IOR/R/15/1/476

This file contains correspondence between various British officials in the Gulf region regarding political affairs in Kuwait. It also contains copies of correspondence between Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ, the Ruler of Kuwait and Abdul Aziz ibn Abdulrahman ibn Faisal Al Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Saud)] as well as correspondence between Shaikh Mubārak and British officials.

The correspondence in the file primarily concerns Ibn Saud and Shaikh Mubārak's conflict and rivalry with 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]. The correspondence contains detailed information regarding hostilities that took place between the two sides including an account of Ibn Saud's attack on Hussein Jerad (an ally of the Rashidis) written by Ibn Saud himself in a letter to Shaikh Mubārak (ff 178-179). The Ottoman Empire's response to these events is also discussed in detail.

The file contains a printed memorandum compiled by the British Embassy in Kuwait that provides a history of the Ibn Saoud [Ibn Saud] Emirs of Riad [Riyadh] and the Ibn Reshid [Rashid] Emirs of Jebel Shammar and outlines developments in the conflict between them until 1904. The memorandum also contains genealogical tables of the Emirs of both sides and a chronology of key events between 1765 and 1902.

The file also contains a number of reports (in their original Arabic with English translations attached) concerning political affairs in Kuwait that were written by a news agent in Kuwait employed by the British.

The file also contains correspondence regarding relations between Britain and Kuwait and Shaikh Mubārak's desire to be awarded some form of rank or title by the British Government (ff 45-47).