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25. 'File 61/13 [II] (D 167) Wahabis and pilgrimage to Hedjaz'
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume consists of letters, telegrams, memoranda, and reports relating to the Hajj pilgrimage to the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. The majority of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Foreign Office in London, the Government of India, the British Residency in Bushire, the British Ministers in Cairo and Baghdad, the Political Agencies in Bahrain and Kuwait, and Ibn Sa'ud.Contained in the volume are the annual reports on the pilgrimage composed by the Agent in Jeddah for the years 1936-39 and 1941-43. Each report consists of some or all of the following:a general introduction;information on quarantine;statistics;information on health, transport, customs, 'mutawwifs' (pilgrim guides), religious policy, tariffs and the cost of pilgrimage, and pilgrims from other Muslim regions of the British Empire (India, Afghan, Malay, West Africa, Sudan, Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan, Sarawak, Somalia, Zanzibar and East Africa, South Africa, Aden, Hadhramaut, Muscat, Bahrain, and Kuwait).A major theme of the volume is the difficulty in getting Indian Muslims to Mecca overland from the Persian Gulf due to the dangers of the shipping lanes in wartime. Many of the documents are concerned with the issues of transport, cost, health, and supply of the routes from Iraq via Najaf and Medina, and from Kuwait via Riyadh.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.
26. 'The Seven Independent Arabian States [Yemen, ‘Asir, Hijaz, Najd, Kuwait, Jabal Shammar and al-Jawf]'
- Description:
- Abstract: This confidential memorandum, printed by the Foreign Office in May 1935 is a report by William John Childs concerning the seven independent Arabian states or autonomous areas. The report contains an introduction that states that the 'purpose of the paper is to give a brief outline each of the seven independent Arabian states', listed on folio 316, 'at the time of the Arab rising against the Turks in June 1916'.The report is divided into sections covering each state as follows:'The Imamate of Yemen ruled by Imam Yahya [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn]' (folio 316);'The Principate of Asir ruled by the Idrisi [Sayyid Muḥammad bin ‘Alī al-Idrīsi]' (folios 316-317);'The Emirate of Mecca (or the Hejaz) ruled by Husein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī], Emir and Sherif of Mecca' (folios 317-319);'Emirate of Nejd [Najd] ruled by Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], Emir of Riyadh' (folios 319-323);'The Sheikhdom of Koweit [Kuwait] ruled by the Sheikh of Koweit [Mubārak bin Ṣabāḥ]' (folio 323v);'The Emirate of Jebel Shammar [Jabal Shammar] (or Hail [Ḥā’il]) ruled by the Emir of Hail [Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Rashīd]' (folios 323-324)'Jauf-el-Amir [Jawf al-Amīr, under the rule of Nūrī bin Sha‘lān]' (folio 324v).A footnote on folio 316 records: 'This memorandum was prepared by the late Mr. William John Childs and found among his papers. A few modifications and additions have been made to bring it up to date'.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 315, and terminates at folio 325, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, a re circles, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between folios 4-327; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
27. Album of 'Views of Mecca and Medina' by H. A. Mirza & Sons, Photographers
- Description:
- Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:The album contains historical and architectural views of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, which relate to a South Asian Muslim perspective of the hadj.Elements:1 'Picture of the Tents of the Turks'2 'Picture of the Sanctuary of Medina the Radiant'3 'Picture of the City of Mecca the Great'4 'Picture of the City of Medina the Radiant'5 'Picture of the Sanctuary of Mecca the Great'6 'Picture of Mount 'Arafat'7 'Picture of the City of Medina the Radiant'8 'Picture of the Bab 'Anbari'9 'Picture of the Mosque of Khaif and Mina'10 'Picture of the Mausoleum of Our Lord Amir Hamza, May God Be Pleased upon Him'11 'Picture of the Paradise of al-Ma'ala'12 'Picture of the Paradise Garden of al-Baqi' '13 'Picture of the Mosque of Quba'Distinctive Features:Mechanically printed indigo double bars form a decorative frame on each window mount and are set approximately 10mm from edges. These intersect to form cruciform detailing and further decorative features. The same mechanical process and ink have been used to inscribe the initials ‘K.P.L.’ along the leftmost lower edge of the double bar detailing. In addition, in the same ink, a mechanically printed crescent moon and five-pointed star appear above the caption of each image, in the centre of the uppermost edge of each window mount.Inscriptions:Urdu inscriptions (nastaliq script) – in the form of prose and poetry, a caption and the name of the photographic firm – in hand applied red ink are set around each image. A stamp, applied directly onto each print and in the lower left-hand corner of each mount in Arabic script reads ‘copyright registered ’.Labels:On the verso of each print is a letterpress label describing, in English (Latin) and Arabic script, the image overleaf, all of which following this template:"H. A. Mirza & Sons, Photographers. [....[caption]....with a brief description.] One sheet. Published by the Photographers: Delhi[Octr. 15, 1907.] 14x18° Litho. Ist Edition. Price, R.1, A4"Temporal Context:The latest possible creation date of the photographic prints is likely to be 1907, due to the publication date of the photographs by H. A. Mirza & Sons as noted in the label on the verso of each image (15 October 1907). Although officially accessioned to the India Office Library on 19 May 1909 (see ink stamp), it is likely that the affixed label was applied by the India Office Library. The numbering system (138-150) found on the labels follows a sequence laid out in the 'Catalogue of Books registered in the Punjab under Act XXV of 1867 and Act X of 1890 during the quarter ending the 31st March, 1907', since the individually mounted photographs were listed in this orer in the catalogue and were likely acquired by the India Office Library soon afterward. Under the premise that all of the photographs were taken on the same occasion and during the hadj in the years prior to their accession and subsequent binding by the India Office Library, the images may date to the following periods, which accord with the 8th to 10th of the lunar month Dhul-Hijjah, 1323 or 1324. (Hijri). Either:Friday 2–Tuesday 6 February, 1906 CEWednesday 23–Sunday 27 January, 1907 CEPhysical description: Dimensions:Album: 457 x 384 mm [portrait]Mounts (external): 350 x 446 mmMounts (internal): approx. 200 x 273 mm [landscape]Format:Maroon quarter-leather album containing thirteen prints held within window mounts.Materials:Mottled blue-tinted window mounts are laid over all thirteen Gelatin Silver prints Mechanical indigo and hand-applied red ink decoration feature on each mountCondition:While binding is still sturdy, extensive scuffing to the spine is evident. All window mounts are extensively bowed and edges are scuffed. The window mounts are stained in places, faded in others and warped throughout. The prints themselves show signs of fading, extensive bubbling and distortion across the surface. Some also show signs of surface losses.Foliation:The album has been foliated, 138–150 and 1–13; the numbers are indicated on the recto, in pencil, along the right hand edge and on the verso adjacent to the letterpress label, predominantly in ink.Process:Gelatin Silver printsBinding:The album is bound in maroon quarter-leather format, which is heavily scuffed along the spine. This binding dates to the accession of the images (1909) into the ‘Secretary of State for India Library’ and is indicated as such on the upper part of the spine by a gilt stamp. The spine also features gilt title: ‘Views of Mecca and Medina’. The binding features a linen and card joint.
