Revolt in the Desert

by Thomas C. Barger

Overview

After many years of warfare King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud had conquered most of the Arabian peninsula, in no small part due to the discipline and ferocity of the Ikhwan, Fanatical Bedouins and devout Wahhabis, they were absolutely loyal to the King, even against their own tribes.

They were Ibn Saud's shock troops during multiple campaigns against his enemies, but by 1927 when Arabia was subdued the Ikhwan didn't want to stop fighting and forgo the spoils of war. Against the King's orders they attacked into Jordan and Iraq and the revolt began.

No European ever knew more about the Bedouin than did Colonel H.R.P. Dickson. In 1948 while visiting Dickson at his home in Kuwait, Tom Barger inquired about the Battle of Sibila and the Colonel responded with a full account of the Ikhwan revolt that is the basis of this article which was originally written in 1948.

It is a story of blind ignorance, hubris, duplicity and tragedy. The outcome was all but inevitable, however the reader can't help but to speculate about the course of events had the Ikhwan prevailed.

This is an article with an excerpt, 10,000 words with 12 illustrations, approximately 45 pages in length.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013567962
Publisher:	Selwa Press
Publication date:	11/10/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	394 KB

About the Author

Thomas C. Barger went to Saudi Arabia at the age of 28. He arrived in the small fishing village of Al Khobar on December 13th, 1937. Though he knew absolutely nothing about the country, within two weeks he was working in the desert as a junior field geologist in the company of another American geologist and a dozen Saudis – a cook from Al Hasa, a mechanic from the Hijaz and a contigent of Bedouin guides and soldiers.

For three years, driving in a 1937 Ford pickup truck, he explored the country from the Kuwait border to the Rub Al-Khali, from Riyadh in the Nejd to the Wadi Dawasir in South central Arabia near the Yemeni border. He quickly learned to speak Arabic and in his travels he met a variety of Bedouin who lived a life virtually unchanged for a thousand years. His fascination with these people and the magnificent landscapes of Saudi Arabia began in the desert and never faded during the 32 years he spent in the Kingdom. He retired in 1969 as the President and CEO of Aramco.