Coll 6/67(1) 'Boundaries of South-Eastern Arabia and Qatar.' [‎265r] (534/794)

Overtures of the Amir Feisul to the Trucial Sheikhs, 1843.
71. In 1843 the Resident concluded a Maritime Truce for a period of 10 years Aitch. XII,
'^with the Trucial Sheikhs. Following the example of his predecessor, the new No - xxii >
Amir, Feisul, in July 1843 wrote to the maritime and inland Sheikhs of Oman, PP- 250 “ 1 -
intimating his intention shortly to send an army under Syed Bin Mutlak to bring
the Province under his authority. Abu Dhabi and Shargah in the same month
made a composition of their differences, and on receipt of the Amir’s letter Debai
alone of the maritime Chiefs appears to have been disinclined to submit to Wahabi
authority. Inland, however, the Beni Naim chiefs of Baraimi asked for the support
and assistance of the British Government against the Wahabi Amir, but in vain
(cp. paragraph 97).
Arrival in Oman of Syed bin Mutlak (1845) and reoccupation of Baraimi.
72. No marked advance appears to have been made by the Wahabis until
1845, when Syed bin Mutlak arrived in the vicinity of Baraimi. The Beni Naim,
in the absence of any support or reassurance from Great Britain, at once submitted,
while the Resident, in reply to enquiries by the Regent, in the absence (in Zanzibar)
of the Sultan of Muscat, as to the course to be adopted in face of the Wahabi Bo. Sel.
requests for submission, advised that, provided the terms proposed by the Wahabis
were not extravagant, they should be accepted. If they proved excessive, the
Regent should reply that he could not accede to them without first consulting the
British Government, whose ally he was.
Opposition to Wahabis.
73. Syed bin Mutlak’s course proved less smooth than may have been expected.
On his arrival Wahabi influence was so great in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. as to endanger the
security of Muscat. But it was soon severely shaken by a refusal on the part of
the Beni Said tribe to pay tribute, and by the punishment administered by them
to the envoy of the Wahabi Lieutenant, who was unable to persuade the maritime
Sheikhs to assist him against them. Protests against Wahabi aggressions on
Muscat were also received from the Resident. By the end of the year a reaction
against the Wahabis had taken place in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . Umm al Qaiwain alone
of the Trucial Sheikhs now supported the Wahabi Lieutenant, who was isolated at Bo. Sel.
Baraimi. Of the other tribes the Beni Said were joined in opposition to him by the
Al Said and the Abu Rashid, while the Muttawas, the Beni Naim and the Chief
of Sohar formed a separate alliance with the same object. “ The effect of these two
separate confederacies, both composed of powerful and numerous followers,” must
“ have been highly beneficial and tended greatly to prevent the inordinate aggrandise
ment of the Wahabi power in the Province of Oman.”
74. The next few years show in a conspicuous degree the volatile and uncertain
nature of the relations of the Trucial Sheikhs (who in 1817 entered into an anti
slavery treaty with H.M. Government.) both with one another and with the
Wahabis. In 1845 Abu Dhabi united with his hereditary enemy Shargah to crush
Ajaman, Debai and Umm al Qaiwain. In 1847 Debai joined Shargah. In January
1848 Shargah found himself isolated and opposed by a combination of the
remaining Trucial Sheikhs. Later in 1848 hostilities broke out between Abu
Dhabi and the Wahabi Lieutenant in Oman.
Capture of Baraimi by Abu Dhabi (1848) and its Restoration to Wahabis (1849).
75. On 16th June the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi captured Baraimi, the garrison
surrendering; defeated a Nejdi expedition sent to restore the position, and
compelled the Wahabi Agent to take refuge with the Sheikh of Shargah. But the
successes of Abu Dhabi aroused the apprehensions of the other Irucial Sheikhs,
who now combined against him, and the Sheikh, support from Muscat seeming
improbable, in February 1849 made peace with the Wahabis and agreed to restoie
the Baraimi forts to the Wahabi Agent.
Muscat and Abu Dhabi attack the Wahabis, 1850.
76. In March 1850 Muscat and Abu Dhabi concerted a joint expedition against gel ,
the Nejdis of Baraimi, who were supported by all the remaining Trucial Sheikhs. xilY,’’
But Shargah and his allies directed their operations against the Batineh coast of 493-4, 505.