![‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [‎19v] (43/490)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x0003b8/IOR_L_PS_20_59_0045.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [‎19v] (43/490)")
‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [19v] (43/490)
The record is made up of 1 volume (243 folios). It was created in 1905-1908. 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.
among them. The jliledi are mostly in the village of Sliawar. The
Atifi and Buremi have one or two villages each, with cultivation around,
but are mainly nomadic. The tribes on the west are generally much more
tractable than those on the east.
In ordinary intercourse, the Subehi tribesman is a far pleasanter
man to meet than the Dala or Haushabi yokel, although it is not wise to
place too much reliance on his good faith. The classes chiefly represented
in the Subehi country ate the tribesmen, the Sayids, who are very numerous
in the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Ma’din, and in small settlements to the west (in the Mudariba
valley, Turan, etc.). The majority of these are of the Sufian branch. They
are peaceable people and though many of them go armed, are not, at any
rate, aggressive.
The “ Hajri ” are also frequently met with, and are a very useful class
as messengers, guides, etc. The Hajri are said to have migrated from a
village of that name in the Hadramaut. They are of unmistakeable
African origin, and are migratory in their habits, travelling from place to
place, and working at harvest-time, collecting supplies for petty trading
transactions, etc.
The Subehi are dealt with in greater detail later on.
The Abdali.
The Abdali were the first tribe with whom we entered into relations.
Since the taking of Aden, and the early years of British occupation our
relations with the Abdali have been close and friendly. The tribe
numbers some 10,000 to 15,000 inhabitants, of whom about half inhabit the
capital, Al Hauta or Lahej. It would appear that even from the earliest
days, the Abdali have never had a warlike reputation. Instances have occur
red in their history, when they have bought off the attacks of the Aulaki and
other warlike tribes, and when the Sultan has been at war with his neigh
bours, he has depended very largely on the services of hired mercenaries,
from other, and more warlike, tribes. From their position on the main trade
route to the interior, and their proximity to Aden, the population is much
more mixed than that of the other tribes. The Abdali proper are divided
into some 60 clans, but even among these, the admixture of negro blood is
considerable. Representatives of the various races met with at a seaport
like Aden, may be found in Lahej, Sidis, Somalis Hajris, etc
.rt ' y e ; ga t ged * n , cultivatin k fertile tract enclos
ed by the two branches of the d iban, and from this district, Aden is
practmally supplied in grass, forage, vegetables, wood, etc. The Sultan,
Sir Ahmad Fadl, >^an intelligent man, in close relations with the Aden
esi ency. He is in many ways a go-between between the British
authorities and other less known tribes and is in possession of a arge
revenue derived from transit-dues on goods, payment from the Brkifh
esHmateTbt Hu r „t':Hn' I 88 t 6 P r, d ' ‘T 8 ° n etC ‘ ™ s ^nue was
esrimacea 05 nunter in 1000 as reaching an aggregate of -70 0™
1 he Sultan entertains a body of sfvahili fill Lv in
number who form Ins body guard. Lahej contains some large budding
o sundned brick the largest of which is the Sultan's palacfbut manv
of the people live in temporary huts of karbi. P C man y
The authority exercised by the Sultan of f ahei w u-
is much more absolute than that of the chiefs of any of theTribes
About this item
- Content
The volume, a military report compiled in the Intelligence Branch of the QMG’s [Quartermaster General’s] Department and published at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, is comprised of several sections, as follows:
- section I, a Military Report on the British Protectorate of Aden , prepared by Captain Ernest Arthur Frederick Redl (ff 10-52), and including chapters on: geography; ethnography, with details of the different tribes living in the Protectorate; climate and health; natural resources; harbours and anchorages; communications; fortresses; history; native inhabitants’ administration; the military organisation and strength of native inhabitants; and political relations. A handwritten note is included in the report (f 49), and concerns the entitlements of Protectorate Chiefs to salutes, and issue to them of arms and ammunition, 1906;
- section II, a Report on the Amir of Dala’s [Ad Dali’] Territories , prepared by Major J K Tod (ff 54-118), and including chapters on: geography; ethnography; climate and health; resources; communications; forts and fortified posts; history; administration, and military. Following the report is a gazetteer providing greater detail of the sixteen districts in Dala, including: topography; ruling families and allegiances; villages and population figures, including numbers of fighting men; water resources; agricultural and industrial activities;
- section III, Reports on Haushabi, Subehi and Yafa’i Tribes, Turkish and North Western Border Districts and the River Tiban , divided into chapters, all prepared by Captain Redl unless otherwise specified, on: 1) the Haushabi [al-Ḥawshabī] (ff 120-130), and including a handwritten note, dated December 1905 (f 122), noting that the Sultan of Haushabi has agreed to abide by an agreement of 1895; 2) the Subehi tribes near the Turkish border (ff 130-144); 3) the districts of Turkish Yemen adjoining the British boundary (ff 144-165); 4) Tribes of the north-west frontier Region of British India bordering Afghanistan. (ff 165-172); 5) a memorandum of the Yafa’i [Yāfi‘] tribe, prepared by Captain Gonville W Warneford (ff 172-183); 6) The Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Tiban (ff 184-185);
- section IV, Routes (ff 186-228), detailing numerous routes between key points in Aden province, noting: distances; stages; nature of the terrain and its suitability for different modes of transport; available resources en route; territories crossed. A (duplicated) confidential memorandum, written by Captain G A F Sanders of the Aden Brigade, dated 24 August 1905, containing additional information for stages 5 and 6 of route 5 has been added to the volume (ff 195-198);
- appendix I, a brief statement on inland trade between Aden and the Arabian mainland, 1903 (ff 229-230).
The volume is extensively illustrated throughout with fold-out maps, plans and illustrations, prepared by the Intelligence Branch (I.B.) and all of which describe the topography and terrain of the region. There are three maps included in a pocket at the end of the volume: a map of the Aden Protectorate (f 242); a view from the ruined village of Lakmat Magharam about one-and-a-half miles west of Sanah [Ṣanʻā'] (f 240); and a road sketch from Khalla through Awabil [‘Awābil] to the upper plateau of the Rubiatein [Ar Rubay‘atayn] tribe (f 241).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (243 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in four sections (numbered I-IV), with a single appendix. Sections I-III are arranged in numbered chapters while section IV is arranged in twenty-three numbered routes. The volume’s contents page (ff 6-8) lists the sections and their respective chapters/routes, with page numbers referring to the volume’s printed pagination system. A general index (ff 231-238) lists placenames referred to in the volume in alphabetically ascending order, also with page numbers referring to the volume’s printed pagination.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 243; 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.
Pagination: the file contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [19v] (43/490), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/59, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x00002c> [accessed 3 April 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/59
- Title
- ‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:11v, 13r:14v, 16r:28v, 30r:30v, 32r:35r, 36r:36v, 38r:56v, 58r:67r, 68r:69r, 70r:79r, 80r:85v, 87r:88r, 89r:89v, 91r:95v, 97r:98v, 100r:101r, 102r:105v, 107r:108r, 109r:113r, 114r:116v, 118r:120v, 122r:124v, 126r:126v, 128r:130v, 132r:132v, 134r:135r, 136r:136v, 138r:157v, 159r:161v, 163r:163v, 165r:165v, 167r:182v, 184r:188v, 190r:190v, 192r:239v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence