Photos: When a British intelligence officer documented his 1906 trip to the Persian Gulf and Iraq

Wilfrid Malleson covered Muscat, Kuwait, Basra, Baghdad and Mohammerah, among other places.

Louis Allday

· Oct 24, 2018 · 09:30 pm

When a British officer wrote to London requesting financial aid for poor Indian women in Syria

Since 1926, the Consulate had been responsible for making cash payments to destitute British Indian subjects living in Syria, but funds were drying up.

Louis Allday

· Jun 12, 2018 · 01:30 pm

Photos: The story of a 19th-century Iranian Shaikh who lost his Shaikhdom under the Pahlavis

Shaikh Khaz’al bin Jābir bin Mirdāw al-Ka‘bī was loyal to the British hoping they would help him – but they didn’t.

Louis Allday

· Nov 11, 2017 · 09:30 pm

Tune in: The fascinating story of how BBC started its first foreign language radio station in Arabic

And how it helped develop Educated Spoken Arabic as distinct from classical Arabic.

Louis Allday

· Oct 08, 2017 · 09:30 am

Photographs of tribal leaders from UAE back when it was under British control

In 1939, the Trucial Coast States were part of Britain’s Informal Empire in the Persian Gulf.

Louis Allday

· Jul 10, 2017 · 09:30 pm

A drunken pilot, attempts to bomb Mecca and the formation of Saudi Arabia

The ruler of the Kingdom of Hejaz enlisted a Russian pilot to take back Mecca from the forces of Ibn Sa’ud.

Louis Allday

· Sep 05, 2016 · 07:30 pm

Hidden history: An A-Z of Britain's Arabic propaganda

During World War II, Britain produced cartoons, pamphlets and short stories for children intended to counter pro-Axis sentiment in the Arab world.

Louis Allday

· May 01, 2016 · 11:30 pm