After taking the Hejaz from the Hashemites, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud proclaimed himself king of the Hejaz and of Nejd and its Dependencies. The Treaty of Darin, of 26 December 1915, still bound him in a British protectorate. The instrument that replaced it was signed on 20 May 1927, at Jeddah, Friday, 18 Dhu al-Qada 1345. For the British crown: Sir Gilbert Falkingham Clayton. For the king: his son, Amir Faisal ibn Abdul-Aziz, viceroy in the Hejaz. Ratifications, also at Jeddah, on 17 September 1927. The texts, English and Arabic, are equal; in case of divergence English prevails. The official name: Treaty of Jeddah.

Article 1: His Britannic Majesty recognises the complete and absolute independence of the dominions of the King of the Hejaz and of Nejd. Article 2: peace and friendship; each party shall prevent its territory being used as a base for unlawful activities against the other. Article 9: the 1915 treaty ceases from the day this one is ratified.

Article 3: the pilgrimage is to be facilitated to British Muslim subjects and protected persons to the same extent as to other pilgrims; person and property are safe in the Hejaz. Article 4: the property of pilgrims who die without a lawful trustee is handed to the British Agent in Jeddah, after Hejazi or Nejdi dues. Article 5: mutual recognition of nationality, with respect for international law between independent governments.

Article 6: the king maintains peaceful relations with Kuwait, Bahrain and with the sheikhs of Qatar and the Oman Coast, who are in special treaty relations with London. Article 7: cooperation, by all means at his disposal, in the suppression of the slave trade. Notes exchanged between 19 and 21 May spelled out the practice; this is not the later summary that treats manumission at the Jeddah legation as Article 7. Article 8: seven years, then six months notice. Modified by notes in 1936 and 1943.

The two regions were unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. This is not the 1974 Treaty of Jeddah, with the Emirates. The cover is Faisal, the viceroy who signed, photographed by Agence Rol in Paris in 1932; Clayton with Ibn Saud at Jeddah, circa 1925, is 300 pixels wide.

Sources: Treaty of Jeddah (1927); Treaty Series No. 25 (1927), Cmd. 2951.