Treaty of Darin

The Treaty of Darin, or the Darin Pact, of 1915 was between Britain and Abdul-Aziz Al Saud (sometimes called Ibn Saud) ruler of Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, who would go on to found the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

The Darin Pact signatories
Percy Cox on behalf of Britain
Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, ‘Ibn Saud’

Signing

The Treaty was signed at Darin, on the island of Tarut[1] on 26 December 1915 by Abdul-Aziz and Sir Percy Cox on behalf of the British Government.[2]

Terms

The Treaty made the lands of the House of Saud a British protectorate and attempted to define its boundaries.[3][4] The British aim of the treaty was to guarantee the sovereignty of Kuwait, Qatar and the Trucial States.[5] Abdul-Aziz agreed not to attack British protectorates, but gave no undertaking that he would not attack the Sharif of Mecca[6]

Also, he agreed to enter World War I in the Middle East against the Ottoman Empire as an ally of Britain.[2]

Significance

The Treaty was the first to give international recognition to the fledgling Saudi state. Also, for the first time in Nejdi history the concept of negotiated borders had been introduced.[5] Additionally, the British aim was to secure its Persian Gulf protectorates, but the treaty had the unintended consequence of legitimising Saudi control in the adjacent areas.[5] The Treaty was superseded by the Treaty of Jeddah (1927).

References
  1. Abdul-Razzak, S. (1997). International Boundaries of Saudi Arabia. p. 32. ISBN 978-8172000004.
  2. Abdullah I of Jordan; Philip Perceval Graves (1950). Memoirs. p. 186.
  3. Wilkinson, John C. (1993). Arabia's Frontiers: the Story of Britain's Boundary Drawing in the Desert. pp. 133–139.
  4. Dahlan, Malik (2018). The Hijaz: The First Islamic State. Oxford University Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-19-093501-6.
  5. Chaudhry, Kiren Aziz (1997). The Price of Wealth: Economics and Institutions in the Middle East. p. 53. ISBN 978-0801484308.
  6. Al-Naqeeb, Khaldoun Hasan (1991). Society and State in the Gulf and Arab Peninsula: A Different Perspective. p. 69. ISBN 978-0415041621.
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