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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [261r] (526/898)
The record is made up of 1 volume (445 folios). It was created in 13 Mar 1924-18 Mar 1931. It was written in English. 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.
4.
HML£2£HE ent ^ theJ>roperty of His Britannic Majesty’s Governm^f ]
EASTERN. ( ARABIA ' l J ,
! 2587
1 o r
[July 26 1926.]
Section 1.
No. 1.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 4434/367/91]
Vice-Consul Jordan to Sir Austen Chamberlain.—{Received July 26.)
(No. 83. Secret.)
Sir 7
; I HAVE the honour to forward herewith my report on^he’/tultion^n^the
Hejaz during the period the 1st to the 30th June, 1926
„. 2 - Copies of this report are being sent to Egypt, Jerusalem (2), Bagdad, Aden
Simla, Beirut (for Damascus), Khartum (through Port Sudan) and Singapore. ’
I have, &c,
S. R. JORDAN.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Reports on Events in the Hejaz for the Period, June 1-30, 1926
(Secret.)
period under report, on account of the pilgrimage and Moslem
Conierence m Mecca, has been unusually interesting.
-p P|te r i ina g e . has passed off without any serious incidents as was at first
eaied, with the exception of the attack on the Mahmal, and it is calculated that
there were not less than 100,000 persons at Arafat on the 20th June last, the first
day of the Haj .
3. Of this number approximately 58,000 came from overseas, and the
remainder was made up of Hejazis and Nejdis. Despite the efforts of Ibn Saud
to prevent any great number of his people from making the pilgrimage this year the
whole of Arafat was covered with them and their camels, and it is estimated that
at least 35,000 to 40,000 persons from Nejd territory were present.
4. The pilgrimage to date has been declared clean, and no cases of cholera or
plague have been notified to the Hejaz Health Ministry. Dysentery, malaria, and
eye and throat affections were prevalent owing to the glare and dust. ’
5. I have received many complaints from pilgrims that they were not allowed
to perform their religious duties freely and also on account of the destruction of the
tombs in and around Mecca.
6. At first pilgrims were not allowed to enter the cemetery where these tombs
were situated, but eventually after representations were made to the Sultan by the
Indian Pilgrimage Officer and many influential pilgrims the cemetery was opened for
several hours daily, but Wahabi police were in attendance to prevent any departure
from the puritanical Wahabi beliefs.
7. It appears that most of the tombs have been razed to the ground and the
component parts of the edifice scattered abroad, except in the case of the tomb of
Khadijah, the Prophet’s wife, where, although the tomb has been destroyed, the tiles
and marbles forming part of the edifice have been preserved and stacked on one side.
8. It is confidently rumoured that a fetva has been issued authorising the
destruction or demolition of the dome over the Prophet’s tomb in Medina, and that
Ibn Saud is awaiting the departure of the pilgrims before he proceeds with this
further act of vandalism.
9. A great number of pilgrims were beaten by the police for smoking and
other slight irregularities of the Wahabi creed, but what, perhaps, caused the
greatest indignation amongst the orthodox Moslems was the fact that on several
occasions the Haram was cleared of pilgrims making the “Tawaf,” i.e., the
circumambulating of the Kaaba seven times, in order that the Sultan’s women and
other members of his family, his father included, could perform this duty in comfort.
Such procedure has, I believe, never taken place since the time of the Prophet, and
caused great indignation.
10. Further, when Ibn Saud approached the Kaaba to kiss the “ Black Stone,”
it was first carefully wiped over with a scented rag. This also, though undoubtedly
hygienic, was considered a sacrilege.
[1339 cc—1]
About this item
- Content
The volume mostly contains printed copies of despatches from HM Agent and Consul, Jeddah, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, enclosing reports on the situation in the Hejaz (also spelled Hedjaz in the file) [now a region of Saudi Arabia], from January 1924 to December 1930, and related enclosures to the reports. These despatches were sent to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The volume also includes 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. Political and Secret Department minute papers, which include comments on the reports, and indicate that the reports had been seen by the Under-Secretary of State for India and the Political Committee of the Council of India.
The reports are monthly for January to August 1924, May 1925, September 1925 to March 1927, June 1927 to June 1930, and December 1930. Reports between these dates cover shorter periods, except July and August 1930, which are both covered by one report, and September, October and November 1930, which are also covered by one report.
The reports discuss matters including the actions of King Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi of the Hejaz, including his attempts to gain recognition as Caliph, and the military and financial situation in the Hejaz during the war between the Hejaz and the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd [Najd]. They report on events of the Hedjaz-Nejd war including: the capture of Taif (September 1924) and Mecca (October 1924) by Nejd; the departure of the ex-King Hussein from Jeddah; the fall of Medina and Jeddah and the surrender of the Hejaz to Sultan Abdul Aziz of Nejd [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also known as Ibn Saud] (December 1925); and the formal assumption of the title of King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies by Ibn Saud (8 January 1925).
The reports following the annexation of the Hejaz by Nejd cover internal affairs, including prohibitions introduced for religious reasons, the Hejaz Railway, the financial situation of the Hejaz-Nejd Government, and the Hejaz Air Force. They also report on foreign relations, including: the publication of an agreement, dated 21 October 1926, between Ibn Saud and Sayyid Hassan-el-Idrisi, establishing the suzerainty of Ibn Saud over Asir; relations between Ibn Saud and Imam Yahya of the Yemen; the situation on the frontiers between Nejd and Iraq, and Nejd and Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan ; and the Treaty of Jeddah between Hejaz-Nejd and Great Britain (20 May 1927). They also report Ibn Saud being proclaimed King of the Hejaz, Nejd and its Dependencies (4 April 1927).
In addition, other frequently occurring topics in the reports are: the Pilgrimage [Hajj], including the arrival of pilgrims in the Hejaz, from India, Java and elsewhere, arrangements for the pilgrimage, the welfare of pilgrims, and the repatriation of pilgrims; and the slave trade and slavery in the Hejaz, including the manumission and repatriation of slaves.
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (445 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 1707 (Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)) consists of one volume only.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 447; 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 additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-444; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1115
- Title
- File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:88v, 90r:104v, 106r:108v, 110r:124v, 126r:128v, 129v:132v, 133v, 134v:137v, 139r:145r, 146r:161v, 162v:180v, 183r:205v, 206v:267r, 269r:271v, 273r:288v, 291r:308v, 309v, 310v, 311v, 312v, 313v, 314v, 315v, 316v, 317v:321r, 324r:335r, 337r:378v, 379v:381v, 383v:389v, 391r:393v, 395v:397v, 399r:400r, 402r:446v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence