a brief report entitled 'Instructions regarding the Control of Operations including the Employment of Air Forces on the North-West Frontier of India', dated 1 August 1931 and produced by the Government of India (ff 68-72).The Arabic language material mainly consists of correspondence between the Political Agent, Shaikh Ali, and the Sultan of Muscat (English translations are present in almost all cases).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 266; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This volume relates to measures taken by the Government of Muscat and Oman (with the assistance of the British Government) to assert its authority over the town of Sur and the nearby village of Aiqa [Al ‘Ayjah].The correspondence largely concerns customs control and the tense relations between the Muscat Government and the shaikhs of Sur and Aiqa, who are stated as belonging to the Jennebeh [Janabah] and Bani Bu Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī] tribes respectively. Discussed at length is the issue of ensuring the collection of customs and the registration of dhows at Aiqa.Most of the correspondence is between the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. Other notable correspondents include the following: the Secretary of State for India; the Commanding Officer at Air Headquarters, Iraq Command; Saiyid Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd], President of the Council of Ministers, and later Sultan of Muscat and Oman; Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Hamudah, Amir of Ja'alan [Emir of Ja‘lān] and Shaikh of Aiqa.Related matters of discussion include the following: the reported prolonged evasion of customs by the Bani Bu Ali in Aiqa; the level of assistance that should be provided by the British in order to help Muscat assert control in Sur and Aiqa (e.g. whether it is necessary to send HMS sloops to Sur); the interception of an Aiqa dhow by a Muscat State patrol vessel on 12 November 1931; preparations for 'punitive action' against Aiqa by the British – including a planned reconnaissance mission ahead of possible aerial bombardment, and discussion of naval bombardment – in the event of the Shaikh opposing the establishment of a customs post there.The Arabic language material mainly consists of correspondence between the Political Agent, the Shaikh of Aiqa, and Saiyid Said bin Taimur (English translations are present in most cases).All the material dates from the period 1931-1932, with the exception of some brief notes at the end of the volume, which are dated November 1939.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 255; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This volume contains papers concerning the situation at Sur in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The papers mainly relate to ‘difficulties’ which had arisen between the tribes of Sur and the Government of Muscat, inter-tribal and inter-factional rivalries, the question of what action the British Government should take to support the authority of the Muscat Government at Sur, and the general question of future British policy in Muscat.It includes papers relating to the following:The claim to independence of Ali bin Abdullah, Shaikh of the Bani Bu Ali (also spelled Beni Bu Ali) tribe and Amir of Jaalan [Emir of Ja‘alān, also spelled Jalan and Jallan]The bombardment of the fort of Said bin Abdullah (also spelled Saeed bin Abdullah) by the Muscat gunboat, and the shelling and destruction of the fort by HMS
CyclamenAn incident in which a Hinawi caravan was stopped at Sur by the Amirs of Jaalan, who hoisted a flag in their fort at Aiqa (also spelled Aigah in the volume) which was reportedly the flag of King Ibn Saud, but which the Amirs of Jaalan subsequently stated was their own flagThe Government of India’s recommendation that a regiment be sent to hold SurTribal conflict and rivalries, including the feud between the two main sections of the Jenebeh [al-Janabah] tribe, the Makhanah and the Aramah, which the British Government viewed as being encouraged by Ali bin Abdullah, and the feud between the Beni Bu Ali and the Beni Bu Hassan tribesProposed air operations by aircraft supported by HM Ships against the Bani Bu Ali at Sur.The papers mainly consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, and India Office Political Department minute papers.The main correspondents are as follows: the India Office; the Political Agent and HBM Consul, Muscat; Mahomed bin Nasir Ali Hamud, Amir of Jalan; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Government of India Foreign and Political Department; the Admiralty; the Foreign Office; the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies; and the Air Ministry.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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 392; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.