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'Military report on the Aden Protectorate' [13v] (31/332)
The record is made up of 1 volume (164 folios). It was created in 1915. It was written in English. 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.
12
who had refused to render allegiance to the Turks at
to make his submission and to surrender his son as a hostage.
The latter was eventually released in consequence of re
monstrances made by the British Ambassador at Constanti
nople.
Amirl,
The district was originally ruled by Saiyids subject to the
Imam of San'a; but when his power was broken up the descen-
dants of certain Muwallads, or half-castes, who had been his
slaves, succeeded in evicting the Saiyids and established them
selves as independent rulers. Such, at least, is the popular
version of the origin of the Amirs of Dhala and the events are
supposed to have occurred about 1550 A. D.
By alliances or conquest their territory has been extended
to cover Kharafa, Jabal Harir, the valley of the Suhaibiya
as far south as Al-kafla, the hill of Adh-Dhubayyat, Sufyan
and Zobaid.
Friendly relations were established with the reigning Amir
soon after the British occupation of Aden, when he was granted
an annual stipend of fifty dollars. This was confirmed by
an agreement (No. LXVII) in October 1880 when the Amir
agreed to keep the roads open and to be answerable for out
rages committed by tribes subject to him.
In 1873 'Ali-bin-Muqbil, who had been recognised as Amir
by the British Government, was required by the Turks to make
his submission to the Porte and to send a hostage to Ta'izz.
A Turkish superintendent was sent to Dhala, a detachment
of Turkish troops quartered there, and finally the Amir was
imprisoned at Ka'taba. In January 1874 'Ali-bin-Muqbil
was released, but only to find his throne occupied by a rival
whose pretentions were supported by the Turks. It was not
till March 1878, when the Turks ceased to countenance his rival,
that he was again able to establish his authority, with the
loss, however, of several villages that had yielded allegiance
to the Porte.
In 1881 the Kotaibi commenced exacting dues on the Har-
daba route, and in July 1884 it was found necessary to support
the Amir. Fifty sabres of the Aden Troop with some sappers
were despatched, a few forts were destroyed, and the Kotaibi
quickly tendered their submission.
Meanwhile; Turkish encroachment and intrigue continued
with little interuption, and the Porte resisted or eluded all
About this item
- Content
Military report on Aden Protectorate by the General Staff India, dated 1915, and printed at the Government Monotype Press, Simla. The report's chapters cover:
History, including a general summary of the history the region from 529 A.D. to 1915; histories of the individual tribes ('Abdalī, 'Akrabī, 'Alawī, Amīr , 'Audalī, Upper Aulakī, Lower Aulakī, Fadhlī, Haushabi, Ka'atī, Kathīrī, Mahrī, Subaihī, Wahīdī, Upper Yafaī, Lower Yafaī); and the history of the Soqotra.
Geography, including a general description of the area, its mountains and rivers, and descriptions of Aden, Perim and Soqotra; and descriptions of the individual tribal areas, giving their boundaries, distances from towns and villages, and locations of fresh water; Climate and Health, including general information on the climate of the region and specific illnesses such as Malaria, information on the tribal area of Amīrī; tables showing average temperatures, sickness and death rates for European Soldiers in 1903, and observations on veterinary health.
Population, including a general description, the census for the Aden Protectorate taken in 1911, the population of Soqotra island, the populations of the various tribes, and statements showing the Subaīhī tribes in proximity to the Turkish border.
Resouces, including agriculture, supplies, commerce, industries, camels, horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep and goats, chickens and eggs, woods and trees; the resources of the Aden garrison; resources on the island of Perim; resources on the island of Soqotra; the resources of the various tribes, and a statement of the purchases made at Dhāla in summer 1903.
Military, including a general summary, armaments, fighting qualities and method of fighting; arrangements on the island of Perim and of the Soqotra people; approximate fighting strength of the principal tribes in the Aden protectorate; information concerning the town and Turkish frontier post at Ka'taba, including diagrams of the fort, a landscape sketch, and a sketch showing the position of Ka'taba with reference to Aden and British Territory.
Maritime, including the harbours and ancorages at Perim; Ras-ul-Ara; Bandar 'Imran; Bandar Fuqum; Khor Bīr Ahmad; Aden Harbour; Shuqra; Māqatīn-us-Saghīr; 'Irka' Ghubbat-ul-'Ain; Bālahāf; Bir 'Alī (Bandar Husn Ghurāb Shallow vessel with a projecting bow. ); Bandar Burūm; Mukalla; Shehr; Sharma Bay; Saihut; Qishn; Soqotra all with latitude and longitude co-ordinates given.
Administration, including a general summary of the various systems in use throughout the territory, the administration of the Aden Settlement, including Perim; and summaries of the administrative set-up of each of the Arab tribes
Communications, including details of the routes leading North and Northwest to the Turkish Frontier; Routes leading to the North; Routes in the Eastern portion of the protectorate; Amir of Dhāla's territory; Soqotra; Telegraphs and Signalling; Submarine cables; Wireless; Perim submarine cables
Appendix A is a list of the tribes, their rulers, stipends and salutes, Appendix B is a glossary of Arabic Terms, Appendix C is a list of tribal areas, their population and fighting force, and Appendix D is a bibliography.
At the rear of the volume is a pocket containing one map: Hunter's map of Arabia, which appears to have been added to the volume at a later date.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (164 folios)
- Arrangement
There is a detailed table of contents on folios 5-7, a comprehensive index to the report on folios 139-159, and a pocket containing the maps at the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence consists of pencil numbers, enclosed in a circle, located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. The sequence commences on the front cover, with number 1, and ends on the last of the two maps which are inserted at the back of the volume, with number 164.
The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence which uses roman numerals i-vii for the table of contents; commences at 1 on the first page of the report and concludes with 298 on the last page of the index.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/16/6
- Title
- 'Military report on the Aden Protectorate'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, back-i, 2r:115v, 117r:161v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence