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5.2  South of the Straits - Oman

 

The peace and prosperity that had existed for sometime in Oman came to a close with the death of its ruler Imam Sultan ibn Saif II in 1718 and an internal power struggle for succession that lasted till 1744. During this period of turmoil, the Persians under the rule of Nadir Shah were expanding their territory and having failed to take Basra from the Ottomans in 1735, took Bahrain in 1736, landed some troops in Khor Fakkan and Julfar in April 1737 and together with Imam Saif ibn Sultan defeated the rebel Omani forces at Buraimi before taking Al-Jauf and Ibra. Then the alliance between Saif and the Persians was over and the Persians retired to Bandar Abbas from where all the Persian expeditions had been mounted. The Persians returned to Julfar at the beginning of 1738 and again in alliance with Saif occupied the towns of Bahla and Nizwa then Muscat but not the two forts. Again Saif and the Persians quarrelled and Saif obtained the support of the rebel forces against the Persians. The Persians then lost Bahla,  gave up their siege of Sohar and retreated to Julfar. The Persians now became preoccupied in the second half of 1738 with dissent in their fleet and and Arab attacks on Bahrain and along their coastline. Having dealt with these immediate problems and obtaining more vessels for their fleet the Persians in 1742 crossed over to Julfar and concluded a treaty with Saif. Earlier in April 1742 the Persian garrison at Julfar had marched out and defeated the Arabs at Khasab.  The Persians laid siege to Sohar and sailed to Muscat where they eventually took the 2 forts after tricking Saif into drinking too much wine. The siege continued at Sohar until in July 1743  when an agreement was reached whereby the Persians would end their seige of Sohar but would retain Muscat and be paid a tribute by the Omanis. Ahmad ibn Said had managed to win their favour and be appointed Governor of the town. Saif retired to Rostaq where he died. In December 1743 Taqi Khan, the Persian leader, then rebelled and leaving his troops returned to Bandar Abbas en route to Shiraz. Ahmad ibn Said however reneged on this agreement and continued to recover by deception and force territory held by the Persians until all that remained in Persian hands was Julfar.^[1] Ahmad ibn Said continued to impose his authority in this instance in the north of Oman:

 

Ahmed now turned to the conquest of the people of Ras-ool-Khyma, descendants of the Ghafiri, who had aided the Persians in their views. He attacked them in A.H. 1160 (A.D. 1747), by land and sea, with an army of twelve thousand men, under the command of Kandhala bin Suif, of the family of Sueed, who was met at Boraimi by Rashid bin Matar, the Joasim, and Amrar bin Homaid, the Noaimi (a large tribe south of Shargah, the pirate port), at the head of an army of fourteen thousand men, which met with a total defeat.

Ahmed was at this time engaged in the siege of Khurfakhan, a town and port in the Batinah, in lat. 25 20'N., with a fleet of eight ships, and forty of the larger description of Native vessels, The garrison of this fort was composed of one thousand Joasim, who, when they heard the fate of their brethren, gave up the fort, and, entreating the clemency of their conqueror, were permitted to return to Sir.

The ambition and exertions of Ahmed daily increased. He pushed his conquests as far as Khasab, the governor of which place, Hassan bin Abdoolla, the Shihiyyin, who was formerly subject to the Joasim, submitted voluntarily to his government.

During a residence of ten days in the town of Khasab, he received the alarming intelligence of the revolt of a member of the house of Yarabi Jaalan. His measures were decided : he directed his cousin, Khalfan bin Mirhamad, to proceed to Ras-ool-Khyma, with the great body of his fleet, and returned himself to Muskat with three ships, to attend to the suppression of the revolt. After a delay of only four days, he proceeded to Jaalan, and attacking the rebels, overthrew them with considerable bloodshed, and took a large number of prisoners. This occurred in A.H. 1162 (A.D. 1749).

Khalfan, after repeated attempts, found he could make no impression on the Joasim. Ahmed proceeded thither in person, and after remaining for four days in the town of Ramse, returned to Muskat by land, and despatched Ali bin Suif, the Syudi, with four ships and ten Dows, directing him to cruize against the ports of Sir, with the utmost rigour, until they submitted to his authority. Ali followed up these orders so strictly, in face of Ras-ool-Khyma, Jazerat-ool-Hamra, Fasht, and Shargah, not permitting a boat to attempt the pearl fishery or a commercial voyage, that the inhabitants of all these places, with the exception of the first, were reduced to the last extremity, and obliged to acknowledge the supremacy of the Imaum, A.H. 1176 (A.D. 1763).^[2]

 

Carsten Niebuhr arrived in Muscat on the 7 January 1765. On the 18 January 1765 he set sail for Bushire on an English ship and passed through the Strait of Hormuz. He drew up a detailed of the Persian Gulf entitled Sinus Persicus^[3] to which he gave the name Sea of Curses.^[4] This was completed in 1765 after finishing a less detailed map of the Oman, Terræ Omân, whilst residing in Muscat.