ABOUT THE BOOK
Captain Shakespear: Desert exploration, Arabian Intrigue and the Rise of Ibn Sa’ud
Two years before T. E. Lawrence famously entered the Hejaz, another British officer was already forging critical ties in Arabia’s vast interior. Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, a political agent in the British Government of India’s Political Department, traversed the unforgiving Nejd desert to gather intelligence, rally tribal support, and build a personal alliance with the rising Emir of Riyadh, Ibn Sa’ud.
Born in India in 1878, Shakespear was educated in Portsmouth and the Isle of Man before graduating from Sandhurst as an officer cadet in the British Indian Army. After six years of military service, he joined the Political Department in 1904, serving in Bandar Abbas, Muscat, and later Kuwait. From 1909 to 1913, he undertook daring journeys deep into Central Arabia, providing London and Delhi with some of the first detailed reports on the region.
Shakespear’s relationship with Ibn Sa’ud and his advocacy for British support in Nejd positioned him at the heart of a shifting political landscape—one that would later shape the foundations of the Anglo-Saudi relationship. At the outbreak of the First World War, while many of his peers went to the Western Front, Shakespear returned to Kuwait on a special mission to meet the Emir, laying groundwork that Lawrence of Arabia would later acknowledge as crucial to Britain’s early Middle Eastern strategy.
Richly researched and illustrated, this book reveals the life of a remarkable but often overlooked figure whose exploration, diplomacy, and photography captured Arabia at a pivotal moment in its history.
OUR NEW TITLES
Sea of Pearls
Before the discovery of oil, the sea was the Gulf’s greatest wealth. Each summer, fleets of wooden dhows sailed out into the turquoise waters, their crews diving deep on a single breath, armed only with a nose clip, a stone weight, and a rope. They returned to the surface clutching oysters, hoping for the prize within pearls so perfect they adorned the crowns of kings and captivated the luxury markets of India and Europe.
Lorimer
In 1908, the British government quietly commissioned a vast and meticulous record of the Arabian Gulf and surrounding regions. Compiled by John Gordon Lorimer, a senior political officer in the Indian Civil Service, The Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia became one of the most extraordinary works of intelligence ever produced by a colonial administration.
Julius Euting
In the winter of 1883, German epigraphist Julius Euting and French-Alsatian geographer Charles Huber departed Damascus on a perilous journey into the heart of northern Arabia. Their mission: to uncover ancient inscriptions and reveal the region’s forgotten history.
In Praise of the Artisan
Across the Islamic world, artistry is not only preserved—it continues to evolve. From the rhythmic tapping of stone carvers in Rajasthan to the delicate calligraphy of Istanbul’s masters, from Cairo’s woodworkers to the skilled embroiderers of Makkah, crafts that have shaped homes, mosques, and cities for centuries are still vibrant today.
Bedouin Weaving
In the vast deserts of Arabia, where landscapes appear austere and endless, Bedouin women have for centuries created beauty from the simplest of materials. Using the wool of their camels, sheep, and goats, they wove vibrant textiles—bold geometric designs in deep reds, blacks, and whites—that adorned tents, protected families from the elements, and carried symbolic meaning.
A Journey to Arabia Felix
In the vast deserts of Arabia, where landscapes appear austere and endless, Bedouin women have for centuries created beauty from the simplest of materials. Using the wool of their camels, sheep, and goats, they wove vibrant textiles—bold geometric designs in deep reds, blacks, and whites—that adorned tents, protected families from the elements, and carried symbolic meaning.