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Coll 6/16 'Future of: Royal Family. Probable happenings on the death of Ibn Saud.' [‎209r] (418/440)

The record is made up of 1 file (218 folios). It was created in 30 Sep 1931-7 Oct 1949. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

Transcription

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Arabian scene is of course far from being academic* He is
now 55 years old, and must one day die a natural death*
Or he may di e an unnatural death any day * he has many
enemies, or as he gets older his grip may loosen, or he may
fall from power prematurely# Recent despatches from Sir
Andrew Ryan, who of course knows more about him than anybody
else, indicate that his position is far ffom secure* ( ride
£.0-0
Jeddah despatch Ho * 34© of 19 th August 1931 to His Majesty’s
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs). Briefly
he is trying to ride two horses, or shall we say two camels ?,
at once, and is losing control of both. He is not Wahabi
enough for-the Wahabis, and yet too Wahabi for the Hedjaai,
He has risen to power by the support of a primitive,
fanatical and warlike sect, whose principal aim in life
' • '
is to loot and kill tha unbeliever, i.e*any non-Wahabi,but
is for various reasons - see para 7 above for instance -
losing their support, while he has entirely failed - see
para 12 below - to gain the allegiance of his non-Wahabi
subjects. The financial condition of his kingdom, vide
for instance Jeddah despatch Ho.253 of 1st July 1931 to His
Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
is parlous in the extreme. In fact peace in Arabia may not
even depend upon the pressure of Bin Baud* Should his
control on the Hedjaa and over Hejd, the one acting on the
other, weaken appreciably, should in fact his position
become desperate, there is always one course which he could
adopt, and which would at any rate rally the Wahabi elements
behind hims to raise his war-standard, and on some pretext
or other, sweep down at the head of & host of the Faithful
on ’Iraq, Syria or Palestine. This contingency is, of course,
unlikely, but* not perhaps beyond the bounds of ail
possibility# In fact during the critical times of Februaiy
and March 1928, when some of his tribes broke loose from his
territory and raided ’Iraq, it seemed possible for a brief
Period ... : J

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Content

This file relates to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the future of Arabia in the event of his death.

The file largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, which have been forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India. Also included are copies of correspondence addressed to the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle, succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior).

The correspondence begins with the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. 's response to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India's remark that British influence in the Middle East seems largely to depend on the life of one man: Ibn Saud.

Related matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • The effect that Ibn Saud's death, or fall from power, might have on Kuwait.
  • The designation of Amir Saud [Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd] as Ibn Saud's heir apparent in 1933.
  • Rumours of tense relations between Amir Saud and his brother Feisal [Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud].
  • Arab public opinion on Ibn Saud, following the Saudi-Yemeni war.
  • Reports of Ibn Saud and Amir Saud having been attacked by would-be assassins in Mecca in 1935.
  • Amir Saud's visit to India for medical treatment in 1940.
  • Reports of the arrest of ninety persons suspected of being involved in a plot to assassinate Ibn Saud in 1940.

Other prominent correspondents include the following: the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, succeeded by Gerald Simpson de Gaury); the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain (Hugh Weightman); the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan; Sir Reader William Bullard; Hugh Stonehewer Bird); His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Jedda (Albert Spencer Calvert); officials of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.

In addition to correspondence the file includes the following:

The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (218 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 219; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An external leather cover wraps around the documents and the front inside of this cover has been foliated as folio 1. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 2-218 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 6/16 'Future of: Royal Family. Probable happenings on the death of Ibn Saud.' [‎209r] (418/440), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2082, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038375481.0x000013> [accessed 7 April 2025]

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