'File 10/3 III Qatar Oil Concession' [‎105r] (226/470)

I
from the wells they first mix it with dried dates to make it more palatable The
Wahabis have frequently waged war upon the Almorrah, but Faisal alone, if local
tradition is to be believed, succeeded in penetrating with his troops as far as Banaivan
and his torce was so reduced by the hardships of the march that he was compelled
his arrival there to grant the tribe exceedingly easy terms."
if-—Anglo-Tdrkish Convention of 1913 (unratified).
El-Katr.
Article 11.
"Le Sandjak Ottoman de Nedjd, dont la limite septentrionale est indiquee par la
ligue de demarcation^ defmie a ]'article 7 de cette convention, se termine vers le sud
Ian golfe faisant face a Tile de Zahnounie, qui appartient au dit Sandjak. Une ligue
partant du fond, extreme du dit golfe ira directement au Sud jusqu'au Ruba-al-Khali
■ et separera le Nedjd de la presquile d'El-Katr. Les limites du Nedjd sont indiquees
par une ligne bleue sur la carte anuexee a la presente Convention (annexe VA). Le
Gouvernement Imperial Ottoman ayant renonce a toutes ses reclamations concernant
la presqu'ile d'El Katr, il est entendu entre les deux Gouvernerneuts que ladite
presqn'ile sera, comme par le passe, gouvernee par le cheikh Djassim-bin-Sani et par
ses successeurs. Le gouvernement de Sa Majeste Britaunique declare qu'il ne
permettra pas au ckeikh de Bahraine de s'immiscer dans les affaires interieures d'El
Katr, de porter atteinte a I'autonomie de ce pays, ou de I'annexer."
[The blue line in question runs due south from the head of the bay opposite
Zaknuniyeh Island to the 20th parallel of latitude, where it meets the line of
demarcation between Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. and the Aden Protectorate laid down under the
Anglo-Turkish agreement of Srd June 1914.]
1
Mr. Philby in his crossing of the Ruba-al-Khali in 1932 passed through the
Barr-al-Qarah coastal belt with the assistance of Ibn Jiluwi and the Hasa authorities,
turning south-west at Salwa and proceeding thence to the Jabrin Oasis. The
following extract from his book " The Empty Quarter " is of interest, and supplements
the evidence of Mr. Bertram Thomas as recorded in paragraphs 16-18 of the Note :—
p. 28. " Ali Jahman . . . rode far ahead gossiping about his experiences on
a recent tax collecting expedition to the south-eastern districts along the frontier
of Oman. ... I was interested to hear from him that Ibn Sa'ud's influence is
felt to-day in all the Dhahira country, as they call the tract westward of the
Oman Massif, including, of course, Buraimi, a Wahhabi centre of long standing,
and apparently even Ibri. These tax collecting expeditions scarcely perhaps di
more than pay the expenses involved in equipping and sending them out, but
they do tend to spread the gospel of Wahhabi peace and Arabian unity. Slowly
but surelv the ripples of stable government broaden outwards from the centre
and the Manasir may be counted to-day as subjects of Ibn Saud, who asks little
of them but the acceptance of his sovereignty and the maintenance of his-
peace. . . ."
{N.B. —The Manasir tribe are concentrated in the Abu Dhabi area, ranging from
Qatar to the Baraimi Oasis.)