Over the past two decades, the relationship between the Ottoman state and the nomadic Bedouin peoples has gained considerable scholarly attention. Historians have examined this relationship from a variety of perspectives which fit under one of the following three general themes: the Ottoman state’s social engineering project in the 19th century with special emphasis on its efforts to “civilize” the Bedouin population; state and Bedouin violence supported by accounts of the numerous battles fought for a variety of reasons; and fiscal concerns with the state’s seemingly incessant efforts to tax the nomadic tribes. This paper is different because it will examine a long-ignored aspect of Ottoman-Bedouin relations; namely, the Ottoman Empire’s international policy and the geopolitics of frontier zones as reflected in Ottoman-Bedouin relations. This paper will focus on the southern frontiers of the Ottoman Empire, to examine the policy of the Ottoman imperial government in light of Istanbul’s relations with its European counterparts at turn of the century. In particular, it will examine the Ottoman imperial policies towards the Bedouin tribes that live along the important Hajj caravan corridor between Medina and the Syrian Desert, in light of inter-imperial competition of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It argues that Ottoman relationship with the Hijazi Bedouin tribes at the turn of the century was greatly influenced by Ottoman efforts to maintain their sovereignty along the imperial southern frontiers. More specifically, it demonstrates how the relationship between Bedouin tribes and Istanbul took a new dimension of importance, as the inter-imperial competition in the Red Sea basin heated up. Methodologically, relying on Ottoman and British archival sources, the paper will focus on the years leading up to the construction of the Hijaz telegraph line in 1901. It will show how various attempts by European firms to take over the construction of the link between Istanbul and the Hijaz were repeatedly rejected by the palace, leaving the Ottoman government little choice but to engage in direct negotiations with the traditionally autonomous tribes of the Hijaz desert. Taking a comprehensive look at global events that impacted Ottoman decisions during this period will shed a new light on Ottoman-Bedouin relations that transcends the local and the intra-imperial factors that have traditionally colored scholarly inquiry into this topic. Most importantly, the paper will assert the importance of Ottoman international presence and the geopolitical importance of Bedouin-inhabited frontiers of the Empire.