"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٤‎٠‎١] (١٧٨٢/٥٤٤)

85
401
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In 1634 the Portuguese repaired their forts at Masqat ; and about 1640
the place was deemed an " impregnable fortress." The appointment of
Commandant was believed to be worth 50 ; 00(J ducats a year.
It was at this time ; however^ that the Arabs of 'Oman, encouraged by
the growth of their own power, began a series of assaults upon the
Portuguese which ended in the expulsion of the latter from the
country.' In 1640 the Imam of ''Oman, being informed by Arabs
employed in the Portuguese customs house at Masqat that the garrison
had been seriously reduced by the despatch of troops with a naval
expedition, attacked the place; but he was repulsed with considerable loss.
On the 7th of November 1643, however, Sohar was captured by the
Arabs, some of the Portuguese garrison being killed and others taken
prisoners; and Khor Pakkan, if it had been retained after its capture by
Ruy Freire in 1628, which is doubtful, must apparently have been lost
about the same time. At length, on the 16th of August 1648, a large
Arab force, under the command of Sa'id-bin-Khalifah, commenced a
regular siege of Masqat; and on the 11th of September, the ammunition
of the Portuguese beginning to fail, negotiations were opened; but the
demands of the Arabs were so extravagant that the besieged prolonged
their defence to the uttermost and did not finally capitulate until the 31st
of October, by which time the hills above M akallah had fallen into the
possession of the enemy, and plague, with a mortality of 50 a day, was
raging in the town. Peace was then arranged on the following terms :
that the Portuguese should raze to the ground certain forts which they
possessed at Matrah, Quryat and Sur* ; that the Imam should demolish
a fort which he had built at Matrah, that place for the future to be
considered neutral; that 'Omani vessels should go abroad unchecked, but
should take Portuguese passes for the return voyage; that subjects of the
Imam should pay no duties, either personal or commercial, on entering
or leaving Masqat; that trade should be in every respect free ; and that
the Arabs should destroy all fortifications erected during the siege, while
the Portuguese should not build 'anything upon the site of their
demolished works. These terms clearly involved the financial ruin of the
Portuguese settlement; but there was no alternative to acceptance.
The Captain-General of Masqat, Dom Juliao de Noronha, and the \edor
of Finances were subsequently placed under arrest by order of the King of
Portugal with a view to an enquiry into their conduct; but the final
rmilt of the proceedings against them is not recorded.
* Mr. Danvers (11. 296) gives the name as "Dobar," but from another anthonty
it appears that Sur must be meant.
Arab attack
upon Masqat
and loss of
Sohar, Qui'-*
yat and Sur
by the Portu
guese,
] 640-48.