Abstract: This file contains correspondence on the coronation of King George VI. The correspondence is primarily between the following: the Secretary of State for India; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India; and the Resident at Aden. It includes material relating to the following matters:The journey of Prince Seif-uyl-Islam al-Hussein [Sayf al-Islām al-Ḥusayn bin Yahyā Ḥamīd al-Dīn] of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen from London to Paris and RomeThe invitation to the Sultan of Muscat [Sulṭān Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd], the Sheikh of Bahrein [Sheikh of Bahrain, Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], the Sheikh of Koweit [Sheikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir al-Ṣabāh], and the King of Yemen [Al-Imām al-Mutawakkil Yahyā Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn] to attend the coronation ceremony of King George VI in LondonThe invitation from the Colonial Office to the Sultan of Lahej [Sulṭān ‘Abd al-Karīm II bin al-Faḍl al-‘Abdalī] and the Sultan of Shehr and Mokalla [Sulṭān of Shihr and Mukalla, Sulṭān Ṣāliḥ bin Ghālib al-Qu‘ayṭī] to attend the coronation ceremony of King George VIThe decision to invite the Arab rulers of the Gulf to the ceremony in light of Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle’s view ‘as to the local importance of not allowing it to be thought in the Gulf that these rulers had been forgotten and the consequent desirability of extending to them some form of invitation though they might not avail themselves of it’.The file also includes ‘Minutes of the 1st Meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Coronation Executive Committee set up to consider questions arising in connection with the invitation of, accommodation for, and entertainment of persons from outside the United Kingdom who are to be treated as either Royal or official Guests for the Coronation’ (folios 101-111).Physical description: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at 112; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains periodic intelligence summaries for the East Aden Protectorate. From the beginning of January 1941 to the end of May 1941 the reports are weekly. From June 1941 they become monthly. The reports are composed by the Resident Adviser, based in Mukalla.Each report consists of an update on the political and tribal affairs of the statelets that make up the Eastern Aden Protectorate, including:the Qu'aiti State of Shihr and Mukalla;the Kathiri State of Seiyun;the Mahri Sultanate of Qishn and Sokotra;the Wahidi Sultanate of Bir Ali and Balihaf;the Shaikhdom of Irqa and Haura;the Indeterminate Area.News from neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Western Aden Protectorate was also sometimes included.From April 1942 the reports expand and include important summarised information on finances, education, medical matters, food security, shipping, military and naval matters, agriculture and fisheries, meteorology, internal security, the effects of the war, and slavery.Most likely due to shortages of paper during the war, the reports are sometimes printed on the back of old documents and maps, including a map of Britain and Europe showing an idealised interpretation of Britain's targets and progress in the Second World War. The title ('Britain - The Spear of Attack') and labels are written in Arabic. There is also a page of text referring to a map of shipping routes (not present) and promoting the work of the Royal Navy and its allies. It is likely these were used as propaganda to garner support in the Arab Middle East.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 286; 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: Imprint:Drawn in Transfer Lithography by L.J. Hebert and Printed at the Lithographic Establishment Quarter Master Generals Office Horse Guards.Distinctive Features:Relief shown by hachures.Shows the location of tribes with rulers’ names given and boundaries indicated by pecked line and coloured. Notations concerning the country cover the face of the map.Physical description: Dimensions:300 x 400 mm
Abstract: Distinctive Features:Relief shown by hachures.Notations concerning the agriculture production of the region cover the face of the map.Inscriptions:On recto in the top left hand corner: ‘India Office, maproom’. In the bottom right-hand corner: ‘Signed S.B. Haines, Captain Indian Navy & Political Agent – Aden’.Physical description: Materials:Pen and ink on tracing clothDimensions:400 x 470 mm
Abstract: The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the monitoring by British officials of the activities of Count Byron Khun de Prorok and his expeditions in Yemen and the Persian Gulf. This included attempts to search for the ancient lost city of Ubar in the Rubʻ al Khālī and the fabled capital city of the Queen of Sheba.The discussion in the file relates to the correspondence with scientific institutes (Royal Geographical Society; Royal Anthropological Institute) concerning de Prorok's scientific credentials, nationality, name and title. Also discussed is the refusal of the Sultan of Muscat to allow an expedition to proceed from Muscat and the British refusal to allow a start from Sharjah. Also discussed are British concerns about motivations for the expedition and connections with Italian oil interests.Included in the file is a handwritten letter from Prorok to the India Office (folio 32) and an advertisement for an evening lecture at the Pump House, Bath (folio 10).The file contains correspondence between: the Passport Control Department, Foreign Office, London; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and the India Office, London.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 7, and terminates at f 68, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 20 dated 19 March 1856. The enclosures are dated 15 January-19 March 1856.The correspondents are: Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Acting Political Resident and Commandant, Aden; the Secretary to the Government, Bombay; and Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating HC [Honourable Company] Agent at Juddah [Jeddah]. The item also includes enclosures to correspondence and one Resolution of the Board.The papers cover the following matters:Coghlan’s decision to continue the British blockade of Berbera, and to disregard the confession (ff 310-311) of a prisoner named ‘Ali Mahomed’ [‘Alī Muḥammad] who has been brought to Aden on the
Mahi, since he is not considered to have been the ‘ring leader’ of the attack on the Somali Expedition of Lieutenant Richard Burton and has been repudiated by the Elders [of the Habr Awwal tribe]Events relating to Zailah [Zeila, also spelled Zeylah in this item], including: the attempt by the Haj Shermarki [Ḥājjī Sharmārkī ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ, also spelled Sheumarki and Shermarkie in this item] to retake his position as Governor, from which he was lately ousted by the [Ottoman] Turkish authorities; Coghlan’s attempt to prevent Shermarki blockading Zailah and potentially disrupting British supply chains by sending the Assistant Resident to liaise between Shermarki and the Turkish authorities; Coghlan’s efforts to ascertain the effect of the [Ottoman] Sultan’s proclamation prohibiting slavery at Zailah, considering news of the arrival there of a ‘large slave Caffilah [caravan]’ from the interior (ff 314-315)News obtained from Mocha that cholera has broken out in the camp of the Asseer [‘Asīr tribe] apparently causing the death of their leader and causing the force's retirement from their putative campaign to attack the Red Sea ports of YemenRelations in Aden between the Abdali [al-‘Abdalī] and Oulaki [al-‘Awlaqī]] ‘chiefs’ regarding their mutual claims over the fort of Bir Ahmed [Bir Ahmad], including: a letter sent by the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, to the Resident in Hyderabad asking him to gather information about the apparent influence of one ‘Sirdar Abdulla bin Ali Oulaki’ [Sirdār ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Alī al-‘Awlaqī] a ‘jemadar [jamadar] in the service of His Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad’ (f 322); and Coghlan’s decision to abstain from interference provided that the dispute causes no interruption of tradeIntelligence relating to the state of affairs in Massowah [Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa], including a letter from Raffaello Barroni, Agent to Mr Plowden [Walter Chichele Plowden], HM Consul in Abyssinia [now Ethiopia], reporting the promise of the Naib of Massawa to re-establish order but that the current absence of any governor renders Massawa ‘without soldiers and without protection, and the population … left to herself and committed to fortune’ (f 318)Report by Stephen Page describing the state of affairs in Juddah and its vicinity since the unsuccessful insurrection led by Abu Montallib [Sharif ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad], including Page’s: description of the recent engagement at Tayf (to where Abu Montallib had retreated) between ‘Bedouins’ and [Ottoman] Turkish soldiers; concern regarding the delayed arrival of the newly appointed [sharif?] Ebu Aonan [Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Mu‘īn bin ‘Awn]; Page’s belief that the arrival at Juddah of the
