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File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [‎55r] (109/646)

The record is made up of 1 file (321 folios). It was created in 7 Jan 1925-31 Dec 1927. It was written in English and Arabic. 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.

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f™'? “
r
h;,
50 yards wide, running from west
to east; its toed is of soft sand
and the ground iaiaediately to thi
north of it is also rather dtif£±i
difficult.lt cannot toe avoided
without making a very long
detour. At 20t> miles the track
crosses a dry watercourse, 50
yards wide, with toad approaches.
It is possible, however, for
motor traffic to avoid this and
the four subsequent watercourses
mentioned below, all of which
run from west to east, by making
one detour of li mile to the *
west, and keeping, to the higher
ground parallel to the road for
the next three miles. The four
watercourses thus avoided are:
one 55 yards wide at 2 o|- miles,
one 5o yards wide at 2 $k miles,
one 20 yards at wide at 3 oJ milei
and one 7 yards wide at 3 tf mtk
miles. After avoiding this last
a car should Join the road again
?or the next six miles the road
is very stony except for two
narrow sandy belts. At miles
it enters a plain half a mile
across with a hard mud surface
which would be difficult for *
motor traffic after rain, but
could then be avoided by a
detour to either side.At 38
miles the top of the main HamZr'J
range is crossed. At miles^
a dry watercourse 6 yards wide
running from east to west, and
at 42£ miles one 14 yards wide
running in a south-westerly
direction are crossed. At 43$
miles the road begins to drop,
and Cars should leave it at this
point, and for the next mile
♦ Qe ?u to the hi & h0r ground
LUl tc > th ® W0 at of it to avoid
three sandy watercourses which
cross the road from west to east:
one io yards wide at 44 ^* miles
one quite **** narrow a £ £j| e8 '
and one 3 yards wide at 44 ? miles
£ain 9 1 o?rth 0f th ^ -houW
again join the road. At 461- miles
wa.f 1 ? 7 wat * roour «e running from
wfth wl ea8t,,4 *** wid.
with bad approaches, has to be
^nnfnf ; , a ^ at ^i milea. one
running in the sane direction 4 o
yards wide with huaaocky &7mSoaoh
os. Pron 473 nilesthere uTtl
bei^ y .t r ° P t0 3afwa «. ^he ground
below lnn eXQe £ whei,e “tted
t At 4i> - miles a
,0 yard8 "td® running
from west to east is crossed Tn
orossea^four 66 ? t Uea the t^ok
wx^stot,a four celts of soft hum
aocky ground each -? mile broad”At
5'f “lies a double dry sandy

About this item

Content

This file contains correspondence related to the British Government's relationship with Ibn Sa'ud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].

The correspondence primarily relates to raids that were made into Iraq and Kuwait by Ikhwan forces and associated acts of livestock plunder and killing. As such, the file contains two reports regarding these raids that were submitted to the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Kuwait by the Senior Staff Officer of the Akhwan Defence, a British force that had been established to counter the threat of Ikhwan raids into Iraq and monitor their movements (folios 40-47 and 84-130).

The file also contains correspondence that relates to discussions concerning the construction of a paved road (for the use of motor vehicles) between Southern Iraq and Kuwait. A copy of a concession for its construction that was granted to Sayyid Hamid bin Rajab al-Naqib by the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, is contained in Arabic (folios 67-69) and English (folios 72-75). In this context, the file contains descriptions written by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Kuwait, Major James Carmichael More, of a number of different routes between Southern Iraq and Kuwait at the time. These descriptions are as follows:

  • Jafrah to Safwan (in English, folios 49-53 and Arabic, folios 59-62);
  • Kuwait to Basrah via Basrah and then direct to Safwan (folios 54-57);
  • Jahrah to Zubair (folios 137-146).

Towards the end of the file, the correspondence in the file discusses reports of the tensions between the Ikhwan and Ibn Sa'ud and the beginning of the Ikhwan revolt.

As well as correspondence between British officials, correspondence between Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. More and the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah (in Arabic with English translations) appears throughout the file.

Extent and format
1 file (321 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

An index of topics discussed is contained at the rear of the file (on folios 322-323); the folios used in this index relate to an earlier incomplete foliation system that is in uncircled pencil 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.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 323; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-323; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [‎55r] (109/646), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/38, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035873421.0x00006e> [accessed 10 July 2026]

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