"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٢‎٠‎٦] (١٧٨٢/٣٤٩)

20G
History of the
pirate
Rahmah-
bin Jabir,
and his
proceedings
1824-26.
No account of events in the Persian Gulf at this period would be
complete which did not mention the 'Atbi freebooter Rahmah -bin-Jabir
an extraordinary and desperate character to u horn more than one reference
lias already been made, lie narrowly escaped punishment as a pirate
as we have seen before, during the British expedition of 1809-10
against the Qawasim. At that time, and for several years afterwards
he was closely associated with the Wahhabis; but his ruling motive was
enmity towards the A1 Khalifah Shaikhs of Bahrain; and, when in 1816
the Sultan of 'Oman prepared to attack Bahrain and the Wahhabis took
the part of the Al Khalifah, llahmah broke with his former allies and
connected himself with the 'Omani ruler. The Wahhabis in consequence,
in the same year, expelled him from his principal fort of Tammam on the
coast of Hasa and obliged him to retire to Bushehr, where he remained
under Persian protection until 1818. He then returned to Hasa to help
the Egyptians in their operations against the Wahhabis, and was reward
ed by the latter, when victorious, by being replaced in possession of
Dammam. In 1819 Rahmah was expected, both as a political ally of
the Sultan of 'Oman and as an enemy of the Wahhabite Qawasim,
to assist the British expedition which sailed in that year against Ras-al-
Khaimah; but instead of doing so he proceeded, early in 1820, to join
the Persian Governor of Fars in an abortive scheme of forestalling the
designs of the Sultan of Oman upon Bahrain by means of a Persian
descent on those islands. An order for the destruction of Rahmah's
vessels was then passed by the commander of the British expedition, but
was recalled on the ground of his being a dependent of Persia; and in
April 1820 he declined, on the plea of his connection with Persia, an
offer of admittance as a party to the General Treaty of Peace between
the British Government and the Arab chiefs of the Gulf. In 1832 the
Al Khalifah of Bahrain and Rahmah-bin-Jabir submitted their differ
ences to the arbitration of the British political representatives in the
leisian Gulf, and, after ineffectual attempts to reconcile them had been
made by Lieutenant-Colonel Kennett and Lieutenant McLeod, a settle
ment was at last arranged by Colonel Stannus in February 18^i
Rahmah then turned his attention to the port of Qatif, blockading it and
attacking its shipping in order to compel the inhabitants to pay him
tribute, or rather blackmail; and these proceedings he continued into the
year 1825, disregarding the remonstrances and even the threats of the
British political officers, by whom they were regarded as savouring more
of pirao\ than of regular warfare. A new quarrel having broken out at