IOR/R/15/2/73-95

The Political files of the Political Agency, Bahrain for this period deal with important political developments in the Persian Gulf affecting Bahrain itself and wider British interests in the region.

The principal topic covered in the papers is relations between Bin Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], also referred to Ibn Saud (Sultan of Najd, later King of Hejaz and Najd) and neighbouring states, particularly in terms of the activities of the Akhwan [Ikhwān], a Wahhabi religious militia that carried out raids on other tribes along the border between Najd and Iraq, Kuwait, and Trans-Jordan. The papers cover diplomatic contacts between the British and Bin Saud, British measures to defend Kuwait against the Akhwan (1927-28), and Bin Saud's own conflicts with the Akhwan (1929-30).

Other topics include: papers concerning members of the ruling family of Bahrain (IOR/R/15/2/73 and IOR/R/5/2/83); the Ruler of Qatar (IOR/R/15/2/79); the activities of the Arabian Mission, Bahrain (IOR/R/15/2/81); honours and rewards (IOR/R/15/2/82); Persian claims to Bahrain (IOR/R/15/2/84-85); conflict between Najdis and Persians in Bahrain (IOR/R/15/2/86); the expulsion of the Dowasir [Dawāsir] from Bahrain (IOR/R/15/2/87); relations between Sunnis and Shiahs in Bahrain (IOR/R/15/2/88); a précis of documentary sources for Britain's assumption of jurisdiction over foreigners in Bahrain (IOR/R/15/2/93); and the activities of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in the Persian Gulf (IOR/R/15/2/94). The physical, political, and economic oppression of Shiahs in Bahrain and elsewhere on religious grounds is a theme that occurs widely in the papers.