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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’ [‎74v] (153/490)

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

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109
The Amir claims to exercise jurisdiction oVer the Halmin and Aj’ud
pibes, but they pay no revenue, and are to a great extent independent,
only owing a sort of general allegiance to the Amir and being supposed
to join his standard in time of war.
In the case of the tribes who do not pay regular tribute, the Amir
Helf. exercises the right" of ‘ Helf.’ This word
which means literally ‘ Alliance' is used to
express the compulsory entertainment by people of one whom they
acknowledge as a chief and protector. The entertainment generally con
sists in housing the chief and his followers and providing a goat for every
ten men, and ‘ asid/ a thick porridge of flour, ghi, etc., for all.
J he chief civil and criminal administration is in the hands of the Amir
himself. When at Dala he holds court daily in his house, the “ Daral Haid. M
Offenders are brought before him and witnesses and others whose attend
ance is required are summoned by a crier from the top of his tower bv
name. Civil suits are brought before him for arbitration by contending
parties who are not however bound to submit to his decision/ If dissatis
fied they can claim to have the matter decided by Koranic law and take
the case before the Kadi (at Khobar) against whose decision they can
further refer to the Kadis at Jibla. In some cases the issue is at once
referred to Jibla. Either party refusing to accept the decision of the Jibla
court, would be punished by imprisonment. Arrests are effected by the
Amir s Asakir or armed retainers, and offenders are imprisoned in a
dungeon below the Dar al Haid. There is no code other than the Koranic:
law.
Arwa is a term signifying a formal appeal to the Amir for justice
or protection or the granting of a petition, emphasized by the slaying of
a bullock in his presence as an offering.
T. he office of Kadi is hereditary. The Kadis receive no regular
Kadis. stipend but are assigned fees from the losing
r s , e a cas e, and they receive occasional
presents from the Amir. The late Kadi of Al Khobar, Abd al Karim bin
Muhammad al Abdi was held in high esteem. He died in May 1902 and
m the minority of his son, the office is held by his brother, Abd ar Rahim
who does not however possess the same degree of influence. The other
Kadi of Dala is Abd Al Kawi who lives on Jabal Harir. He is in bad
odour for taking bribes.
Some tribes have their own Kadis ; Muhammad Khalid of As Salab is
Kadi of the Humedi, and one Abdalla Humadi is Kadi of the Seyids of Ad
Dubiyat. Their authority is however small, all important cases' bein<r
referred either to the Kadi of Al Khobar or to the court at Jibla. &
An institution of the Imam's which seems to have outlived all changes
Court of Appeal. is a high court of appeal for all Yemen. It is
,, fl , „ Et J lbla Ib . b > and is constituted by an
assembly of learned Kadis. Their decision is final in all cases. This is
recognised by the Arabs everywhere, and their udgments are executed bv
the Arair as well as by the Shekhs of Turkish Yemen. The head of this
court is Ai Kadi Abdal Wahab bin Ahmad al Musannif. Important cases
are often referred direct to this court F dSCS
The government of village communities is deputed to ‘Akils’ who
are responsible to the Amir or to their Shekhs for the maintenance of
order and the payment of dues. cc 01

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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
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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’ [‎74v] (153/490), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/59, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x00009a> [accessed 4 April 2025]

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