Arabia Before the Oil Rush
Since the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the 1930s, Saudi Arabia has become the dominant economic and political power in the Middle East, with worldwide influence. It was not always like this.
Since the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the 1930s, Saudi Arabia has become the dominant economic and political power in the Middle East, with worldwide influence. It was not always like this.
In the nineteenth century the Arabian Peninsula was tribal based, and the population was largely nomadic. The Al Saud dynasty became the most important of the tribes by aligning itself with the Wahhabi movement giving it a religious authority beyond its tribal status. This enabled it to expand into the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, spreading alarm in the Ottoman Empire, and the century was characterised by a series of military clashes between the two powers, with changing fortunes.
Although the British were active in the Gulf, seeing it as part of the route to India, the interior of the Peninsula was little known to Europeans. Perhaps the best-known of the early European travellers was Richard Burton. Forbidden to non-Muslims, only a handful of Europeans were known to have made the hajj to the holy cities. Burton capitalized on his looks to pass himself off as an Afghan and performed the rites of the pilgrimage such as walking around the Kaaba – the great granite-walled cube regarded as the house of Allah and the holiest site in Islam. As well as its importance as a travel narrative, Burton’s Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El Medinah and Meccah (1855-56), is also a thrilling tale of adventure including escaping from bandits attacking the caravan and avoiding warring tribes. Our first edition set really looks the part in a sumptuous binding by Asprey, reputedly for a member of the Saudi royal family.
A few years after Burton, another larger-than-life British explorer, William Palgrave, ventured into Arabia. Also travelling in disguise, and suspected of being a spy, he was the first Westerner to cross Arabia from north-west to south-east and became the first European to reach Riyadh. His pioneering account greatly increased Western knowledge of the Peninsula, including small towns and villages, pearling, livestock management, and tribal hierarchies. His account, Narrative of a Year’s Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia (1862-63), published in 1865, inspired great European interest in Arabian culture and society. Our copy is in a neat half calf binding of the time and very attractive with its large folding map of Arabia in good order.
![First edition of Travels in Arabia Deserta by Charles Doughty, a classic of exploration of Arabia which contains so much information on the topography of the area that it was used as a textbook by the British army during the Arab Revolt. First edition of Travels in Arabia Deserta by Charles Doughty, a classic of exploration of Arabia which contains so much information on the topography of the area that it was used as a textbook by the British army during the Arab Revolt. First edition of Travels in Arabia Deserta by Charles Doughty, a classic of exploration of Arabia which contains so much information on the topography of the area that it was used as a textbook by the British army during the Arab Revolt. First edition of Travels in Arabia Deserta by Charles Doughty, a classic of exploration of Arabia which contains so much information on the topography of the area that it was used as a textbook by the British army during the Arab Revolt. DOUGHTY, Charles M[ontague]. Travels in Arabia Deserta.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0733/4694/1233/files/Blog_Image_Rework_21.jpg?v=1789732284)
Travels in Arabia Deserta, 1888, is not only the masterwork of Charles Doughty, but also one of the great classics of travel literature. Travelling through the Nafud Desert in north-central Arabia, Doughty documented many settlements, oases, and tribal communities for the first time. His work is characterized by great attention to detail and is of the utmost importance for recording ways of life and oral traditions that might otherwise have been lost. Our copy of the scarce first edition is in a handsome modern binding with beautiful green morocco spines, complete with its very large folding map.
Written by Julian Mackenzie
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