Gun Running in Arabia

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Portland State University
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Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses
7-1987
Gun Running in Arabia: The Introduction of Modern Arms to the
Peninsula, 1880-1914
James W. Fiscus
Portland State University
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Fiscus, James W., "Gun Running in Arabia: The Introduction of Modern Arms to the Peninsula, 1880-1914" (1987).Dissertations and
Theses.Paper 1624.
10.15760/etd.1623
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AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF James W. Fiscus for the Master
of Arts in History presented July 13, 1987.
Title: Gun Running in Arabia: The Introduction of Modern
Arms to the Peninsula, 1880-1914
APPROVED BY MEMBERS OF THE THESIS COMMITTEE:

Victor C. Dahl
Forbes W. Williams
Modern breech-loading rifles flooded into Arabia and
the region around the Persian Gulf between 1880 and World
War I. This work examines in detail, and analyzes, the
introduction of modern arms to Arabia, the origin of those
arms, the trade patterns by which they were moved, and the
international and local political factors that affected the
2
trade. The international arms trade was driven by three
major factors. First, the rapid technological development
of small arms in the nineteenth century fed the market,
resulting in the availability of hundreds of thousands of
obsolete military rifles for resale. Each time new rifles
were adopted by the armies of Europe, old stocks were dumped
on the private arms market.
Second, international politics and European colonial
rivalry contributed to the growth and maintenance of the
arms trade. The French Consul at Muscat protected the trade
in the Persian Gulf, while French arms dealers commanded a
substantial portion of the trade. British efforts to slow
the flow of arms through Muscat was hampered by European
politics.
Third, the internal politics of the region created a
demand for the modern arms. Inside Arabia, the resurgent
Saudis fought Rashidis and Hashimites in a series of wars,
while other tribal raids and wars further built the demand
for modern rifles: if one group had modern weapons, its
enemies felt a need for them also. Outside Arabia, a strong
demand for weapons in Persia and on the Northwest Frontier
of India helped" pull weapons to the markets of the Gulf.
This thesis deals first with the changing technology
of weapons in the nineteenth century, so that the military
3
impact of the new weapons can be understood. The types of
modern rifles introduced to the Peninsula is then reviewed,
finding that the Peabody-Martini and the Martini-Henry, and
their numerous variations, were the weapons most commonly
imported in the decades around the turn of the century.
with this information as background, the international
politics of the arms trade are examined. Emphasis is on the
Anglo-French rivalry at Muscat that gave treaty protection
to French arms dealers. European fears that modern arms
would reach Africa and make colonial control of the
continent difficult or impossible led, in 1890, to the arms
control provisions of the General Act of Brussels. The Act
did not, however, extend to Arabia.
The heart of the work is a detailed examination and
analysis of the arms trade in and around Arabia. The arms
trade in the region was centered in two main entrepots,
Djibouti in French Somaliland and Muscat in southeast
Arabia. By the late l890s, the bulk of the trade was passing
through the Suez Canal before transshipment at one of these
ports. Just over half of the arms reaching Muscat were
exported to Persia and the Northwest Frontier, with the
remainder reaching Arabia or Mesopotamia. The patterns of
the private arms trade were complex, both at sea and on
land, and are discussed at length.
The political use of weapons by the Ottoman
4
Government, and by European states, contributed to the flood
of guns into Arabia. The Ottomans, in particular, used their
stocks of obsolete weapons to arm their client tribes in
Arabia. Ottoman purchases of Sniders, Martinis, and finally
Mausers, gave them a constant supply of older rifles for
distribution. The arms trade in Arabia was controlled by
international and local political developments, and fed by
the availability of modern arms on the international
market. The trade was complex and impossible to prevent so
long as the European states and the Ottomans continued to
sell or distribute obsolete rifles as new guns were
adopted.
GUN RUNNING IN ARABIA:

THE INTRODUCTION OF MODERN ARMS TO THE PENINSULA

1880-1914

by

JAMES W. FISCUS

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS

in

HISTORY

Portland State University
© 1987 James W. Fiscus
TO THE OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIES:
The members of the Committee approve the thesis of
James W. Fiscus for the Master of Arts in History presented
July 13, 1987.

Victor C. Dahl
Forbes W. Williams
• Bur ke, Heact, Depar tmen t of History
Bernard Ross, Vice-Provost for Graduate Studies
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE

LIST OF TABLES • vi

LIST OF FIGURES vii

INTRODUCTION • • 1

I DEATH AND TECHNOLOGY • • 9

The Arms of Arabia 9

The Increased Deadliness of

Modern Weapons •• • • • • • • 11

Notes • • 22

II THE SWEEP OF TECHNOLOGY 24

Modern Rifles in Arabia 24

Changes During World War I 33

Notes • 35

III INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND THE

ARMS TRADE • • • • • • • • 37

Controls: The General Act of

Brussels •••• • • 37

Use of the French Flag to Protect

the Arms Trade ••••••• 44

Treaty Protection for the

Arms Trade at Muscat 46

European Rivalry and the

French Flag • • • 53

Notes 60
iv
CHAPTER
PAGE
IV THE
PRIVATE ARMS TRADE • • • 63

Early Pattern of the Arms Trade • • 63

Shift of the International

Arms Traffic to Arabia 67

Notes 73

v THE PRIVATE ARMS TRADE IN THE PERSIAN

GULF REGION • • • • • • • • • • • • 74

The International Trade and

Efforts at its Control 74

The Arms Traffic Through Muscat

and the Omani Ports and General

Control Measures •••• • • • • •• 75

Notes 104

VI THE PRIVATE ARMS TRADE IN THE SECONDARY

GULF PORTS AND THE RED SEA 107

Secondary Gulf Ports 107

Bahrein
Kuwait
"Turkish" Arabia:
Iraq and el Hasa via Kuwait
The Trucial Coast Ports and
Smaller Ports • • • • • 122

Qatar

Mesopotamia and Kuwait

The Persian Coast

Djibouti and The Red Sea Ports

of Arabia • • • • • • • 128

Distribution of Arms Within the

Peninsula 138

Capture of Ottoman Weapons 141

Capture from Tribal Enemies •• 143

Notes • 144
v
CHAPTER PAGE

VII THE GOVERNMENTAL ARMS TRADE 149

Official Ottoman Arms Purchases • 149

Egyptian Arms Purchases 159

Ottoman Distribution to Clients •• 160

The Blackmarket: Private Sales by

Ottoman Troops or Client Tribes • •• 167

British Distribution of Arms 169

Arms Shipped to the Al Saud

Aden

Italian Distribution of Arms 171

Notes • 174

VIII THE EFFECT OF MODERN ARMS ON THE

ARABIAN PENINSULA • • • • • 177

Increased Dependence on External

Ammunition • • • • • • • • • 177

Imposition of Ottoman Authority

Followed by Successful Local

Resistance • • • • • 180

The Use of Technology in War • 185

Notes 189

CONCLUSION 190

DISCUSSION OF SOURCES • 192

BIBLIOGRAPHY: WORKS CITED IN TEXT 194

BIBLIOGRAPHY: WORKS CONSULTED BUT NOT CITED • 210

APPENDIX A: PRIVATE FIRMS ENGAGED IN THE ARMS TRADE 224

APPENDIX B: THE DEMAND FOR ARMS IN ARABIA:

ARMIES AND POPULATIONS • • • • • • • • •• 234