Southern Asia 1927: Treaty of Jeddah

Changes to the map 24 August 1925–20 May 1927

Unification of Saudi Arabia: The Saudis have completed their conquest of Hejaz, capturing Jeddah and Medina in late 1925. In the Hadda Agreement, they have defined their boundary with Transjordan. At the Treaty of Jeddah, Britain has recognized the Saudi conquests and the new Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd.

Yemen and Asir: Yemen has attacked Lower Audhali but has been repulsed by the British. Fear of Yemen has led Asir to seek Saudi protection.

Mosul Question: The League of Nations has recommended Iraq retain Mosul, leading Turkey to cede its claim to the region.

Northern Expedition: Chiang Kaishek and the Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang) have launched their invasion of central China. However Chiang's purge of the Chinese Communists has prompted a rival pro-Communist Kuomintang government to set itself up in Wuhan.

Somalia: Italy has annexed Trans-Juba to Italian Somaliland.

British Protectorates in the Persian Gulf

The British Residency of the Persian Gulf maintained British India's influence in a number of Gulf states from the 19th Century until 1947. These states were nominally independent - and shown as such in most atlases from the period - but all signed treaties guaranteeing British control over their foreign affairs.

The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman was the only one of these states with significant international relations, having obtained trade agreements with the US and France before it signed its treaty with Britain. Maps of the time often show Trucial Oman and even Qatar as regions of Oman.

Trucial Oman was the region to the west of Oman which collectively signed treaties with Britain. The sheikhdoms of this region were often called the Trucial States, and later became the United Arab Emirates. However at this time they had little unity, with no regional council until 1952.

Indian Empire

The British Indian Empire, also known as the British Raj, was comprised of a complex of presidencies, provinces, protectorates, and agencies. Only the top level subdivisions are shown here.

The area under direct British rule was known as British India and made up of presidencies and provinces - a presidency simply being the name for an older province.

Outside British India, but often included within the sphere of the presidencies/provinces, were the hundreds of protectorates or 'princely states'. These were indirectly ruled states, the largest being Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Mysore. The others were either collected into agencies - which might in turn contain other smaller agencies - or fell under the sway of the provinces.