IOR/L/PS/20/E23

An official publication containing a translation of a text entitled ‘Description of Arabia made from Personal Observations and Information Collected on the Spot by Carsten Niebuhr’.

The original text by Niebuhr, in German, was published in Amsterdam and Utrecht in 1774. This translation was carried out by Major C W H Sealy, Second Assistant Resident in Aden, and was published by the Government Central Press in Bombay [Mumbai] in 1889.

At the start of the publication are a preface from the translator and a copy of a letter from William Lee-Warner, Secretary to the Government of India, to the Political Resident in Aden dated 21 June 1888, concerning the proposed translation of the text.

The main body of the text consists of:

• ‘Preface’. This contains an overview of the 1761-67 expedition to Arabia under the patronage of King Frederick V of Denmark-Norway with which Niebuhr travelled to Arabia, general advice on travel in Arabia, and comments on the contents of the text
• ‘First Part. Description of Arabia.’ This section contains: a geographic description of the Arabian Peninsula; notes on Arab society and religion; generalised descriptions of Arab ‘character’ and customs; notes on Arabic literature and science; and notes on minerals, flora and fauna
• ‘Second Part. Description of the Provinces of Arabia.’ This section contains a detailed description of the Zaidi Imamate of Yemen, covering subjects including geography, history, politics, administration, the military, industries, and currency. This is followed by notes on districts of the Imamate and other polities in ‘the country of Yemen’ (including some areas in the south of modern Saudi Arabia) and Hadthramut [Hadhramaut], covering subjects including geography, local rulers and politics, settlements and populations, agriculture, and trade. Chapters on Oman, the Persian Gulf, Al-Hasa, Nejd [Najd], the Hijaz, Bedouin tribes, and Sinai, as well as chapters on tidal and magnetic observations, are not included in this translation.

Footnotes from the translator are present throughout the publication.

The publication is part of the ‘Selections from the Records of the Government of Bombay’ series, and is numbered CCXXVI.