Elphinstonewas effective in preventing further disturbance and his request that it may return there by April to avoid potential attacks by ‘Bedouin’ if Ebu Aonan has not yet arrived; and opinion that Abu Montallib’s rebellion was not properly quashedReports on the prevalence of smallpox and typhoid in the town of Aden.Physical description: 1 item (22 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 18 dated 5 March 1856. The enclosures are dated 13-27 February 1856.The item comprises a report by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Acting Political Resident and Commandant, Aden, to the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, on the situation in the Aden and the Red Sea coast region of Yemen, enclosing five letters conveying intelligence from: Captain John James Frushard, Indian Navy, Senior Naval Officer at Aden and the Red Sea Station; Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating HC [Honourable Company] Agent at Juddah [Jeddah, also spelled Jedda in this item]; Mahmoud Pasha [Maḥmūd Pāshā], Governor of Yemen; Khajia Georgie Kastandi (Teoffani) [Georgie Kostanti Theofani] of Hodeida [Al Hudaydah]; and Haji Abd-er-Rassool [‘Abd al-Rasūl] of Mocha.Coghlan’s report and enclosures chiefly relate to the varying rumours of the advance of a force of between 30,000 and 50,000 of the Asseer [‘Asir, also spelled Aseer in this item] tribe southwards to Yemen with the intention of attacking and capturing Hodeida and other Red Sea ports of that country, and Lahedj [Lahej]. There is particular reference to:The arrival of the
Elphinstoneand the
Queenat Hodeida and the arrangements put in place by their commanders for the protection of the governor of the town and his familyDetails of the strength of the defences and fortifications at HodeidaThe apparent gratitude of Mahmoud Pasha, Governor of Yemen, for the arrival of the British vessels, his departure north to Lohea [Al Luhayyah] to reassure that town’s inhabitants, enrolment of additional soldiers, and impression that additional military assistance is on its way from Bombay.Coghlan’s report also covers news on the situation in Mecca and Juddah following the recent rebellion, including that: both cities are now tranquil; the rebellion led by Abd-el-Mutalib [Sharif ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad] has largely petered out since the military engagement at Tayf [Ta’if, also spelled Taif in this item] between ‘Bedowins’ [Bedouin] and [Ottoman] Turkish soldiers; and that a new Seriff [Sharif] is soon arriving in Mecca.Also included in the item is a Resolution of the Board indicating that the Governor in Council wants the number of volunteers from the Sind Irregular Horse for service at Aden to be raised to a full complement of one hundred men.Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 101 of 1846, dated 27 August 1846. The enclosures are dated 30 July-27 August 1846.The papers chiefly relate to reports of an impending attack on Aden by a force led by ‘a fanatic named Sayud Ismail [Sayyid Ismā‘īl, also spelled Syud in this item] who having made his way from Mecca to this vicinity by slow marches, accompanied by a number of Dervises [dervishes] and other religious Zealots, has loudly proclaimed his determination to dislodge the “Feringhees” [foreigners] from the “strong hold” of the Moslem’ (f 146), and notably cover and include the following:A report by Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden, to the Government in Bombay, of intelligence received regarding the progress of Sayud Ismail and his followers towards Aden between 1-15 August, including: Sayd Ismail’s apparent meetings with the local ‘chiefs’ gathering additional followers from various tribes; the support of a son of Sultan M Houssain of Lahidge [Sultan Muḥsin bin Faḍl al-‘Abdalī, Sultan of Lahej] in the ‘Holy cause’; the influence of Sayud Ismail and his reputation for possessing ‘superhuman’ (f 147) powers of conquest, causing 1200-1400 inhabitants of Aden to leave the town in anticipation of the defeat of the EnglishCopies of Haines’s instructions to Lieutenant-Colonel H R Milner, Commanding the troops at Aden, and Lieutenant-Colonel W C Barker, Senior Naval Officer, regarding arrangements to repel any act of aggression, including: prevention of arms entering Aden via the defensive wall; assessment of the military force and ammunition at Aden; searching of all boats entering Aden harbour; and surveillance of the numbers entering daily through the town gates (ff 149-151)Minute of the Governor and President in Council, Bombay, concurred in by members in Council, regarding measures to be taken in response to the information received about a potential attack on AdenInstructions issued by the Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay, to the Military Board, the Superintendent of the Indian Navy and the Deputy Quartermaster-General of the Army, Bombay, regarding: arrangements to supply to Aden any deficiencies of military stores and salt by the ship
Seminarisor another vessel; a return of all troops and armaments at Aden (f 166); information regarding which vessels can be immediately sent or be got ready to sail to Aden, including those proceeding for the Persian Gulf; termination of the pensions (or stipends) of any ‘chiefs’ who may have joined Sayud Ismail; and agreement that no force need be despatched at this stage to Aden.Physical description: 1 item (31 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 36 of 1850, dated 25 June 1850. Enclosures Nos. 3-15, dated 25 May to 24 June 1850, consist of correspondence, and minutes of the Government of Bombay.The enclosures cover matters including:The Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Betteworth Haines, reporting that ‘some mischievous person’, he believes from Aden, had caused a report to be spread that three or four British steam ships had brought troops and guns to the area, and that the British intended to march inland, which had caused a sudden panic. However, Haines states that he had written a friendly letter to Sultan Ali M’Houssain [‘Alī I bin Muḥsin al-‘Abdalī] of Lahidge [Lahej or Lahij] ridiculing the idea of ‘such nonsense’, and that this letter had instantly dissipated all fearHaines reporting that the Turkish [Ottoman] force for the capture of Maculla and Shahahr [Mukalla and Ash Shihr] are at Mocha, and that the ‘Arabs’ of Maculla and Shahahr have united, and the Arab main force is at Broom [Bandar Burum] ready to receive and attack them. Haines states his belief that if the ‘Turks’ persevere in this attack, it will end in the destruction and capture of the Turkish fleet and the death or capture of their military forceAn unarmed boat belonging to the Honourable Company’s steam frigate
Aucklandbeing fired on ‘without the slightest provocation’, Haines writes, by ‘an Arab of the Arabia tribe’ named Baghi bin Abdulla [Bāqī(?) bin ‘Abdullāh], on 29 May 1850, resulting in one seaman being killed and one being wounded. Haines asserts that the demolition of the town of Bir Ahmed [Bi’r Aḥmad] would be a ‘just act of retribution’ for the murder, but as its ‘Chief’ is a vassal of the Abdali Sultan [of Lahej], Haines deemed the correct course of action to be to leave the punishment in the hands of the Abdali SultanHaines reporting that he had made the following demands of the Sultan of Lahidge: that Baghi bin Abdulla should be delivered into his custody until Government should decide on his punishment; and that Sheik Hydra bin Medhi [Shaikh Ḥaydarah bin Mahdī] of Bir Ahmed should be replaced by another Chief subordinate to the Abdali Sultan of Lahidge, since Sheik Hydra bin Medhi has shown a ‘turbulent and inimical spirit’ towards the British, and Haines asserts he had approved of Baghi bin Abdulla’s conduct and connived at his escape to the Subeihi [Subayhi] countryThe delivery of a letter from Viscount Palmerston, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and a box containing 300 Sovereigns, to the King of Shoa [Shewa].The correspondence is between the following: the Government of Bombay; Haines; the Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General, Sir Henry Miers Elliot; HM Consul General of Egypt, Charles Augustus Murray; Lord Palmerston; Captain J P Sanders, Senior Naval Officer at Aden; and Commander John Stephens, commanding the
Auckland.Enclosure Nos. 16-17, listed in the abstract of contents as copies of the
Bombay Overland Timesand the
Bombay Overland Telegraph and Courierdated 25 June 1850, are recorded as missing in a note dated 31 October 1906.Physical description: 1 item (37 folios)
Abstract: This 1898 printing of a 15th-century work by a Yemeni author, Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Abū Bakr al-Azraq, or al-Azraqī, is a book of remedies dealing with medicinal uses of seeds, grains, and other foods and their nutritional value. The material is based in part on two earlier works: Shifā’ al-ajsām (The curing of bodies) by Muḥammad ibn Abū al-Ghayth al-Kamarānī, and Kitāb al-raḥmah (The book of mercy) by Ṣubunrī. Included in the margins is yet another work, Kitāb al-ṭibb al-nabawī (The book of Prophetic medicine) by the celebrated historian Muḥammad al-Dhahabī (1274−1348), which is in the tradition of al-ṭibb al-nabawī (Prophetic medicine). This genre of medical writing addresses instances of ḥadith that deal with illness, therapy, and hygiene and is thus somewhat distinct from the main Galenic or Avicennan currents of Islamic medicine. In the introduction, al-Azraq writes: "In the words of the Prophet . . . there are two classes [of persons] which people will always need, doctors for their bodies and the ‘ulamā’ for their religion." The book is arranged in five sections: natural science topics; description of various seeds; the nature of foods and medicines and their benefits; means to keep the body wholesome during times of health, including the ḥadith and recommendations by learned men; treatment of illnesses confined to each member of the body; treatment of general illnesses; and other topics including the (therapeutic) recitation of scriptural and other religious verses. The Facilitator of Utility is listed in the bibliographic encyclopedia of Kātip Çelebi (1609−57), but despite this and the appearance of several modern printings, little is known about al-Azraq.Physical description: 155 pages ; 27 centimeters
Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding the recruitment of labour from the Aden Settlement, the Aden Protectorate, and Yemen, for service in Italian Somaliland.Following requests from the Italian Consul at Aden for an increased number of labourers to work in Italian Somaliland and Eritrea, the India Office, the Foreign Office and the Aden Chief Commissioner consider the options available to prevent the recruitment of British Subjects or Protected Persons for either the Italian or Ethiopian forces. Following communications with the King of Yemen it is agreed that Yemeni subjects should also be prevented from travelling from Aden ports for that purpose.The file also contains telegraphic correspondence with the Government of India, the Governor-General of Sudan, and British diplomatic staff in British Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italy, requesting that efforts should be made to prevent recruitment from those locations. The likelihood of war between Italy and Ethiopia is discussed throughout the correspondence.A large part of the correspondence concerns the legality of preventing emigration from Aden ports, and involves discussion of the Indian Emigration Act (1922), and the drafting of the Aden (Protection of Emigrants) Regulation (1935), the published version of which appears at ff 5-13. The Act prohibited emigration from Aden without obtaining a permit.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 160; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Papers regarding relations between Iraq and Yemen, from the Iraqi Mission to Yemen in 1931, the subsequent Treaty of Friendship agreed between the two countries, and the eventual accession of Yemen to the Iraqi-Saudi Treaty of Arab Brotherhood and Alliance. The file includes the following treaties and related documents:English translation of the Treaty of Friendship between the Kingdoms of Iraq and Yemen, signed in Sana'a on 11 May 1931, ff 116-117.English translation of a report on the work of the Iraqi Mission to the Yemen, written by General Taha Hashimi (Chief of the Iraq General Staff), ff 98-112.Booklet providing texts of the Treaty of Friendship between the Kingdoms of Iraq and Yemen, and of the Ratifications exchanged at Baghdad on 26 April 1932, printed by the Iraqi Government Press in English and Arabic, ff 78-81.English translation of an article appearing in
Umm al-QuraNo. 679, 7 Shawwal 1356 [10 December 1937], on the 'Ratification of the Saudi-Iraqi-Yemeni Treaty of Arab Alliance', ff 17-18.English translation of the 'Arbitration Covenant between the Saudi Arab Kingdom and the Kingdom of Yemen', ff 13-15.English translation of the 'Instrument of Accession of the Kingdom of the Yemen to the Treaty of Arab Brotherhood and Alliance between Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia', ff 7-12.Note submitted by the British Legation at Jedda, comparing the Yemeni accession agreement to the Saudi-Iraq treaty, ff 34-38.The file also includes correspondence between the HM Embassy at Baghdad, HM Legation at Jedda, the India Office Political Department, and the Foreign Office, regarding: a proposal to establish an Iraqi Legation to the Yemen; tensions between the King of Yemen and Ibn Sa'ūd; Iraqi concerns over Soviet and Italian influence in Yemen; and the provision of training in Iraq for Yemeni army cadets and trainee teachers.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 133; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-132; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.