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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [414] (423/748)
The record is made up of 1 volume (371 folios). It was created in 1916. 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.
414
SETTLED TRIBES OF THE WEST
7. Ba
The Bal'aryan or ' Sons of nakedness ' have received their name
from the poor and savage conditions under which they live. Thev
appear to be mostly of African extraction and, save for a few
miserable villages, they are nomads. Their exact boundaries have
not been ascertained, but it is known that they have the Ghamid
on the north, the Bulqarn et-Tihamah on their east, the Beni Shihir
on their south, and the Zobeid on their west.
They are divided into four sections, the Bal'aryan, Beni 'Isa,
Beni Suleim, and Beni Suheim, and are said to number 6,000 men!
In normal times they quarrel amongst themselves, but unite when
danger from outside threatens.
They reckon all their neighbours as foes, but have been known
to help the Shamran against the Ghamid. The Beni 'Isa pay
a nominal allegiance to Idrisi, which means that they help him
in war if there is a prospect of loot, and in peace refuse to pay him
taxes. The other sub-tribes are completely independent and refuse
to recognize the authority of any one. There are many of these
tribesmen scattered all over the country as far as Muha'il and Birk,
plying the trade of butchers. Although respected for their bravery,
they are despised by all true Arabs for their mixed blood and
their lack of religion, which almost amounts to paganism.
Sub-tribes :—
Bal'aryan, 2,500 men, mostly nomad.
Beni Tsa, 1,200 men, mostly settled.
Bern Suleim, 2,000 men, mostly nomad.
Beni Suheim, 600 men, mostly nomad.
8. Bal
The Balasmar are a strong tribe, reported to number some 9,000
men, and situated due east of Muha'il, from which they are divided
by the Jleish. The adjoining tribes are the Beni Shihir on the
north, the Shahran on the east, the Balahmar on the south, and
the Reish on the west. They are said to be descended from the
Rijal el-Hajar, and are of the same stock as the Beni Shihir. They
dwell on the fertile slopes of the hills and up to the long ascent
known as the 'Aqabah Sajein to the top of the main ridge of Asir,
and are known accordingly as people of the mountains or people of
the Tihamah. Much coffee is grown on the hill terraces, and wheat
and other cereals round the villages.
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Arabia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: May, 1916) and contains geographical and political information of a general character concerning the Arabian Peninsula. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and War Office, from sources, including native information obtained for the purpose of compiling the volume, since the outbreak of the First World War. Separate chapters are devoted to each of the districts or provinces of the Arabian Peninsula and include information on the physical character, as well as social and political surveys.
The volume includes a note on official use, title page, and a 'Note' on the compilation of the volume. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following sections:
- Chapter 1: Physical Survey;
- Chapter 2: Social Survey;
- Chapter 3: The Bedouin Tribes: A. Northern Tribes, B. Tribes of the Central West, C. Tribes of the Central South, D. Tribes of the Central East, Supplement: Non-Bedouin Nomads;
- Chapter 4: Hejaz;
- Chapter 5: Asir;
- Chapter 6: Yemen;
- Chapter 7: Aden and Hadhramaut: A. Aden and the Interior, B. Hadhramaut;
- Chapter 8: Oman: A. The sultanate of Oman, B. Independent Oman;
- Chapter 9: The Gulf Coast: A. The Sultanate of Koweit [Kuwait], B. Hasa, C. Bahrain, D. El-Qatar, E. Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ;
- Chapter 10: Nejd;
- Chapter 11: Jebel Shammar;
- Chapter 12: The Northern Nefūd and Dahanah Belts;
- Chapter 13: Settled Tribes of the North-West;
- Chapter 14: Settled Tribes of the West;
- Chapter 15: Settled Tribes of the South;
- Chapter 16: Settled Tribes of the Centre;
- Appendix: Note of Topographical and Common Terms;
- Index;
- Plates.
The front of the volume includes a 'List of Maps' and a 'Note on the Spelling of Proper Names'. Maps contained in this volume are:
- Map 1: Arabia: Districts and Towns;
- Map 2: Orographical Features of Arabia;
- Map 3: Land Surface Features of Arabia;
- Map 4: Tribal Map of Arabia.
The volume also contains fifteen plates of photographs and sketches by Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Douglas Carruthers, Captain Gerard Leachman, Dr Julius Euting, George Wyman Bury, and Samuel Barrett Miles.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (371 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in chapters. There is a contents page, list of maps, alphabetical index, and list of plates.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the last of various maps which are inserted at the back of the volume, on number 371.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [414] (423/748), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E84/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037114037.0x000018> [accessed 3 January 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E84/1
- Title
- 'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:381, 384:726, ii-r:ii-v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence