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Coll 6/16 'Future of: Royal Family. Probable happenings on the death of Ibn Saud.' [‎218r] (436/440)

The record is made up of 1 file (218 folios). It was created in 30 Sep 1931-7 Oct 1949. 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

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14-
a tern y«ars ago in the winter of 1929-30* it waa the refueal
of the Shaitt* at our request* to allow Bin Bawl eh and his
fellow dissidents to base themselves on Kuwait* or get supplies
from it* that enabled Bin Baud to orush the rebellion*
Arhbla a primitive and pastoral country is littls more
than a gigantic desert (paragraphs 1*3)* and its most note
worthy phenomenon* the aftaasu or raid* internal and external*
may well be partly caused by economic necessity (paragraphs 4-6}*
Bln Saints position appears at present for various reasons far
from strong!paragraph 7)* and in any case the real test of his
work will come when he disappears from the scene (paragraph 6}*
That his control over Arabia must one day cease is of course
obvious* and this aety possibly occur before his death (para
graph 9)# then he finally disappears fssoBXjtdwsettQca»( para
graph 10} Arabia will probably dissolve in chaos and the
t&habls will lose Hedje* (paragraph 12}* while there will be
a prolonged series of raids on Palestine* Trans-Jordan and
•Iraq#(paragraph 13), against which it may be practicable to
resuscitate the Hhammar confederacy under the Ibn Rashids of
Hall (paragraph 14}* It is not likely that the Imperial
Airways Route will be interfered with* but the protect lean of
the projected * Iraq-Mediterranean pipe-line and railway may
cause some anxiety (paragraph 15}* The Indian Government may
be called upon to assist in the defence of 'Iraq (paragraph
16} # and more particularly of Kuwait (paragraph 18), but
along the rest of the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. they will
probably not be involved in any new commitments (paragraph
tf}t
Sd/- T*C*F.
September 1931*
t

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Content

This file relates to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the future of Arabia in the event of his death.

The file largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, which have been forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India. Also included are copies of correspondence addressed to the 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. and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle, succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior).

The correspondence begins with the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. 's response to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India's remark that British influence in the Middle East seems largely to depend on the life of one man: Ibn Saud.

Related matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • The effect that Ibn Saud's death, or fall from power, might have on Kuwait.
  • The designation of Amir Saud [Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd] as Ibn Saud's heir apparent in 1933.
  • Rumours of tense relations between Amir Saud and his brother Feisal [Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud].
  • Arab public opinion on Ibn Saud, following the Saudi-Yemeni war.
  • Reports of Ibn Saud and Amir Saud having been attacked by would-be assassins in Mecca in 1935.
  • Amir Saud's visit to India for medical treatment in 1940.
  • Reports of the arrest of ninety persons suspected of being involved in a plot to assassinate Ibn Saud in 1940.

Other prominent correspondents include the following: 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. , Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, succeeded by Gerald Simpson de Gaury); 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. , Bahrain (Hugh Weightman); the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan; Sir Reader William Bullard; Hugh Stonehewer Bird); His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Jedda (Albert Spencer Calvert); officials of the 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. , the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.

In addition to correspondence the file includes the following:

The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (218 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 219; 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. An external leather cover wraps around the documents and the front inside of this cover has been foliated as folio 1. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 2-218 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 6/16 'Future of: Royal Family. Probable happenings on the death of Ibn Saud.' [‎218r] (436/440), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2082, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038375481.0x000025> [accessed 24 June 2026]

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