‘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’ [85v] (175/490)
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.
iftJBIYAT—
The tongue of broken highland which projects lo miles to the south
from Dala reaches its greatest elevation in the plateau of Ad Dubiyat at
its southern extremity. The plateau is irregular, about square miles
in extent. The greater part is bare, and stony or rocky. On the north
the ground is in the form of an amphitheatre draining to the west, and
containing a basin of fertile soil which is cultivated in terraced fields.
The southern part is more in the nature of a tableland with flat ledges,
partly of bare rock, partly of cultivated ground, a sort of shelf which
terminates on the south in abrupt precipices of sheer rock. The whole
plateau slopes gradually up to the culminating point at its eastern end,
the rocky hill on which stands the white shrine of Wali Hassan. Most
of the drainage goes west through the amphitheatre above described,
and down to the Selat Tuwana, but several deep ravines run down from
the southern edge of the plateau; the largest of these are, the Selat
Tolaba which drains south-east to the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Hardaba, and the Selat
Satab which drains south-west to the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Tuwana.
The village of Ad Dubiyat stands near the western edge of the plateau
just south of the cultivated basin above mentioned. It consists of about
25 large Mars’ and 30 or 40 less pretentious houses. In the centre is
the large house of the Mansab, Seyid Ali Radwan which is called ‘ Dar
al Afif,’ and another house called ‘ Dar al Mukadam ’.
The population numbers about 400 souls, and consists mainly of the
Seyids, the chief families of whom are those of the Mansab, Seyid Ali
Radwan, of Seyid Hassan, of Seyid Muhammad Mahadar and Sevid
Ahmad Mohsin.
Besides the Seyids are the Beni Majali, Beni Hashid, and Beni al
Anshali (to which last the Kadis belong).
The Seyids of Ad Dubiyat are of the Sufian family, and this settlement
is said to have been founded by the grandson of the Abu Sufian whose
tomb is at the village of As Sufian near Lahej. The village was first
built on the hill on which Wali Hassan now stands, and the remains may
still be traced. The tomb of the founder is on the south-east side of the
present village. It is much frequented by pilgrims. There are three
regularly appointed times of pilgrimage in the year, viz. t the 10th Muhar-
ram, 12th Rabi al Avval, and 17th Rajab.
The ‘ Ziarat ’ or visit of the pilgrims lasts two days, and the proceed
ings consist of a procession with candles and flags, reading of the Koran
in a big hall in the Mansab’s house, and feasting and eating of Kat.
The shrine of Wali Hassan stands on the highest point of the plateau,
a conical hill, a'mile east of the village, at an elevation of 5,884 feet. An
extensive view is obtained in all directions, and the white domed *Wali
is a conspicuous landmark to travellers from the south.
Wali Hassan is also a popular resort of pilgrims, but is not more than
about 25 years old. Seyid Hassan is credited with having performed
miracles, and his memory is much venerated. His tomb is in a small
wa lled enclosure, with two small tanks lined with cement; below it oa
the north side, a few paces down, is the tomb of his son, Ali Hassan.
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’ [85v] (175/490), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/59, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x0000b0> [accessed 5 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