‘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’ [80r] (164/490)
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.
1*5
DALA— Lat. Long. 44 0 43' E. Elevation, 4,900 feet. Gene-ai
The town of Dala with the residence of the Amir stands at the head
of an op^n high-lying valley which falls away gently to the north, drain
ing to the Selat Ixataba, and so to the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Tiban. This valley extends
about 10 miles from north to south and is on an average 3 miles in
width. Its central part is called
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
-as-Safiya. The chief tributaries
to the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
-as-Safiya are the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Insham and
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Ghosha draining
the lands between Dala and Kabar.
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Anama and
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Laf drain
ing the Ash Shiraf district.
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Rahban and
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Sirr from Dala past
Jalela. Tne
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Dahira and the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Haslab draining the northernmost
part of the Shairi country and the Muflahai district of Khalla. The
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Suhal draining the lands of Al Husen, Marfad, and Khobar. The
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Haza closely skirting the north-eastern foot of Jabal Jihaf. The greater
part of these are mere depressions without any marked watercourse. In
contrast to the rugged mountains which enclose it on all sides this
country has the appearance of a plain, but the surface is broken by
numerous rocky eminences, and broad “ habils " as the stony undulations
are called ; these are clothed with a scattered growth of thorn, cactus,
aloe, etc.
The intermediate depressions contain rich alluvial soil, and are nearly
all carefully cultivated. In some parts they are well wooded with the
common “ Ulb ”, (the “ Ber ” of India) as well as with a variety of acacias,
wild figs, etc. There are some low-lying parts (east of Jabal-as-Soda
and in the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Haza), which are wooded with tamarisk, and which
become very swampy after rain, and are incapable of cultivation. The
northern part of the Dala plateau, as this valley is commonly called, has
more the nature of a plain, than the southern, and there are wider
stretches of cultivable soil, but also of barren stony and sandy ground.
The numerous villages are solidly built of stone, and most are perched
on rocky eminences.
The best general view is obtained from the peak of Jabal Di Bet which
rises steeply a little to the east of Dala town.
To the west and north-west the view is limited by the precipitous sides
and rugged spurs of Jabal Jihaf. Of the numerous villages on that
mountain the only ones visible are those near its eastern foot; Al Haud,
and An Nukahi. A north-eastern spur of Jabal Jihaf with the twin
peaks of Adina and Ad Dubeli stands out boldly just to the north of
the Ash Shiraf villages (Di Hiran, Al W'ara, &c.) and hides from view
the Ahl Haj Said, Hazat al Abid, and Sanah districts.
Far beyond this spur is seen the jagged outline of Jabal Matrah, the
most westerly of the Mares Mountains, and the part of the Al Aud hills,
which is crossed by the Nakil Hadda pass, while in the far distance may
be seen the fine peak of Jabal Shakhab Amma, 10,800 feet high, like a
great dome with a pinnacle of sheer rock rising from its apex.
The mountain wall of Mares and Shaib extends across the northern
horizon till to the north-east it breaks into the lower ridge of Jabal
Awabil where is the only approach to the Shaibi country practicable
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’ [80r] (164/490), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/59, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x0000a5> [accessed 6 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