IOR/L/PS/12/2061-2170

The Political (External) Collection 6: Arabia sub-series concerns British policy across the Arabian Peninsula. It largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, specifically between the Foreign Office and British representatives based in various protectorates, mandated territories, and independent states in the Arabian Peninsula (namely Saudi Arabia, the Aden Protectorate, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Palestine and Transjordan). Interdepartmental correspondence (mostly comprising the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the Government of India but also including the Colonial Office, the War Office, the Air Ministry, and the Admiralty) also features prominently.

The majority of the sub-series relates to British policy regarding the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (Saudi Arabia from 1932 onwards). In addition, a significant amount of the files and volumes relate to British policy regarding the Yemen and Syria respectively.

Also discussed are Britain's relations with the following western countries, in the context of competing strategic and economic interests in certain Arab states: France (Syria), the United States (Saudi Arabia), and Fascist Italy (Saudi Arabia and the Yemen).

Prominent themes and subjects in the files include the following:

• Anglo-Hejazi/Saudi relations.
• Hejazi/Saudi relations with neighbouring states, including Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Transjordan and the Yemen.
• The Akhwan rebellion of 1929/1930.
• The Saudi-Yemeni War of 1934.
• Saudi Arabia's relations with other states beyond the Middle East besides Britain, including Italy, the Soviet Union, Poland, the United States, and Japan.
• British relations with the Imam of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn], particularly regarding the boundaries of the Aden Protectorate.
• Outstanding Anglo-Saudi disputes regarding Saudi Arabia's territorial waters, the Saudi-Transjordan frontier, and the boundaries of south and south-eastern Saudi Arabia.
• The capabilities of Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] as a leader, and the future of Saudi Arabia in the event of his death.
• The Hejazi/Saudi Government's finances.
• The discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia and subsequent oil concessions.
• The French Mandate in Syria and Lebanon (subjects covered include the status of the Sanjak of Alexandretta and British policy towards Syria following the defeat of France in 1940).
• The Pan-Arab movement during the 1930s and 1940s.
• Steps taken by the British to combat anti-British propaganda in the Middle East and beyond.
• Diplomatic representation in Saudi Arabia for the newly-formed governments of India and Pakistan.

In addition to correspondence a significant number of the files and volumes contain reports, treaties, maps, photographs, and in the case of one particular file (IOR/L/PS/12/2106), specimens of ore. One file (IOR/L/PS/12/2160B) consists almost entirely of an Admiralty Naval Intelligence report on the Arabian Peninsula, and contains appended maps, plans and photographs relating to Arabian Peninsula ports.

Whilst the date range reflects the dates of the earliest and latest material in the sub-series, the majority of the sub-series dates from the mid-1920s to the late 1940s.

There is no catalogue description for IOR/L/PS/12/2063, on account of the fact that the file has been missing for some time. There is also no catalogue description for IOR/L/PS/12/2075, which is now housed at the National Archives. Finally, a file with the former external reference of Coll 6/27, entitled 'Pilgrimage: black list system of control of Mutawwifs engaged in Indian pilgrimage' is not present.