Page 86 - Arabian Studies (II)

THE POWERS AND MINERAL
CONCESSIONS IN THE IDRfSI

IMAMATE OF ‘ASlR
1910-1929
by JOHN BALDRY

The article by John Baldry covers ground which may be unfamiliar even to
specialists in Arabian affairs. The Editors therefore thought that it would
perhaps be helpful to introduce it with a short geographical and historical note.

Geography
‘Asfr consists of two distinct regions, the plain of the Tihamah, some twenty
miles wide, and the mountains of the Sarat which rise to as much as 7000 feet,
occasionally even higher. The Arab Bureau Handbook of June 1916 said that
although there was disagreement about its actual area, ‘Asfr might be regarded as
running from LIth southwards along the coast for about 320 miles. Its greatest
breadth in the north was about 180 miles, although it was much narrower in the
south. The population, probably considerably overestimated, was given at
1,500,000. The area of the province was, however, much reduced later in 1916
when with British support Sharif Husayn of Mecca occupied al-Qunfidah.
The Farasan islands are the largest group on the eastern side of the Red Sea,
lying about 30 miles off Jfzan at 16'54N and 4l'43E. The longest island extends
for about 35 miles. It has water and there are a few fishing villages.
Sallf lies about 100 miles south of what has been mentioned above as being
the IdrTsi’s border in 1916 and was in fact occupied by him in 1921. The N.I.D.
Handbook of Western Arabia (1946) describes it as a pretty village with a
mosque, and reckons the salt deposits there at 3,000,000 tons.

History

Early in the nineteenth century ‘Aslr was split between the Sarat tribes which
accepted the doctrines of Shaykh Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab, and those of
the Tihamah which did not. Both, however, resisted the attempts at conquest
by Muhammad Ali, Pasha of Egypt, which continued right up to his withdrawal
from Arabia in 1840. His forces did succeed in occupying parts of the Tihamah,
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