28. Pilgrimage to the Caaba and Charing Cross
- Description:
- Abstract: Hafiz Ahmed Hassan was an Indian Muslim, treasurer and advisor to the nawab of Tonk, Muhammad ‘Ali Khan (died 1895). Tonk was a principality in northwest India and is today part of the state of Rajasthan. When the nawab was deposed in 1867, the author accompanied him into exile, going first to Benares and then, in 1870, to the Muslim holy cities on pilgrimage. After completing the hajj, Hafiz proceeded to England where he spent a short time before returning to India. The focus of the book is his travel to Arabia on the hajj, with description of its rituals. It is a valuable record, in English, of the conditions and practices of his time. He describes the port of Jeddah, the buildings and surroundings of Mecca and Medina, and his fellow pilgrims, and he provides vivid descriptions of rapacious tax authorities and rough treatment by Bedouins on his journey. The book is an important companion to classic accounts in English of the holy cities by C. Snouck Hurgronje and Richard Burton. In addition to its Arabian chapters, the book details the unjust accusations against the nawab that led to his removal from the throne. The author concludes with a chapter about England and the English in which he, among other topics, contrasts the rigor of the British judicial system at home with the summary justice provided for Indian subjects, often at the whim of untrained British administrators. The book was published in London by W. H. Allen, a foremost publisher of works on India.Physical description: 174 pages ; 20 centimeters
29. Travels in Arabia: Comprehending an Account of those Territories in Hedjaz which the Mohammedans Regard as Sacred
- Description:
- Abstract: John Lewis Burckhardt (1784−1817) was born Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in Lausanne, Switzerland. His accounts of his travels in the Middle East in the early 19th century are among the earliest modern European descriptions of Syria, Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan. Upon finishing university studies in Switzerland, he went to England to enroll in Cambridge University, where he studied Arabic and Islam in order to prepare himself for a career as an explorer-adventurer. As his acquaintance Muhammad ‘Ali Basha, ruler of Egypt, said of his adventurism, he possessed the “travelling madness.” Burckhardt spent his early twenties in Syria, where he perfected his Arabic and established himself as a scholar of Islam and a mendicant. In 1814−15 he travelled to the western Arabian Peninsula. Travels in Arabia is one of several anthropological and geographical works written by Burckhardt before his life was cut short at age 33 by an illness that he contracted in Cairo. The chapter entitled “Remarks on the inhabitants of Mekka and Djidda” is rich in detail and opinions regarding domestic customs, tribes, treatment of slaves, everyday commerce, feast days, relations with other nationalities, and intellectual life. At the time of Burckhardt’s visit, Mecca and the whole of the Hejaz region was under the control of the governor-general of the Ottoman sultan, Muhammad ‘Ali Basha. His defeat of the Wahhabi forces affected daily life in the region. Burckhardt’s other works include descriptions of Syria, the Levant, Sinai, and the Nile Valley; Notes on Bedouins and Wahabys; and a collection of Arabic, primarily Egyptian, proverbs compiled posthumously from his field diaries. This book is in two volumes and contains several maps and diagrams. Appendices give details of pilgrimage and trade routes emanating from Mecca. Burckhardt personally traveled some of these routes; others he learned about from descriptions by travelers and Bedouin. The book was published under the auspices of the African Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa, which was founded in England in 1788 to foster the exploration of Africa and abolition of the African slave trade.Physical description: 2 volumes ; 22 centimeters
30. Ext 338/44 'Ill treatment of Persian pilgrims at Mecca'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding the execution without trial of a Persian pilgrim, accused of defiling the Great Mosque of Mecca, and ensuing agitation amongst Persian and other Shiah Muslims. The primary correspondents are: British Legation, Tehran; British Legation, Baghdad; British Legation, Jeddah; Foreign Office.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 7; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
31. Ext 691/44 'Destitute Chinese Nationals in Mecca'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains papers regarding destitute Chinese citizens in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and potential British assistance in repatriating them via India. The primary correspondents are: British Legation, Jeddah; Foreign Office; Government of India; British Embassy, Chungking [Chongqing].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 11; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
