'Field notes: Mesopotamia. General Staff, India. February, 1917.' [‎8v] (23/350)

8
power of the garrisons and military or police posts, while life
and property were insecure even in the neighbourhood of Hofuf.
Under the Porte, the whole region of Hasa, known as the
Sanjaq of Najd, formed a division of the Basrah vilayat. The
capital was Hofuf, and the country was administered on the
usual Turkish system, though the government approximated
to the nature of a military occupation. Subsidies were paid
to the ’Ajman, Beni Hajar, Beni Khalid, and Ahl Murreh tribes,,
who provided carriers of the official mails, and rafik for their
escort. The garrison, chiefly concentrated at Hofuf and Qatlf.
consisted of 4 battalions of infantry and 2 squadrons of cavalry r
with one mule-battery, and a small auxiliary camel-corps
of Arabs. Id addition, there were 6 companies of Dhab'ituyahz,
4 of which were mounted. The revenue was chiefly obtained
from agriculture, more especially date-cultivation, a tax being
imposed on dates in Qatif, while in Hasa the Government took
a share of the corps. The amount thus obtained was estimated
at nearly £25,000; customs were farmed, and are said to have
yielded as much again. There were no public posts or tele
graphs.
Najd.
Najd was, during the early part of the 18th century, the
cenrtre of the extensive Wahabi empire, which extended from
Mecca to near Baghdad.
Originally ruled by one Amir residing at Riyadh it gradually
became split up by the intrusion of a Shammar prince from the
north, and, after various alterations of power, it has now become
resolved into two main zones of influence, i.e., that centering
round Hail to the north, and that centering round Riyadh to
the south. At Hail the ruling .power is the Shammar dynasty
of Ibn Rashid; at Riyadh the original Wahabi dynasty of
Bin Sa’ud is predominant.
Though, from the fact that they have at various periods
undertaken military movements into these regions, the Turks
profess to regard both the ruling Amirs as tributary to the
Ottoman authority at Basrah, there is no doubt that whatever
vestige of Turkish authority there may have been at any time
has now completely disappeared, and that both states enjoy an
altogether independent status.
The first appearance of the Turks was in 1818, when