'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎29v] (63/180)

Discontinu
ance of
British
support to
the Shaikhs
of Baraimi,
1843.
Re-occupa-
tion of
Baraimi
by the
Wahhabis,
1845.
Temporary
expulsion
of the
Wahhabis
from Baraimi
by the Shaikh
of Abu
Dhabi,
1848-49.
which he had addressed to the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, were obtained by Colonel
Robertson, the British Politicai Resident, who remonstrated agajnst his proceedings
on the ground that they might lead to a revival ol piracy. Abdullah, in reply
professed his abhorrence of piracy; but he did not fail to claim the people of
Trucial 'Oman as his subjects. , ^ -
In July 1843, immediately on his return to power, Faisal, the restored Amir
of Najd informed the Shaikh of Oman by lettei that it was his intention at the
end of the hot weather to send a force under Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq to take possession
of the province. Alarmed by these threats the Na'irn of Baraimi who had ere
now bv lawless acts estranged their former ally Saiyid Hamud ot Sohar applied
for aid to the British Government; but in reply they were informed that the object
of the assistance siven them in 1840 was to prevent the establishment ot the
Ecvptians in the country, and that, this danger having been removed, it was now
the intention of the British Government to withdraw from interference in the
internal affairs of Arabia, At the same time iriendly communications of a general
nature were passing between the Bushehr Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. and Riyadh.
Early in 1845 Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq, accompanied by a small force, arrived once
more in the neighbourhood of Baraimi. His hesitating approach betrayed some
uncertainty as to the event; but on this occasion the Nairn and Dhawahir
submitted without resistance, the Baraimi forts were at once placed in his hands,
and the Trucial Shaikhs hastened to do him honour. Once firmly established in
his old headquarters he devoted his attention, with results which are described in
the history of the 'Oman Sultanate, chiefly to squeezing the richer principalities
of Sohar and Masqat, but did not therefore neglect less valuable prey which lay
within easy reach. On the contrary he at once engaged in intrigues to obtain
possession of the town of Dhank in Dhahirah, and in October he made preparations
to seize the small oasis oi Dhaid in the interior oi Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , b^sid^s whi^h
he proposed to build a fort on the coast in Zora, an insulated tract between 'Ajman
and Hamrlyah. These proceedings and his general arrogance and rapacity soon
brouaht into coalition against him on the east the Na'im tribe, the chief of Sohar,
and the Mutawwa' class of 'Oman, and on the west all the Trucial Shaikhs except
the chief of Umm-al-Qawain, who, probably with a view to some personal
advantas^e. favoured the design of the Wahhabis on Dhaid. His enemies did not
as yet venture on active opposition in arms to Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq: they chose at
first the safer course of accusing him to his master of malversation in respect of
the revenues that he collected,—a charge which, from his behaviour in a settlement
with the Saiyids of Sohar and Masqat, seems to have been well founded. At this
time the Wahhabi agent's direct communications with Central Arabia appear to
have been broken bv the tribes, now hostile, that lay upon the route. Sa ad s
departure from Baraimi for the court of the Amir, at which he had resolved to
appear in person for the purpose of justifying his conduct, was countermandea
at the last moment, on the unexpected arrival from Najd of an order confirming
him in his appointment but requiring ot him an immediate remittance in mone\.
With the assistance of Shaikh Sultan-bin-Saqar, who provided a vessel, he at once
despatched a quantity of treasure by sea to Hasa. a u e
The position of the Wahhabis at Baraimi remained unaltered until the 4tn oi
May 1848, when Shaikh Sa'id-bin-Tahnun of Abu Dhabi, taking advantage ot
the momentary absence of Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq and assisted by the Dhawahir trib^,
suddenly captured a Wahhabi post in the Dhawahir country. Shaikh Said was
at once joined by the Na'im and by a contingent for Sohar under the command
of Saif-bin-Hamud of that place; the result was the capitulation, after a short
struggle, of both the Wahhabi strongholds in Baraimi; and these were immediately
occupied by the Abu Dhabi Shaikh, while Sa'ad-bin-Mutlaq sought reluge at
Sharjah. The son of the Sohar chief, in consequence of a misunderstanding, soon
withdrew his support; and the Shaikhs of Sharjah, Dibai and 'Ajman,* irritated
at the pre-eminence so easily acquired by the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, combined
with the Wahhabis; but Shaikh Sa'id continued to maintain his position at
Baraimi with boldness and success. At length, in February 1849, peace was
arranged between the contending parties by an emissary of the Sharif of Makkan,
the conditions were apparently unfavourable to Shaikh Sa'id, for they involved
the restoration of the Baraimi forts to the Wahhabi agent and a general return to
the status quo ante helium.
* According to one account the Shaikh of 'Ajman (like the Shaikh of Umm-al -Quiwain)
refused to take part against Sald-bin-Tahnun.