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6/18/2025, 2:19:07 AM
Return to Arabia
March 29, 1933
War has erupted across the sands of Arabia.
The Rashid Dynasty, longtime rulers of post-Ottoman Arabia, now find themselves locked in a brutal civil war with their historical rivals, the Hashemites. What began as a localized power struggle has now drawn the attention of the world’s great empires, particularly that of Her Majesty’s Government in London.
Following extensive deliberations within the Foreign Office and the Imperial War Council, Britain has chosen to cast its lot with the Rashid faction. While neither side can claim true loyalty to the Crown, the Rashids have demonstrated greater amenability to British interests, especially those concerning oil concessions and regional influence. As such, small arms shipments are already en-route, and expeditionary forces have begun preparations for limited deployment in support of the Rashid cause.
Yet, as always, support comes with strings.
Whitehall has seen this war not merely as a contest of tribal dynasties, but as an imperial opportunity. The chaos provides cover to execute long-desired strategic ambitions: the annexation of Yemen, Jordan, and the Emirate of Mashriq, territories nominally under Rashid protection but far from their heartland in central Arabia. Each offers resources and strategic depth to the Empire’s Middle Eastern holdings. Moreover, envoys have already been dispatched to Damascus, pressing Syria for oil rights in Baghdad Province, now one of the most lucrative petroleum basins in the world.
By backing the Rashids just enough to ensure their survival, while carving away their peripheral provinces, the British Empire hopes to secure a client state in Arabia indebted to London’s favor, while simultaneously enlarging its imperial portfolio across the oil-rich sands of the Near East.
March 29, 1933
War has erupted across the sands of Arabia.
The Rashid Dynasty, longtime rulers of post-Ottoman Arabia, now find themselves locked in a brutal civil war with their historical rivals, the Hashemites. What began as a localized power struggle has now drawn the attention of the world’s great empires, particularly that of Her Majesty’s Government in London.
Following extensive deliberations within the Foreign Office and the Imperial War Council, Britain has chosen to cast its lot with the Rashid faction. While neither side can claim true loyalty to the Crown, the Rashids have demonstrated greater amenability to British interests, especially those concerning oil concessions and regional influence. As such, small arms shipments are already en-route, and expeditionary forces have begun preparations for limited deployment in support of the Rashid cause.
Yet, as always, support comes with strings.
Whitehall has seen this war not merely as a contest of tribal dynasties, but as an imperial opportunity. The chaos provides cover to execute long-desired strategic ambitions: the annexation of Yemen, Jordan, and the Emirate of Mashriq, territories nominally under Rashid protection but far from their heartland in central Arabia. Each offers resources and strategic depth to the Empire’s Middle Eastern holdings. Moreover, envoys have already been dispatched to Damascus, pressing Syria for oil rights in Baghdad Province, now one of the most lucrative petroleum basins in the world.
By backing the Rashids just enough to ensure their survival, while carving away their peripheral provinces, the British Empire hopes to secure a client state in Arabia indebted to London’s favor, while simultaneously enlarging its imperial portfolio across the oil-rich sands of the Near East.
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