"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٤‎٢‎٥] (١٧٨٢/٥٦٨)

425
Tmrnm
M
i
with Saiyid Sultan ; but for want of courage, or possibly of the appropriate
means, their good intentions remained inoperative ; and the ruler of ■'Oman
was left to bear the brunt of the Wahhabi's displeasure alone. Sultan
(juickly destroyed the war fleet of the 'Utub ; but his enemies were too
numerous for him, even at sea; and he found himself unable to undertake
offensive operations and at the same time protect his own coasts from
ravage. A descent by a hostile squadron on the island of Qishm,
then a dependency of 'Oman, which they overran and pillaged, was
among the incidents of this maritime warfare.
At last, a mission having been sent by Sultan to Dara'iyah, a truce
was concluded for three years on condition that'Oman should pay an
annual tribute of 112,000, and that a Wahhabi political agent should be
allowed to reside at Masqat. The truce, however, had hardly begun,
when it was violated by the Wahhabis.
The Wahhabi troops under Hariq entered the Batinah district, com
mitting unspeakable atrocities as they advanced towards Masqat; and a
force despatched by Saiyid Sultan for the defence of Suwaiq, which
was in danger, was ambushed by them in difficult ground and almost
altogether annihilated. In this emergency a national council of war was
convened by Saiyid Sultan at Barkah, and it was resolved to continue
the struggle against the invaders to the uttermost. The first object of
the patriotic assembly was to raise the siege of Sohar, where Hariq, after
his successful action near Suwaiq, had invested Qais ; and Khaburah
was appointed as a place of rendezvous for the tribes of 'Oman. When,
however, a large force had collected at Khaburah and was about to march
on Sohar, Hariq, who in the meanwhile had probably received intelligence
of the assassination of his master 'Abdul 'Aziz at Dara'iyah, withdrew
fi'om Sohar to Baraimi; and the 'Omani leaders, satisfied apparently with
the retirement of the enemy, allowed the great tribal muster to disperse.
Peace made,
but violated
by the
Wahbabis.
Land cam
paign of the
Wahhabis
against
'Oman.
Relations of Saiyid Sultan with Britain, 1792-1804.
A choice of policy, more momentous even than his decision to resist
the Wahhabis, was imposed on Saiyid Sultan by the strife which
prevailed from 1793 to 1802 between the British and the French in
eastern seas; his final decision was not taken, however, until J79S.
British interests in''Oman were still represented by a native biokei, ^ a J- rs . n
who in 1793 asked to be supplied with a British pass and flag for a 'Oman from
vessel that he owned. In 1796 Lieutenant Skinner was sent to Masqat 1792 to 1 .
with a ship, with instructions to enquire whether there were any