Articles From Our Experts

The East India Company, the problem of “piracy”, and the rise of the first Saudi state

Faced with the rise of a new power on land and an increase in attacks at sea, the British response at the start of the nineteenth century would lead to a new era of political and military intervention.

The East India Company, the problem of “piracy”, and the rise of the first Saudi state

Emir Faisal’s Diplomatic Mission and Britain’s Reluctance to Invest in Saudi Oil in 1932

Ibn Saud’s quest for recognition of his Arabian Kingdom, and how British Government officials turned their backs on the largest reserves of crude oil in the world.

Emir Faisal’s Diplomatic Mission and Britain’s Reluctance to Invest in Saudi Oil in 1932

Just a Line in the Sand? The Making of an Arabian Border, 1925

Beyond Sykes and Picot, the India Office Records reveal the complex historical and political junctures that shaped the map of today's Middle East.

Just a Line in the Sand? The Making of an Arabian Border, 1925

St John Philby’s Mission to Najd: Across the Heart of Arabia

In November 1917, St John Philby was sent from Basra on a mission to cross the desert and meet with Ibn Sa‘ud. It was an expedition that changed his life.

St John Philby’s Mission to Najd: Across the Heart of Arabia

Thesiger’s Clothes: Empire and Exploration in the Arabian Peninsula

Over several centuries, the close relationship between individual explorers of the Arabian Peninsula and the British Empire was made clear in often unpublished journals and accounts held in the India Office Records.

Thesiger’s Clothes: Empire and Exploration in the Arabian Peninsula