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'File E9. Philby's Mission to Bin Sa'ud' [‎97r] (193/242)

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The record is made up of 1 file (121 folios). It was created in 13 Nov 1917-26 Jul 1918. 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. .

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Conlidential.
leu 88/C of 1918.
®)
Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. ,
Bahrein,
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
Dated. 29th May 1918 .
To. „ ^
ri. St. PHILBY Esquire, C.I.E; I.C.S.
E E J D.
MEMORANDUM .
I have the honour to enclose for your inform
ation, copies of three telegrams , Nos: 4589-90-91, which
I have received this day from The Chief Political Officer
at Bagdad. As requested by the Chief Political Officer
in his No,4591, lam writing to Bin Saud Direct on the
subject, in order to save time.
I have sent you out the telegrams referred to
in these three messages, and have been expecting a reply
each day, but I suppose there has been some delay in
finding exactly where you are. I was informed a few days
ago that you were to have left Riyadh on the 6th instant
for Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Dauasir and I passed on the information to C.P.O
Bagdad. If it is not inconvenient, Ishould much obliged
if you would let me know of your movements, as it makes
it easier to find you when I happen to have anything of
importance to communicate to you from Basrah or Bagdad.
I would also immediately pass on the information tothe
places named.
I hope you have been receiving all the Reuters
telegrams and other Communiques that have been sent out
to you relating to the mesopotamian campaign, such as the
capture of Kifri and Kerkuk, by our troops.
The following is from the "Pioneer" of the
17th instant and will no doubt interest you. "Mesopotamia
Communique. Our mounted troops have pursued the Turks
beyond KIRKUK, and on the 11th May the enemy were driven

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Content

This file contains correspondence between British officials at Bahrain, Bushire, Baghdad and Kuwait, and Harry St John Philby, as well as ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Suwaylim, Amir of al-Qaṭīf. The file concerns Philby and Robert Edward John Hamilton's 1917/1918 mission to ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Sa‘ūd) at Riyadh.

The object of Philby and Hamilton's mission was to discuss Ibn Sa‘ūd's relations with Sharīf Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī of Mecca, Ibn Rashīd of Ḥā’il and the Āl Ṣabāḥ family of Kuwait. The file contains correspondence between the Captain Percy Gordon Loch, 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. at Bahrain, and Philby detailing the arrangements and progress of the trip to Najd and onward journey to Taif (for example. folio 7, 9-17. 39-49, 60-63), including a report on his first impressions of Ibn Sa‘ūd (folios 23-28) and details of an interview with Aḥmad Thāniyān (folios 30-32). There is also a memorandum by F Cunliffe Owens, deputed as a military expert on the mission, concerning military possibilities in Najd (folios 53-55).

In 1918, there is correspondence concerning Philby's meeting with Ibn Sa‘ūd in Hasa (al-Aḥsā’) (folios 76-78) and his return to Najd (folios 80-84, 107-114 and 120). There are deails within the correspondence concerning Ibn Sa‘ūd's dispute with Sharīf Ḥusayn of Mecca at al-Khurmah, the Kuwait blockade and the progress of the Mesopotamian Campaign (folios 92-98). In addition, there are also correspondence concerning the retrievel of Philby's lost baggage and supplying him with tobacco and a copy of Charles Doughty's Arabia Deserta (folios 79 and 115).

Extent and format
1 file (121 folios)
Arrangement

This file is arranged approximately in chronological order.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: This file has an uncircled foliation number in the top right hand corner or the centre of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File E9. Philby's Mission to Bin Sa'ud' [‎97r] (193/242), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/38, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023548191.0x0000c2> [accessed 31 October 2024]

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