the Hejaz

HEJAZ, THE, part of the independent kingdom of the Nejd and the Hejaz, and formerly under the old Ottoman empire a vilayet, which extended from Ma'am and `Aqaba in the north to Hali Point on the Red sea coast on the south, and had its head quarters under a Wall at Mecca. The northern part of this terri tory is now included in Transjordan, the present northern boun dart' running east from the Gulf of `Aqaba in approximately 29° 35' N. as far as the 38° E. An indeterminate frontier with the Yemen forms its southern boundary. It is about Boo miles long and forms a narrow strip varying in depth from about ioo to 200 miles broad. The frontiers are indeterminate but the area probably does not exceed 15o,000 sq.m. The population is under a million, some estimates giving the figure as low as 800,000. The Anajority of the inhabitants are Beduin, but the Holy Places of Mecca (70,000), the birthplace of the Prophet, Medina (15,000), the tomb of the Prophet, and Jidda (2 5,000) the port of Mecca, form considerable urban areas, greatly swollen by the annual influx of pilgrims, whose presence, much interrupted by the troublous events of the World War and post-war years, formed one of the most important parts of the commercial activities of the Hejaz. Medina produces dates, and Taif and the mountain oases fruit and honey; otherwise the products of the Hejaz are limited to such desert commodities as camels, horses, sheep and donkeys, and hides and wool.

Geography.

The Hejaz is divided into two zones, a coastal and an inland, by a range of mountains whose highest peaks probably reach 7,00o feet. Along the coastal strip there are a few settlements where the wadis (stony valleys) run from the hills on to the coastal plains, the most important of these wadis being the Wadi Hamd, which has three main sources, a northern, a central, on which Kheibar stands, and a southern, which supplies Medina. The valley of Medina can also be approached from the coast, either from Yenbo or Jidda by the Wadi es Safra. The wadis though liable to heavy floods are not permanent water sup plies, but in places permanent springs are to be found, accom panied by the luxuriant vegetation of palm groves. Along the desolate coast of the Red sea there are a series of ports, of which Jidda, the port for Mecca, and Yenbo' (for Medina), are the most important. The others include Muwaila, Wejh, Rabigh, Lith and Qunfida. Wejh was formerly of importance as a port for Egyptian pilgrims, while in Roman times it was a post and the port of the Nabatean town of El Hajr.

The inland region consists of a series of basins, mostly with internal drainage, but in one or two cases, through the wadis Mentioned above, the valleys communicate with the coastal region. Over this barren mountain country runs the old pilgrim way and the track of the Hejaz railway. North of Tebuk there is a large arid sandstone plateau, much eroded and carved into fantastic forms, whence it has been suggested the sands of the interior are derived, while along the western boundary of the Nejd plateau stretches the desolate volcanic lava bed of the Harrat. There are few settlements, apart from the oasis of Tebuk, and Al `Ela (Egra of Ptolemy). The southern Hejaz is more fortunate in its water supplies. The city of Medina lies in the broad plain between the coastal range and the Nejd plateau. Here at an altitude of 2,50o feet there is an abundance of water, and dates, wheat and barley flourish. There is also a string of small settlements down to the port of Yenbo' along the Wadi es Safra. Mecca (q.v.) the chief town of the Hejaz lies to the south, about 48 m. from Jidda. From the hot lowland in which Mecca is situated the country rises up steeply to the Taif plateau, which owing to its altitude, about 6,000 ft., possesses a climate closely resembling the southern part of Arabia. On the northern edge of the plateau lies Jabal al Kura, a fertile well watered region, producing grain and fruit as well as dates. Taif itself lies in a sandy plain, surrounded by low mountains.

History.

