Rare Saudi Documents Reveal Century of State Building, Governance Records on Display at Ab
Archival exhibition showcases governance records spanning Ottoman decline to modern Saudi state formation
DUBAI: Peter Harrington, the London-based rare-book dealer, will present a collection of historical documents tracing Saudi Arabia’s political, administrative and territorial development at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair from September 13 to 18.
The materials span more than a century of governance and state formation, beginning with Ottoman administrative records and extending through the consolidation of the modern Saudi state. The selection covers foundational texts on state formation, royal genealogy, regional administration, and the physical mapping of territory as the Kingdom underwent rapid modernization.
Among the earliest items is a detailed regional report compiled in 1910 by Turkish officer Huseyin Husnu. The text documents the recapture of Riyadh by Ibn Saud in 1902, the event that marked the transition from Ottoman decline to Saudi ascendancy in central Arabia. According to the dealer’s notes, the document serves as a fundamental source for understanding Wahhabism’s lived context and regional influence during this pivotal period. Husnu’s account is valued not only for his direct participation in the military and political events he describes, but also for his attention to how geography, climate, and social conditions shaped belief systems and daily life in Najd. Modern scholarship recognizes the text as enduring testimony to the historical foundations of Saudi power in central Arabia.
By contrast, the 1935 collection titled “Field Notes on Saudi Arabia” shifts the lens from Ottoman observation to British administrative intelligence. Produced by Britain’s Air Ministry, the body responsible for the nation’s military operations in the region, the compilation draws largely from material supplied by embedded UK intelligence agents, including Gerald de Gaury, identified as a Special Service Officer and trusted ally of Ibn Sa’ud. The dealer describes it as “the most important contemporary source on Ibn Saud’s newly consolidated kingdom.” Its opening chapter traces regional history from Turkish occupation through the Treaty of Taif. Subsequent sections examine systems of central and local government, Wahhabi law, the Mejlis al-Tujjar merchant assembly, and fiscal policy. A third section addresses population estimates for nomadic and settled communities by region, tribal characteristics and relations, religious differences, and the effects of migration patterns.
The 1956 “Photo map of the city of Jeddah” presents an aerial view commissioned by US geology specialist Glen F. Brown, who was hired by Ibn Saud in 1945 to conduct geological investigations seeking water, oil, and mineral deposits. The photograph captures Jeddah’s urban development less than a decade after the demolition of the old city walls in 1947 and the beginning of the oil boom in 1950. The aerial survey was conducted by Philadelphia-based Aero Services Corporation. Brown’s cartographic and photographic work formed the basis for the most detailed maps of Saudi Arabia produced up to that time.
A photographic archive documents Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s two-week visit to the region in 1979, and includes the official printed program originally issued for internal circulation only. The visit, the first to the Gulf by a female head of state, encompassed Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Oman. The archive contains images of the British Airways Concorde landing in Bahrain, the welcome delegation led by Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and the Saudi royal reception by King Khalid, Prince Fahd, and Prince Abdullah, alongside documentation of the party’s composition and travel arrangements.
The 1968 “Genealogy of the House of Saud” by historian Muhammad Amin al-Tamimi is described as a “monumental and visually striking” document tracing the family from its earliest recorded ancestor, Mani’ Al-Muraydi of the Mrudah clan, through the rulers of the first, second, and third Saudi states. Al-Tamimi’s color-coded tree divides the genealogy into 31 branches and identifies male and female family members, those who died childless, accident victims, university graduates, crown princes, martyrs, and office holders. Al-Tamimi, who worked as a government official in Jeddah in the 1920s before spending years in the Egyptian archives in Cairo, based the pedigree on what the dealer’s notes describe as “probably the earliest detailed examination of archival sources on the Saud royal family,” seeking to identify and corroborate names and information across even the most distant family connections. Whether comparable archival projects have since built on his methodology remains an open question for scholars of the region.
Q&A
What Ottoman-era document is featured in the collection and what historical event does it document?
An 1910 regional report compiled by Turkish officer Huseyin Husnu documents the recapture of Riyadh by Ibn Saud in 1902, marking the transition from Ottoman decline to Saudi ascendancy in central Arabia.
What British government body produced the 1935 Field Notes on Saudi Arabia and what administrative systems does it examine?
Britain's Air Ministry produced the compilation, which examines systems of central and local government, Wahhabi law, the Mejlis al-Tujjar merchant assembly, fiscal policy, and population and tribal characteristics by region.
Who commissioned the 1956 aerial photograph of Jeddah and what geological work did he conduct for the Saudi state?
US geology specialist Glen F. Brown, hired by Ibn Saud in 1945, conducted geological investigations seeking water, oil, and mineral deposits, and his cartographic and photographic work formed the basis for the most detailed maps of Saudi Arabia produced at that time.
What does the 1968 genealogy by Muhammad Amin al-Tamimi document and what was his professional background?
Al-Tamimi's genealogy traces the House of Saud from its earliest recorded ancestor through the rulers of the first, second, and third Saudi states, using color-coded branches to identify family members and their roles. Al-Tamimi worked as a government official in Jeddah in the 1920s before spending years examining Egyptian archives in Cairo.