'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part IA & IB. J G Lorimer. 1915' [‎873] (1028/1782)

873
muiiaEi,
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visited them at dais Island, where he received a valuable present. In
these circumstances, and more especially as it was understood that the
Shaikhs of Sharjah and Dibai did not desire to be embroiled in the affair,
the reply of the British Resident at Bushehr to the ex-chief, who waited
on him there, was that, while the British Government, were prepared to
arbitrate between the parties without themselves guaranteeing a settle
ment, they could neither intervene to restore Shaikh 'Abdullah to power
nor permit the Shaikhs of Trucial 'Oman to be dragged into a dangerous
war without advantage to themselves or to the original combatants.
It is probable that, at his visit to Bushehr, Shaikh 'Abdullah hoped
to derive some benefit from a correspondence which had already been
maintained for several months between himself and Shaikh Salman, an
individual who held no official position in Persia but was a nephew of the
Shaikh of Bushehr. The interchange of views appears to have been com
menced by Shaikh Salman, who did not scruple, while Shaikh 'Abdullah
was still blockaded in Dammam, to promise him the military assistance of
Persia. In October 18^3, doubtless with a hope of alarm-^g the
British authorities, Shaikh 'Abdullah professed himself ready, if disap
pointed by the British Government, to throw himself into the arms of
Persia j but in reply, he was merely informed that the adkrence of Persia
to his cause would not be recognised by Britain unless it were open and
cl.Gclctl'Gcl •
After a short sojourn at Bushehr Shaikh Abduilal returned to
Dammam, whence he had come, but soon afterwards he transferred his resi
deuce to Naband on the Persian coast, and almost simultaneously 'Isa-bin-
Tarif, who chafed at the hindrances imposed on his operations by the
Restrictive Line, removed his belongings from Qais Island and settled
at Dohah, then called Bida', in Qatar,
About the same time, or probably earlier, 'Isa-bin-Tarif, who was at
heart no less an enemy of Shaikh Muhammad -bin-Khalifah than of his
unsuccessful rival, suggested to Saiyid Thuwaini, regent of Masqat, that
he should profit by the dissensions of the A1 Khalifah Shaikhs to conquer
Bahrain, and volunteered to assist him in the enterprise. Saiyid Thuwaini
referred the proposal to his father Saiyid Sa'id, the sovereign of 'Oman,
then absent in East Africa ; and the result was an application to the
British authorities, by whose advice 'Isa-bin-Tarif's proposal was
rejected. The principal reasons which infiuenced the British Govern
ment to dissuade Saiyid Sa'id from an invasion of Bahrain were
the personal absence of His Highness from the scene; the incapacity of
his representative, Saiyid Thuwaini; the probability of offence being 1
Persia^
intrigue?,
1843.
Migration of
Shaikh
'Abdullah
from
Dammam to
Naband and
of 'lua-bin-
Tarif from
Qais to
Ddhah, 1843.
Atti iude
of the
G ot em m en t
of Masqat
towards
the struggle
between the
Shaikh and
the ex-
Sbaikh, 1843.
i
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