![Persian Gulf Administration Reports 1883/84 - 1904/05 [‎50r] (104/602)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0002ab/IOR_R_15_1_709_0104.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Persian Gulf Administration Reports 1883/84 - 1904/05 [‎50r] (104/602)")
Persian Gulf Administration Reports 1883/84 - 1904/05 [50r] (104/602)
The record is made up of 1 volume (299 folios). It was created in 1884-1906. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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 MUSCAT POLITICAL
AGENCY
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
FOR 1885-86.
23
Bedouins. After a halt of two hours we started for Izz, a village in the direction of Adam and
about 5 miles from Manh, where we camped for the night.
Od the following day, the 16th, leaving Izz at 7-30, we rode over a level but gently
descending plain, at a good pace, to Adam, which we reached at 1-30; direction nearly due
south, a little east. At half an hour we passed the Wady Kalbuh, a fine stream of water
which rises above Nezwa, and after running almost parallel to Wady Halfain, falls into the
Ghubbet Hashish. The plain we are crossing is quite uninhabited, and we met not a single
traveller on the road. There is plenty of game, however—houbara, partridge, and sandgrouse
rise up on all sides, while gazelles and hares start up occasionally from the dwarf mimosas and
bunches of desert grass about. As we approach Adam two low hills rise up in front, one on
each hand of the road. The one to our right is Jebel Sulakh and the other Jebel Mushmar;
they are both perfectly arid, and appear to be about 800 or 1,000 feet in height. As one approaches
it the appearance of Adam with the dark lines of its extensive date groves is very refreshing
to the eye after the glare and monotonous aspect of the plain we had traversed : it is a true
oasis in the desert. I was greeted very civilly here by all parties, and having been invited to
visit the town and forts I spent the whole afternoon in seeing what was to be seen. A
cousin of our leader Sayid Hamood took us first to the quarter of the Al-bu-Saidis, a walled
enclosure named the Jami, inhabited by about 150 families. The chief object of interest here
was the house in which the Imam Ahmad, the founder of the present dynasty, was born. He
was of low origin, being a camel driver like his father before him ; being a man of energy and
courage, however, he rose to be Jemadar of the garrison and then Wali of Sohar. He was
subsequently elected Imam by the people in gratitude for his expulsion of the Persians.
Taking leave of the Al-bu-Saidis at Jami I went over to the quarters of the town
occupied by their enemies, the Moharik, which are five in number, and over which I was
shown successively by their Shaikh, Hamid-bin-Khamis, and by the Temimeh of the Jenebeh,
Saif-bin-Hamud. There are two other quarters occupied by the Shaibani and Beni Wail
tribes, making eight in all. As I visited one section after another, I was somewhat surprised
and amused at the intense curiosity exhibited by the Arabs here. They not only lined each
side of the road in great numbers as I walked through the date grove from one quarter to
another and blocked my path to stare at me, but after I had passed them would scamper round
another way to get in front again and so gain another gaze at the stranger. They were all
perfectly well behaved and did not attempt to offer the slightest rudeness, but I never saw
the like of their open-mouthed curiosity. There is a large fort here originally built by the
Imam Ahmad and repaired by the Imam Azzan in 1869, but it is hardly cared for and weakly
garrisoned, for in truth the Adamites are too distant from other tribes to be concerned in
the usual intestinal wars of Oman, and reserve their powder and lead for each other. The
population as near as I can guess numbers 4,600, composed of five tribes, the Moharik, Al-bu-
Saidis, Sheyabina, Majabera, and Beni Wail, of which the most important is the Moharik.
The elevation of Adam above the sea is 850 feet, being 500 feet lower than Manh and 1,300,
lower than Zikki, which is 2,150. No other town of Oman lies nearly so far south as this
the outlying picket, as it were, towards the great sand desert which stretches away to the
Yeman and the Hejaz, and which is known here, as well as to all the Bedouins of Southern
Arabia, as the Boba-el-Khali. Looking towards the south and east, neither hill nor habi
tation meets the eye, the line of horizon is as unbroken as the sea; while northward in the
distance rises the grand pile of Jebel Akhdar which towers up to a height of 10,000 feet.
