THE FIRST SA'UDI STATE IN ARABIA (’tfITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ITS ADMINISTRATIVE, MILITARY AND ECONOMIC FEATURES) IN THE LIGHT OF UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS FROM ARABIC AND EUROPEAN SOURCES. A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS BY Sc_ MUHAMMAD 3.M.EL-SHAAFY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. MAT, 1967. À This dissertation has never been submitted, to this or any other University I PREFACE. The aim of this work is to examine in detail the administrative system of the first Sa'udi state, its financial and military organization, in an attempt to fill a gap in the history of Arabia in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. These topics are treated here for the first time, because much of what has been written on the first Sa'udi state has concentrated on recording historical events without having regard to the above-mentioned topics. This could be attributed to the lack of original material from both Arabic and European sources. Concerning the first, the author of the Memorial states that the most important papers in the possession of the house of Sa'ud were destroyed or strewn about, either purposely or through neglect. X"' \ In addition to this, the data which,was)recorded during that time dealt only with the military victory. Although I have travelled to London, Oxford, Paris and Sa'udi Arabia for the purpose of seeking material, my efforts were not very successful and sometimes disappointing, as for example iny journey to Paris where I discovered no additional materials beyond the documents dealing with Arabia written by Rousseau, Corancez, Raymond and later published. The new materials now available are still insufficient for the above subjects, while there are" many materials dealing with foreign relations. So it has been deemed advisable to divide it into two main categories, internal and external affairs; there is much more material available for the latter than for the former, and it is not possible to II fill out the rather scanty material for the first section. In addition to this, some of the important new materials are produced here as appendices which consist of the following documents : The first deal with the doctrine, revenue and the army of the Sa'udi state The second gives a general account of commerce in Arabia. The third describes the Arab tribes inhabiting Arabia in 1813, giving the number of fighters in every tribe. These documents are of special importance because they treat neglected subjects of Sa’udi history.' The fourth appendix is composed of several maps which subdivide into: (a) the first group gives some idea of the extent of the Sa’udi raids every ten years. / (b) the second shows the territories held within every ten ÿears too. (o) the third reveals how the first Sa'udi state collapsed. A word may be said here about the continual problem of transliteration. Many of the Arabic proper names (especially of tribes, villages, etc.) are unwritten and it is not possible to spell them with / any certainty. Where possible, for the sake of consistency, the transliterations of the Royal Ideographical Society are followed. For names not found in the Society's lists I have consulted the 2nd edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam. Where this lacks the name in question I have relied upon the pattern (morphemic) as a general guide. I should like to express my sincere gratitude to Rr. B.S.J.Isserlin, under whose inspiring guidance I undertook this research and for his constant encouragement. I owe Dr. J.Macdonald a great debt i n for his invaluable suggestions and for his invaluable assistance in the arrangement of the material. I wish also th thank Dr» M.J.L.Young for helpful advice. Especial thanks go to .the University of Riyadh for providing me with a scholarship which has made it possible for me to pursue this research, as well as the Sa'udi Arabian Cultural Bureau in Paris. Furthermore, I should like to thank the library staff of the University of Leeds, the directors and staffs of the Public Record Office, India Office, British Museum, the library of Meccan Haram, Archives / du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères and the Bodleian library in Oxford for their co-operation. In addition, I should like to thank Mr.A.Hourani of St.Antony's college Oxford for his invaluable suggestions and criticism. Reproduction of Manuscripts has been made with the permission of the British Museum, the Public Record Office and the India Office. Muhammad S.M.El-Shaafy. May, 19&7 V ABBREVIATIONS. (in addition to abbreviations internationally used the following are used throughout this work. For details in each case see Bibliography.) c. Cavalry. C.A. Central Arabia (see Paigrave) E.I. Encyclopaedia of Islam. F.O. Foreign Office. H.A. Handbook of Arabia. I. Infantry. Islamic So. Islamic Society and the West. 0 *P Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. J »R.G.S. Journal of the Royal ideographical Society. M. Matchlocks. M.T. Maria Theresa. N.B.W. Notes on the Bedouins and the Wahabys. R. Riyals. S.A. Sa'udi Arabia. S.E.I. Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam. Memorial of the Government of Sa'udi Arabia. The Bulletin of School of Oriental and African Studies. Tr.A. Travel in Arabia. Trans. Translation. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page General Map .................... ............................ Abbreviations ..................................................... I INTRODUCTION.................... 1 a - The sources.............................................. 1 b. - The Sa*uni Dynasty and Wahhabism .................. 29 O c - The Arabian tribes which joined the Sa*udis ............. 35 PART ONE - INTERNAL AFFAIRS. IX The Sa'udi administration.................................... 73 1 ) Central government...... ................................ 73 2) Provincial administration ..... .................. 101 III The Sa'udi army ............... 113 A-(1 ) Military motives..... ................................. 114 (2) Military policies ...................................... 120 (3) Military strategies ................................... 122 B~(1) Levying of troops....... 126 (2) Numbers........ 128 ) Organizations ......................... ................. 138 (2 ) Defences .............. 149 (3) Equipment and arms .............. 151 D-(l ) Tactics.......... 154 (2) Methods of s i e g e ..... ................................. 161 (3 ) Methods of fortification ............................... 163 E- Treaties ............................................... 169 IV Economics of Arabia in the age of the Sa'udi State ........... 175 A-(1) The H e j a z ........ 175 (2) Nej d ........... 194 (3) al-Hasa................................................ 200 B- Financial organization ................................. 207 TABLE OF CONTENTS, contd. Page PART Tm - EXTERNAL AFFAIRS» V FOREIGN RELATIONS ........................................... 225 (1) The Hejaz ..................... 225 (2) Tihama of A s i r ................... ...................... 236 (3) O m a n ........ 240 - (4 ) I r a q ..... ................ .............................. 250 (5) S y r i a ............. 258 (6) Turko-Egypt.......... 262 (7) British.... ............... 276 CONCLUSION.................... 281 BIBLIOGRAPHY.................. ...................... ............. PART THREE - APPENDICES. 1) The Whahaubees, "by Harford............. ...................... 306 2) An extract from Report of the commerce of Arabia and Persia ... 317 3) An extract from al-Bassam's work ...... ............ 350 4) Maps .................................... .................... 413 - 1 1 -INTRODUCTION a - THE SOURCES The material set forth in this thesis is derived from both Arabic and ourc« * The treatment of the First Sa'udi State's administration, organization of the army and the economic features are, to our knowledge, studied here for the before in dealing with the above topics* To deal with the most important sources it is more convenient to divide these into the following categories 1 - Arabic sources 2 - European sources. .1 - Some of the Arabic whilst others have been published, but not #6 critical editions* Therefore the latter are considered with the manuscripts. Among: the latter are the works of ibn Ghannam and Ibn Bishr, which: are contemporary sources* a - Husain b.Ghannam was the first chronicler of the unity movement in Arabia. He became a student of Muhammad b.4Abd al-Wahhab and for this reason he devoted his work to (the) explaining (of) the principles of Muhammad b^Abd al-Wahhab's teachings. His work, entitled &awdat al-Afkar Wa'l Afham fi Mur tad Hal al-lmam..*, is in two volumes, (see Bibliography) p.a.^5 The first volume is divided into five chapters. The first - 2 - chapter explains the religious conditions of Najd, al-Hasa and. the neighbouring territories before Muhamma/| b .j&bd al-Wahhab. He says, "The majority of the people were daubed with dirt and were defiled by taint of corruption so that they were sunk deep in the abyss of Paganism." (p.5) Chapter 2 deals with the genealogy of Muhammad b.dAbd al-Wahhab, the beginning of his career and his arguments with the contemporary Shaikhs» Chapter 3 presents some texts containing a number of letters written to Rulers, Judges and Scholars, in an attempt to win their support. They mostly deal with religious matters. Chapter 4 id devoted to mentioning some answers on various issues which had been delivered to Muhammad b.6Abd al-Wahhab. Chapter 5 deals with the Shaikh*s commentary on various verses of the Qur'an. it is clear from the above review that the first volume deals almost