"دليل الجزيرة العربية المجلد II" [‎١‎٤‎٢‎٩] (٦٨٨/٤٩٠)

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'OMAN
1429
Balrinali coast, for sea-going steamers continued to smuggle arms in amongst bales of
merchandise at various ports of call. But after making all allowances, it would seem
that as a result of the Arms Warehouse, barelv a tenth of the former infiltration of arms
and 'ammunition reached the inhabitants. Moreover, in October 1913, the deportation
of the notorious Baltt hi arms trader' Ali Musa Khan, and his banishment .or five years,
served to inspire all ann» traders with a wholesome respect for the State Warehouse
and its regulations. , . c
In May 1913 the rising of the 'Oman tribes, which had been threatening .or a year past,
began to a sume serious proportions under the leadingship of the so-called Imam o
Tanuf, Balim-ibn-Rashid-al-Kharusi. The rising was due to the preaching of the prin
cipal Ibadhi Shaikh, 'Abdullah -ibn-Hamaid-as-Salimi, who inflamed any feeling of dis
content at the establishment of the Arms Warehouse, and proclaimed his son-in-law,
Salim-ibn-Rashid, as 'Imam of the Muslimin. The rebellion spread rapidly, Nizwa
falling about the middle of June, followed by Izki and Awabi in the course of the month.
In Julv a bodv of Indian troops was landed at Matrah and they occupied Bait-al-l ala],
a hamlet nearthat port, with a picket posted on Ruwi village At the beginning
of August the forts of Bidbid and Sama'il passed into the hands of the rebels ; and, as a
projected attack on Masqat was rumoured, the garrison at Bait-al-Falaj was doubled
in September. But nothing came of the attack at that time, and the new Sultan, after
his accession, entered into negotiations with the Hinawi tribes and arranged a tempo-
rarv truce. . , i . .i • a • „ i
Throughout the vear 1914 the Imam continued to give trouble in the interior and
made preparations'for a renewed attack. A bombardment of the ports of Barkah and
Quryat in April of that year had a tranquillizing effect upon the coast; but, as a means
of precaution, Indian reinforcements were sent to Masqat in November, By the end ot
the vear the tribes had gathered, and in January 1915 the threatened attack took place,
when a force of Arabs, estimated at 3,000, attacked the British outpost line but met
with a crushing defeat. This success relieved the situation, though the rebel party
still dominates the interior. Meanwhile, the Warehouse has worked well, and io
importation of arms and ammunition has ceased.
'.OMAN (TRUCIAL)—
Uniformity of physical, social and political conditions throughout that part of Oman
which extends from the frontier of the 'Oman Sultanate on the east to Qatar and the
,Ta ? urah desert on the west requires that the region should be treated as a geographical
^The name Tracial 'Oman.—The region in question consists of the actual possessions of
the Shaikhs of 'Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Dibai, Umm-al-Qaiwain and Sharjah and of the
territories of the tribes who, in fact or in theory, are directly subject to their influence
but in Arabic it has no general name. Among the subjects of the Oman Sultanate the
whole is known as Sham al, either on account of its position with reference to their o\\n
country or because of its exposure to the north-west wind ; and in Eastern Arabia,
further to the northward, the part adjoining Abu Dhabi Town seems to be spoken of as
'Oman-ash-Shamali because it is the northernmost part of 'Oman ; but neither of these
terms is in common use among the inhabitants of the regions which they used to des
cribe. The nearest approach to a recognised general designation is apparently Sahil
'Oman or Coast of 'Oman ; but this expression, though not unknown to the people of the
country, is wanting in precision and distinctiveness and is far from bemg universally
understood. In English official literature a part of the shore line has long been familiar
under the name of " The Pirate Coastbut the term is not sufficiently comprehensive,
and, at the present day, is obsolete and even misleading, inasmuch as the state of affairs
which it once accurately connoted has long since passed away. Regard bemg had to
a perpetual maritime truce which regulates the relations of the rulers to one another and
to the British Government the pentarchy in question maybe styled, not inappropriate
ly, Trucial 'Oman ; but it must be remembered that the trucial obligations of the
Shaikhs do not extend to the interior of their dominions.
The component principalittes of Trucial 'Oman are fully described elsewhere under
their own names ; and the function of the present article is accordingly to correlate
them, to describe the country and its inhabitants as a whole, and to dispose of certain
matters (such as communicat : ons) which could not be dealt with piecemeal under the
names of the separate principalities.