RESUMÉFor a generation "Aitchison XI" lay on the desks of the Arabia specialists in the Foreign Office, London - doubtless alongside Lorimer´s Gazetteer and the Persian Gulf Historical Summaries. Thus it must be counted among the small number of standard reference works on the history of the Persian Gulf. The attractions and value of Aitchison´s work are several. The original documents cited go beyond the formal treaties drawn up by the British Government, and include numerous undertakings made by local Rulers, many being translated from the Arabic. Aitchison prefaces each section with an historical essay on events, causes and inter-relationships which the subsequent treaties and undertakings reflect.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The attractions and value of Aitchison´s work are several. The original documents cited go beyond the formal treaties drawn up by the British Government, and include numerous undertakings made by local Rulers, many being translated from the Arabic. Aitchison prefaces each section with a historical essay on the events, causes and interrelationships which the subsequent treaties and undertakings reflect. "Aitchison" as a work of reference has the further great merit of being concise as well as useful. The earliest agreement cited is one with the Imam of Muscat in 1798 for the Exclusion of the French... The latest agreements include the Treaty of Jeddah 1927 between Britain and Ibn Saud and the prolongation of the Muscat Commercial Treaty in 1929.
CONTENTS OUTLINE
Material relating to the Arabian Gulf and Peninsula extracted from C. U. Aitchison: A collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads Relating to India and Neighbouring Countries. Revised and continued up to the end of 1930 under the authority of the Government of India. Delhi 1933. Present edition published 1987; (350pp. 1 volume). Later sections in the original volume on Baluchistan and the Indian North West Frontier Province are omitted and the index has been amended accordingly. Part I Treaties and Engagements relating to Aden and the South-Western Coast of Arabia including the Abdali; the Fadhli; the Alawi; Sultanate of Mukalla; Soqotra and Qishn; Yemen; the Idrisi. Part II Treaties and Engagements relating to the Arab Principalities in the Persian Gulf including the Wahhabis and Nejd; Bahrain; Trucial Shaikhs of Oman; Kuwait. Part III Treaties and Engagements relating to Oman (Muscat).
