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File 10/12 Tribal and desert information: Ikhwan raids; Motor Transport Concession, Kuwait/Basra; Ikhwan rebellion, 1927 [‎318r] (635/646)

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. .

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Telegram (P)
From
To
No*
Dated
<2
l
' )
/
Jr
#
Political, Kuwait* .
Resiuent, Bushire; repeatea to Baghdad*
266
»
31st December 1927*
The opinion in Kuwait regarding the present state of affairs
in the eesert is as jd follows:- Dawish is acting contrary te
the wishes of Ibn Sa’ud, who is Just as anxious for peace on
the border at the present time as we are ourselves* He is,
however, in a very difficult position, as he is hated in the
Hijaz, and has enemies in Najd even amongst his own family
(it is almost certain that his brother and nephew were at the
bottom of the plot to murder his son and * Abdullah bin Jilawi
last summer), and the Ikhwan tribes are the people whom he ha
to rely on most to keep him on his throne* Although he is
extremely annoyed with them, therefore, he will not dare t#
try and punish the Mutair - particularly in view of the fact
that in 1926 Faisal ad-Dawlsh, Ibn riumaid and Dhaldan al-
Hithlain bound themselves by oath mutually to support each
other in such a cas • On the other hand he will probably
restore his authority by persuasion and peaceful means, and
will then be in a position to keep the tribes quiet - at any
rate for some time* This is what people hope will happen
as anything would be preferable to the appalling chaos which
a revolution in Najd would entail, even if it did remove trie
ban on trade between Najd and Kuwait*
Meanwhile t e recent events and Dawish^ success In raiding
up to now are having an extremely bad effect on our prestige
inArabia (the Government of 'Iraq has none and is looked upon
as a negligible quantity altogether)* People argue
th -t our aircraft cannot harm the raiders or protect t. e
frontier* They do not understand our respect for treaties ana
frontiers: the reason why we do not retaliate and chastise
the Mutair by bombing them or their villages is that we cannot
or dare not do so. Ibn Sa'ud might possibly lodge a protest,
but in reality he would be very pleased, were we to taKe such

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 [‎318r] (635/646), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/38, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100035873424.0x000024> [accessed 11 June 2026]

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