The Penetration of Arabia
A Record of the Development of Western Knowledge Concerning the Arabian Peninsula

D. G. Hogarth's 1904 historiographical summary of explorations in the Arabian peninsula illuminates his later role in the 1916 Arab revolt.

David George Hogarth (Author)

9781108042185, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 29 December 2011

484 pages, 32 b/w illus. 22 maps
21.6 x 14 x 2.7 cm, 0.61 kg

The archaeologist D. G. Hogarth (1862–1927) was, when he died, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum and president of the Royal Geographical Society. During the First World War he was acting director of the Arab Bureau in Cairo, where he was instrumental in launching the Arab Revolt, in which T. E. Lawrence, a protégé of his, played so prominent a part. This book, published in 1904 as the Hejaz railway was being built, is a summary of earlier explorations in the Arabian peninsula, by both Muslim and European travellers. Hogarth's first visit to Arabia was not made until 1916, when he travelled to Jeddah with £10,000 in gold to finance the revolt; this book is instead based on his extensive reading of travel literature, included in a bibliography for each chapter. It is thus interesting for its historiographical analysis as well as a background to Hogarth's subsequent political involvement with the region.

Prefatory note
Note on orthography
Part I. The Pioneers: 1. Before exploration
2. Niebuhr in Yemen
3. Pilgrims in Hijaz
4. The Egyptians in Nejd
5. The Egyptians in the southwest
6. The unknown south
7. The unknown north
Part II. The Successors: 8. Western borderlands
9. Southern borderlands
10. Eastern borderlands
11. The central north
12. The centre
13. The central south
14. Unknown Arabia
15. Summary
Index.

Subject Areas: Archaeology by period / region [HDD]