IOR/R/15/1/473

The file contains correspondence between various British officials and correspondence directly between Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ (the ruler of Kuwait) and British officials. The correspondence discusses the Ottoman state's efforts to re-establish its authority in Kuwait and to convince Shaikh Mubārak to move away from the British. This correspondence includes details of the annual subsidy allocated to Mubārak by the Ottomans and reports that he was appointed to the Ottoman rank of Mir Miran (Pasha).

The file contains reports and correspondence regarding the rivalry and conflict between Shaikh Mubārak (and his tribal allies including the Al Saud) and the ruler of the Emirate of Jabal Shammar and head of the Rashidi tribal dynasty, Abdul Aziz Ibn Mitab [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin Mit‘ab]. This includes detailed reports of the Battle of Sarif that took place between the two sides on 17 March 1901.

The file also contains an account of the re-capture of Riyadh by Abdul Aziz ibn Abdulrahman ibn Faisal Al Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Saud)] in 1901.

The file contains a number of reports (in their original Arabic with English translations attached) concerning political affairs in Kuwait (and the conflict between Mubarak and the Amir of Nejd) that were written by Ali bin Ghulam Reza, a news agent in Kuwait employed by the British. Many of these reports are addressed (in Arabic) to Hajji Abbas bin Muhmmad bin Fadhil, a munshi employed by the British in Bahrain and it appears that he translated the reports into English.