Most of the Bedouin tribes, which inhabit the border of the huge wilderness on the edge
of which we are standing, contribute contingents who roam over it with their camels, but
the number of these wanderers is necessarily very small, for the ohly water found is that
left in pools in the water-courses after rainfall and some springs of brackish water welling
up here and there. Animal life is not entirely absent,—the oryx, the wild ass, and two species
of gazelle are found everywhere, and the ostrich is met with in the northern and western
part of the desert: it does not approach Oman. The soil is said to be everywhere saltish
or nitrous.
17th. —I returned to Manh during the day and encamped here in one of the gardens
near the fort. Manh is rather a scattered town with a population of some 2,000 souls
of mixed tribes. It has been well described by Wellsted, who cannot suppress a cry of admi
ration at the extent and luxuriance of the diversified cultivation around. He says : —
tf Minna differs from the other towns in having its cultivation in the open fields. As we crossed these, with lofty
almond, citron, and orange trees, yielding a delicious fragrance on either hand, exclamations of astonishment and
admiration burst from us. Is this Arabia ? We said, this is the country we have looked on heretofore as a desert ?
Verdant fields of grain and sugar-cane stretching along for miles are before us j streams of water flowing in all
directions intersect our path, and the happy and contented appearance of the peasants agreeably helps to fill up the
smiling picture
D 1
About this item
- Content
The volume contains printed copies of Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Administration Reports. The Reports are incomplete (according to the introductory letters and lists of contents). Some of the Reports bear manuscript corrections. The following Reports are represented :
- Report on the Administration of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for the Year 1883-84 (Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1884);
- Report on the Administration of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1884-85 (Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1885);
- Report on the Administration of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1885-86 (Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1886);
- Report on the Administration of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1886-87 (Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1887);
- Report on the Administration of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1887-88 (Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1888);
- Administration Report of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1888-89 (Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1889);
- Administration Report of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1889-90 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1890);
- Administration Report of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1890-91 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1891);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1891-92 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1892);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1892-93 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1893);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1893-94 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1894);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1894-95 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1895);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1895-96 (Simla: Government Central Printing Office, 1896);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1896-97 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1897);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1897-98 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1898);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1898-99 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1899);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1899-1900 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1900);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1900-1901 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1901);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1901-1902 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1902);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1902-1903 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1903);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1903-1904 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1904);
- Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Political 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 Maskat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1904-1905 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1906).
The Reports include a general summary by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. (covering the constituent agencies and consulates that made up the 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 topics such as the slave trade, piracy, the movements of Royal Navy ships, official appointments, and the weather); meteorological tables; separate reports on Muscat (also referred to as Maskat); reports on trade and commerce; and a number of appendices on special topics, such as supplementary notes on the care and culture of date trees and fruit (Report, 1883-84), historical sketch of the Portuguese in eastern Arabia (Report, 1884-85), notes on a tour through Oman and El-Dhahireh [Al Dhahirah] by Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles (Report, 1885-86), notes on cholera in Persia (Report, 1889-90), report on the cholera epidemic in Maskat, Matrah, and Oman (Report, 1899-1900), and information on individuals and tribes.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (299 folios)
- Arrangement
The Reports are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume. There is an introductory letter/table of contents at the front of each Report, but these show that the Reports are not complete.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation system in use commences at 3 on the second folio after the front cover, and continues through to 299 on the back cover. The sequence is written in pencil, enclosed in a circle, and appears in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Persian Gulf Administration Reports 1883/84 - 1904/05 [50r] (104/602), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/709, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023373225.0x000069> [accessed 26 July 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023373225.0x000069
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023373225.0x000069">Persian Gulf Administration Reports 1883/84 - 1904/05 [‎50r] (104/602)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023373225.0x000069"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0002ab/IOR_R_15_1_709_0104.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0002ab/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/709
- Title
- Persian Gulf Administration Reports 1883/84 - 1904/05
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 3r:298v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence