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'File 61/11 V (D 95) Hejaz - Nejd, Miscellaneous' [231r] (478/530)
The record is made up of 1 volume (261 folios). It was created in 12 May 1932-28 Dec 1933. It was written in English and French. 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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC jtafjESTY S GOVERNMENT
EASTEEN (A rabia)
CONFIDENTIAL.
[B 6329/759/25]
§!pr mmmHsy , uct0 ^ er 1933 '
A#*
Hu
,»■»*> —
n |6P^.7Iai ^oom
S ection 1.
Mr. Calvert to Sir John Simon.—{Received October 23.)
(No. 305.)
Sir, Jedda, October 3, 1933.
WITH reference to my despatch No. 295 of the 19th September last,,
regarding the strained rel atio ns at present existing between Saudi Arabia and
the Yemen, I have the honour to inform you that, as reported in my telegrams
Nos. 173 and 176 of the 25th and 29th September respectively. Sheikh
Abdullah Suleiman described the general situation as unchanged.
2. The exchange of telegrams which for some time encouraged the hope that
an amicable settlement would be the ultimate issue of present differences, has
unfortunately been interrupted, and no further correspondence has taken place,
if the Minister of Finance is to be believed, since the Imam Yahya's unsatisfactory
reply, to which I referred in my despatch No. 290 of the 12th September. In
consequence, Saudi preparations for a settlement by force of arms are being
energetically pushed forward, and the Minister of Finance himself is actively
engaged in the despatch of men and material to the south. His statement that
Amir Feisal-bin-Saud had been appointed commander-in-chief, with his head
quarters at Abha, I have already reported, and to this he added, in reply to my
question, that if later developments made it necessary Amir Saud would himself
supersede his cousin in the command. Indeed, I learn from a source usually fairly
well-informed, that Amir Saud has already left Riyadh in the direction of Asir,.
but has not unfurled his standard as such a proceeding would be tantamount to
a declaration of war. The same source, although unaware of the appointment of
Amir Feisal-bin-Saud, mentioned that three important personages, viz.,
Ibn Jiluwi, Feisal-bin-Lawey and the Amir Muhammad, brother of the King, had
all been given a command in Asir.
3. There are many minor indications of widespread activity. A number of
tribal leaders recently arrived in Jedda by Khedivial mail steamer from Yanbu
for Asir, and recruiting in those northern littoral districts is reported to be active.
Ibn Saud, it is further stated, has pressed into service and drafted to Najran all
available camels in Nejd, including even those belonging to the Royal family.
4. During Sheikh Abdullah Suleiman's call on me on the 29th September, I
took the opportunity to enquire concerning the report, which had appeared in the
Egyptian press, and which was stated to have emanated from Aden, that a clash
had recently occurred at Salla (a place I have been unable to identify, unless it
be Senta) in the Tihamat Asir between Saudi and Yemeni forces. He professed
to know of no such happening and said the report was probably due to an incident,
now more than six weeks old, when a force of some 300 Saudi soldiers was.
employed to exact taxes from a small but recalcitrant tribe inhabiting a village,
whose name he had forgotten, immediately south of Jizan. The tribe had been
brought to order and its tribal chiefs were now in prison at Jizan.
5. He then volunteered the information that fighting was still going on in
Najran between the tribes and the Zeidi forces, and that as the former had been
reinforced by certain tribal elements from the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Dawasir, they were now
getting the upper hand. The Imamic forces were withdrawing, not rapidly it was.
true, as to abandon Najran would be to admit defeat, but the district was being,
steadily cleared At my remark that the Dawasir tribe is related by blood ties to ;
the Beni Yam of Nairan, Sheikh Abdullah Suleiman stated that the Yam (as he
called them), really consisted of elements of Yam proper, Dawasir and Mirri, a.
congerie inhabiting a fairly wide area. . . .. ^ ^ *
6. His last reference to this subject was to reiterate his personal belief, to
which as vou are aware he has previously given utterance, that Ibn Saud would
allow events to take their course until he was militarily ready to enforce upon
the Imam his demands Sheikh Abdullah Suleiman added that he was also of the
opinion that, war or no war, Ibn Saud would maintain his army m Asir m
[935 z—1]
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to the Hejaz and Najd. Much of the correspondence is from the British Legation in Jeddah, with regular reports on the situation in that region sent to Sir John Simon, the Foreign Secretary in London. The rest of the correspondence is mostly between the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Bushire, the Political Agencies in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Muscat, the Colonial Office, and the Government of India.
The main subjects of the volume are:
- the change in name from 'The Kingdom of the Hejaz-Nejd and its Dependencies' to 'The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia';
- the announcement of Ibn Sa'ud's eldest son, Prince Sa'ud, as the heir apparent to the throne;
- the territorial dispute between Yemen and Saudi Arabia after the latter's absorption of the 'Asir region into its kingdom.
A copy of the 23 September 1932 issue of the newspaper Umm al-Qura is contained in the volume (folios 57-58). It features the Royal Order proclaiming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Other miscellaneous subjects covered in the volume include:
- relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia;
- a dispute between Ibn Sa'ud and his agent in Bahrain, al-Quasaibi [‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Qusaibi], over a debt the former owes the latter;
- a revolt against Ibn Sa'ud by tribes loyal to ex-King Hussein coming from Sinai;
- a request for a loan made by Ibn Sa'ud to the British Government;
- relations between the Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia;
- relations between the USA and Saudi Arabia, including the visit of a Mr Gallant looking for oil concessions;
- concessions for the building of the railway between Mecca and Jeddah;
- the prospect of Saudi Arabia joining the League of Nations;
- the case of two slave girls seeking refuge at the British Legation in Jeddah.
Other documents of note contained in the volume are:
- a copy of a new customs tariff for Saudi Arabia (folios 122-134)
- a 'Who's Who' of Saudi Arabia, produced by the British Legation in Jeddah and covering all those deemed important to know by the British (folios 183-200);
- an envelope containing the torn-out pages of an article in the International Affairs journal (Vol. 12, No. 4, Jul., 1933, pp 518-534) entitled 'Ibn Sa'ud and the Future of Arabia.'
At the back of the volume (folios 245-251) are internal office notes.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (261 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arrranged chronologically.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio and continues to the inside back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, circled and 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. Note that following f 1 are folios 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D. The sequence then continues as normal from folio 2. There are two other foliation systems present but both are inconsistent and neither are circled.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/568
- Title
- 'File 61/11 V (D 95) Hejaz - Nejd, Miscellaneous'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:1v, 1ar:1ev, 8v:11v, 15r:43v, 45v:56v, 59r:64r, 69v:118v, 120v:127v, 128v:133v, 134v:149v, 151v:161v, 162v:164v, 166r:166v, 168r:171v, 172v:174v, 175v:179v, 181r:201r, 202v:212v, 222r:225r, 226r:243v, 244v:256v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence