'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1359] (414/688)

NAJD
1359
and though forced to retire thence by a Turkish force, sent under Ahmad Faizi Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. to
co operate with the Amir of H. il, he returned in 1906, and has held that district to
tribute, and partially in direct subjection, ever since but not without frequent skir^
mishes with the forces of Jabal Shammar. In 1910 he had to meet both an mtemal and
an external danger. Certain graidsons of his late uncle, A ud, claiming the throne
the elder branch, tried to raise Kharj and Hariq. At the same time AMu^h, the son
of the Grand Sharif, appeared in Qas m, professing to champion rights of the Ata bah
violated by 'Abdul 'Aziz. The latter's younger brother, Sa ud his representative m
Oas m was made prisoner; but finding that the Amir of Hail, who had lately made
peace with'Abdul'Aziz, did not co-operate, 'Abdullah retired stipulating that the Qasim
towns contribute to the Meccan treasury a sum of £4,000 annually (the h^gertowns
had previously paid such ' Peter's pence 'voluntarily), and be free to elect their own
governors. 'Abdul 'Aziz assented to these terms. The southern rebels had no success,
Ld after being driven, from town to town, fled out of Najd For
'Abdul 'Az z inflicted heavy punishment on the Ataibah a year later, in violatio
his convention with the Sharif. Hard pressed for resources he had been coveting Hasa
which before 1871 pertained to his dynasty, and he had tried, without much success,
enlist the support of the Indian Government, seeking to revive an agreement which
had subsisted between his uncle, the Amir 'Abdullah, and ourselves m regard to Gulf
matters. The Balkan War and the internal dissensions of the Ibn Rashid house at last
offered him an opportunity, and the presence of rebel grandsons of Sa ud at Hofuf,
an excuse : and early in 1913 he descended on Hasa, captured the central oasis, and ten
days later, Qatif. He sent the Turkish governor and garrison down to Gjair, whence
they made their way into Al-Qatar. At the end of that year he had a conference with
two representatives of the Indian Government, and, after a show of negotiating, with
the Ottoman Power and aecepting the title- Wah of NaR 'he mv.ted a Bnteh agent
to his court, and declared for us and against Ibn Rashid, the ally of the Turks. The
latter advanced early in 1915 into Sadair, but retired after fighting a drawn battle at
Irtawiyah, near Zilfi, in the course of which our newly arrived agent Captain
Shakespear was unfortunately killed. In the early autumn the Grand Sharif,
who shelters the rebel grandsons of Sa'ud, again sent up 'Abdullah, with a considerable
force to mediate between the two Amirs and at the same time to enforce, the pact of
191o' especially its financial clause. A peace was patched up (it has not been very
faithfully observed), and the Sharif's son retired, leaving some soreness behind. _ The
present attitude of 'Abdul 'Aziz is opportunist He subscribes to the Arab Unionist
party, headed bv the Sharif, but disparages the latter and allows the Turks to procure
rarnels from his territory. At the same time he does his best to be on terms with the
Indian Government and has, lately, concluded a definite treaty with it, of the same
kind as those in force with the Gulf potentates. He keeps his grip on Hasa and
Qasim.
North-Eastern District.
Batn
A depression included in the desert of Hajarah and crossed on the
route from Najaf to Hail at about one-third of the distance from
Najaf. Batn has a length from north-west to south-east of
about 100 miles, one-third of which is to the west of the usual
Najaf-Hail route and the remainder to the east of it; the breadth
of Batn is about 3 hours and its slope is downwards to the
south-east. On the south Batn is bounded by a clay plain,
which gradually rises from it; and on the north by a remark
able rocky scarp, called Jal-al-Batn, about 140 feet high and
co-extensive in length, or nearly so, with the Batn itself.
Above the Jal, is a stony tableland stretching away to the north
without visible change of level. The track scales the Jal, ot
which the vertical face is to the Batn plain, by a difficult pass,
called merely 'Aqaba ; here camels frequently lose their foot
ing, and elsewhere the Jal is said to be generally impossible
of ascent even by men climbing. The surface of Batn at the