The Hejaz, together with the other provinces of Arabia, which on the overthrow of the Baghdad Caliphate in 1258, by the Mongol invaders, had fallen under Egyptian domin ation, became, after the conquest of Egypt by the Turks in 1517, a dependency of the Ottoman empire. Although the title Caliph passed to Constantinople, the Government remained for the most part in the hands of the Sharifs of Mecca, until, in the religious upheavals at the beginning of the 19th century, the holy cities were pillaged by Wahhabis. The sultan accordingly entrusted to Mohammed Ali, viceroy of Egypt, the task of restor ing peace. Eventually in 18 r 7 the Wahhabis were defeated but not destroyed and their capital Deraiya, in Nejd, was taken by Ibrahim Pasha. Egypt continued to administer the Hejaz until 1845, when the administration, under a wali was taken over by Constantinople directly. Owing to bad communications however it was difficult to control these distant and unruly parts of the Otto man dominions and in 19oo Abdul Hamid decided to build a rail way which should both improve communications and also avoid the Suez canal route. The first part of the line from Damascus to Ma`an was opened in 1904 and four years later the last section, terminating at Medina, was finished, and the Turkish control of the whole region considerably strengthened. It was however in this year (1908) that Husain ibn `Ali was appointed Amir of Mecca, and this ambitious man at once began to oppose the Turkish plans, particularly in regard to the further extension of the railway to Mecca itself. The outbreak of the World War gave him further opportunities to satisfy his aspirations. So long as the railway was in the hands of the Turks, who had proclaimed a Jihad, the sea route to the east was exposed to attack; Great Britain therefore negotiated with Husain, Jidda was bombarded by British ships and that town and Mecca, and later Taif were taken from the Turks. Medina however held out and was de fended by Fakhri Pasha till Jan. 1919, when he surrendered on receiving explicit orders from Constantinople. Meanwhile Col. T. E. Lawrence and Husain's third son, Amir Feisul, organized a brilliant guerrilla warfare against the railway and the northern positions of the Turks. Yenbo, Wejh and `Aqaba (1917) fell and after the capture of Ma`an, Shaubak and Hejaz they reached a northern frontier which was kept until 1925. Husain assumed the title of king in 1916. He was represented by the Amir Feisul at the Peace Conference in Paris in 1919, and the Hejaz was admitted as an original member of the League of Nations, but eventually he refused to ratify the Peace Treaties. In the summer of 1921 Lawrence visited Jidda on behalf of the British Government to negotiate a treaty with King Husain, but as the latter would not accept the de facto position in Palestine nego tiations broke down.

Meanwhile other factors were clouding the horizon. During the War Husain's reign had been mild, but he gradually became more and more autocratic and alienated the sympathies both of his neighbours and of his own people. He had undertaken, by the terms of the Peace Treaties to maintain the annual pilgrimage but his administration of the arrangements for the reception of the pilgrims was very unsatisfactory. Government departments were corrupt, even the army was not properly cared for and the Air Force which had been organized lapsed more than once until revived once more by his successor. On the other hand his trans port fleet and system of wireless communication were satisfactory and proved of value. It was under such conditions that the Hashi mite dynasty faced its new perils. Early in 1919 King Husain's relations with Ibn Saud became strained owing to a dispute over Khurma oasis. His forces were defeated by the Wahhabis at Turaba and in 1922 Ibn Saud occupied Khaibar and Taima. Meanwhile negotiations with the British Government were kept alive by Dr. Naji al Asil, the Hashimite representative in London and were not finally abandoned till the outbreak of war between Nejd and Hejaz in 1924. King Husain, however, refused until it was too late to send a representative to the conference summoned by the British Government at Kuwait, but at the beginning of 1924 visited Transjordan where he assumed the title of Khalifa and returned to Mecca to attempt to obtain recognition of his new position by the Muslim world. This brought matters to a head and Ibn Saud declared war on the Hejaz. Taif fell without any resistance and Husain abdicated in favour of his son 'Ali. The latter evacuated Mecca and attempted to raise an army. Jidda was organized for defence. Ibn Saud occupied Mecca in Dec. 1924 and at the beginning of the year attacked Jidda without any success. The siege was temporarily raised in June. In the meantime however considerable success attended his arms, the ports fell one by one, and at the beginning of December Medina, and shortly afterwards Wejh surrendered. The end was not far off. King Ali abdicated a fortnight later. Jidda and Yenbo' surrendered and Ihn Saud was master of the Hejaz. He was crowned king at Mecca in Jan. 1926. Certain changes have takers place in the actual political boundaries. Asir, the coastal strip south of Hali Point, was in a difficult position between her two powerful neighbours, Ibn Sa'ud and the Imam of the Yeman. In Oct. 1926 the former was definitely recognized as para mount sovereign. The annexation on the other hand by the British Government, in July 1925, of the 'Aqaba-Ma'am region to the Palestine mandated territory deprived the Hejaz of terri tory won during the war. In this region alone is the Hejaz rail way, which made this land so important during the World War, in working order. The southern section was put out of order during the Wahhabi siege of Medina and has never been repaired. In May 1927 a treaty was signed between Great Britain and Ibn Saud at Jidda. Great Britain agreed to recognize Ibn Sa'ud's in dependence. He therefore occupies a dominant position in Arabia from his headquarters at Riyadh, holding the crown of Nejd and of the Hejaz. In Jan. 1928 the old currency was superseded by a silver currency of Riyals (I o = L I) . (For bibliography see