TheTreaty of Darin, or theDarin Pact, of 1915 was made between theUnited Kingdom andAbdulaziz Al Saud (sometimes calledIbn Saud), ruler of theEmirate of Nejd and Hasa, who founded theKingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
The treaty was signed at Darin, on theisland of Tarut[1] on 26 December 1915 by Abdulaziz andSir Percy Cox on behalf of theBritish Government.[2]
The treaty made the lands of theHouse of Saud a British protectorate and attempted to define its boundaries.[3][4] The British aim was to guarantee the sovereignty ofKuwait,Qatar and theTrucial States.[5] Abdulaziz agreed not to attack British protectorates, but did not promise not to attack theSharif of Mecca[6] Also, he agreed to enterWorld War I in the Middle East against theOttoman Empire as an ally of Britain.[2]
Following the treaty, Abdulaziz obtained the following from the British: recognition as the ruler of Najd and its dependencies under British protection; a loan of £20,000 and a shipment of arms in June 1916; a monthly stipend of £5,000 and from the end of World War I to March 1924 an annual stipend of £60,000 in January 1917.[7] The first article of the treaty also acknowledged the rights of Abdulaziz's sons to rule.[8]
The treaty was the first to give international recognition to the fledgling Saudi state. For the first time in Nejdi history, the concept of negotiated borders had been introduced.[5] Additionally, the British aim was to secure its Persian Gulf protectorates, but the treaty had the unintended consequence of legitimising Saudi control in the adjacent areas.[5] The Treaty was superseded in 1927 by theTreaty of Jeddah.[9]