32. Ext 6299/46 'Travel facilities for pilgrims'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to travel arrangements for residents of the Persian Gulf on the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, particularly regarding fees and repatriation responsibilities. The main correspondents are as follows the Government of India, Department of Communications; the Secretary of State for India and Burma; the British Embassy in Iraq and the Persian Gulf Political Residency. Matters discussed include the Government of India's plan to offer travel to pilgrims via an Indian National Airways chartered aircraft from Bombay to Jedda, and the permissions they will need to obtain from rulers of the region to do this. Folios 5 to 11 contain correspondence detailing the decision to waive deposits usually charged to pilgrims travelling from the Persian Gulf Sheikhdoms of Kuweit, Bahrein, Oman and Muscat, and the Trucial Coast, costs of which will be absorbed by the British Consul, Basra.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 17; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
33. Poetry Collection
- Description:
- Abstract: Born in what is now the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, ‘Ali ibn al-Muqarrab (1176 or 1177−1231 or 1232) had an adventurous life that included political intrigue and involvement with trade as well as literary accomplishment. Writing in the early 13th century, he is said to have been one of the last poets before modern times to have composed in the classical style. His Diwan (Poetry collection) is lauded for its historical as well as literary qualities. It is considered a primary source for geography and history as well as genealogy and information about the social and cultural conditions of his region. Al-Muqarrab’s tribe, the al-‘Uyuni, ruled portions of the coast of the Arabian Peninsula for more than 150 years, from the 11th to the 13th centuries. Failed political ambitions caused al-Muqarrab to flee to Baghdad and Mosul (present-day Iraq). Historian ‘Abd al-Khalaq al-Janbi discusses many of the strengths and weaknesses of al-Muqarrab as a historian, and notes the confusion in reference works over his name and the authorship of works attributed to him. Manuscripts of the Diwan are found in many Western and Middle Eastern libraries. The edition presented here was printed in Mecca in 1889 and reprinted in Bombay in 1892.Physical description: 120 pages ; 28 centimeters
34. Letters from John Blankett to Harford Jones
- Description:
- Abstract: Copies of four letters from Rear-Admiral John Blankett, Commander of the British naval squadron in the Red Sea, to Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], sent from HMS Leopardin Mocha Roads and dated 16 April-20 June 1799.Blankett forwards information collected from around the Red Sea and the Gulf concerning the French Revolutionary Wars, including: the strength and disposition of the French forces occupying Egypt; the possibility of French military action in the Red Sea; the French attack on Gaza; the arrival of French forces at Ghenna [Qena]; and population flight from Cosire [Al Qusayr].The correspondence also covers subjects including: the occupation of Perim Island by British forces from Bombay [Mumbai]; the attitude of the Shereef [Sharīf] of Mecca towards the war and France, including reports of trade in coffee with French-occupied Egypt; communications between Mecca and Tippoo Sultan [Tīpū Sulṭān of Mysore]; and the internal politics of Mecca.Duplicates of the first three letters and part of the fourth letter are catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/82. A duplicate of the remaining part of the fourth letter is catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/86.Physical description: 1 item (4 folios)
35. Letter from John Blankett to Harford Jones
- Description:
- Abstract: Part of a letter from Rear-Admiral John Blankett, Commander of the British naval squadron in the Red Sea, to Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], sent from HMS Leopardin Mocha Roads and dated 20 June 1799.The letter concerns the Government of Mecca, in particular the attitude of the Shereef [Sharīf] towards France. It discusses reports of trade in coffee between Mecca and French-occupied Egypt, reports of communications between Mecca and Tippoo Sultan [Tīpū Sulṭān of Mysore], and the internal politics of Mecca.The first part of the letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/82. A copy of the full letter can be found in IOR/L/PS/9/76/87.This letter was enclosed in Jones’s letter to John Spencer Smith, Minister Plenipotentiary in Constantinople [Istanbul], dated 23 September 1799 (IOR/L/PS/9/76/84 and 85).Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
36. Letter from John Blankett to Harford Jones
- Description:
- Abstract: A copy of a letter from Rear-Admiral John Blankett, Commander of the British naval squadron in the Red Sea, to Harford Jones, Resident in Bagdad [Baghdad], sent from HMS Leopardat Jedda [Jeddah] and dated 30 June 1800.The letter introduces Lieutenant Richard Tanvarine, whom Blankett has sent to Bagdad with dispatches to be forwarded to the Ambassador in Constantinople [Istanbul]. The letter also describes the Sheriffe [Sharīf] of Mecca’s pivot towards the French occupation powers in Egypt and moves towards asserting his independence from the Porte [Ottoman Empire].A duplicate of this letter is catalogued as IOR/L/PS/9/76/133.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)