GAZETTEER

OF THE
PERSIAN GULF, 'OMAN,
AND
CENTRAL ARABIA

HISTORICAL
Part I A
 762
E :r pi>diti on by 10 December 1885, Sha'am ha.ving' revolted against the Shaikh of
the Shaikh8 Ras·a.l - I\ haimah, t ha t chief, assisted by his cousiu the Shaikh of 8hirjab
of Hii:o.·al. proceeded against the pJace a nd quickly red uced it t o submission, inflict'
Khllimah
and Shiirjal-,
ing a finc of S J,600, of which a porti on was pa id at once_
1885.
Procl·cdings rrhc expe llcd Shaikh, Salim, continued to 'watch f or an opportunity of
flf the cx· ohtaining better terms than he bad yet receiyed f rom his successful
Shaikh Salim, riyal. I n June I~S6, on a combination heing fo rmed by t he Shaikhs of
1886·89.
Dibai, }Ajmii.n and lIaml'lyah against t he Sbaikh of Umm-al-Qaiwail\
Salim ollce more landed. at }Ajman j but no opport un it y having Occurred
)£ prosecuting his designs against Sharjah, he shortly ret ur ned t o Bli
1\['18". I n 18S~ Sa lim paid a yisit to Dibai, bet ween t he Shaikh 01
which place and the Shaikh of Sbarj ah enmity at the time prevailed ; &
reconcil iat ion, however, hay ing t aken place bet ween the two, he W&s
pCl'suaded hy thc Shaik h of Dibai to promi se, in return f or the rest oration
o[ lli~ pcm:ion, which had been sllspended, t o abstain f rom intrigues
againKt his nephew, In April 1889, nevert heless, he org anised an attack
npun Sharjah ; but he 'll"a6 u nable to carry it out. A ga in, a little later, he
bc('am.e reconciled to Shaikh Saqa!', 'w ho t h is t ime received him into
favour ami appointed h im his 'Yazir.
Re· incotpOTR· On the 2nd of August 1900 lIama id·b in·'Abd ullah, Sh aikh of Ras·
tion of Has- a.1- Khaimah, \ras removed by a para lytic strokc, a nd Shaikh Saqar-bin.
al·Khaim a h
with the K hiiild In the follow ing month re-annexcd the to wn and dist rict to his
~ hiirjflh princ ipn Jity of Shiirjah wi t h out encou nteri ng a ny opposition. Shaikh
SIJaikhdouI, Sarlnr at firs t placed his cousi n H amad. bin-)Iiij id in charge of Ras·a.l-
1900. K haimah j hut a f ew m onths later, uas ing fou nd his co nduct unsatis-
factory, he substituted his ow n son K hrdid as governor .
H aml'i y ah 'r1..le township of H a mriya h, of w hich t he headma n on the occasioll of
affairs, 180i1 · [Jol'd Curzon's visit to t he coast, in Nm;ember 1903, vainly sought to
0·1. obtain recognition as a n independent T ruc ial Shaik h, continued in theory
attached to the ~ hf\rjab principa lit y a nd ill practice virt uall y indepen-
dent ; t hc reason of the vrolonged estmngement was ch ie fly~ so far as_ could
be ascerta ined, the neglect 01' i ncapacity of the Shaikh of Sha1'Jab to
p rotect t he intcl'cst s of his yassal 'when assailed by others. On the Srd
of Scptemher l !~O 1, a cha nge of headmen occu rred at Hamriyah by the
dcath of Sa iE· bill-)A bd ul' R ah ma n and t he succession of his son' Abdur
R allllliin-bin-Saif. '1'hc latt er sOon res iO'ned h is pos it ion in fa.vour of an
elder relation named Saif-bin-Saif. of whose a mbition he stood in dread ;
but, On the latter proC'('edi ng- to (lespo il him of his perso nal 1?rope~y,
, A Ldu l' Hahman attackE't.1 tile house of Saif by n ig h t, takmg, hIm
pri soncr and killing his so n~ amI himself resu med t he headshIp of
i-Jamri)3.h. Shaikh R ii-:;hid of U llllll-al-Qaiwa in t hen inter vened and
sctilcd tJH~ matter by rcmoving Saif- bi n · ~ai f to his own capit al.
Political U ndcr Saqar-bin· Kh al id the impor tance or S harja h a mong the
po"itioTl Il nd Sha ikhllollls o[ rJ1ruc iai ~O lll a ll decl ined, and t he prest ige of the
I'crsonal char-
~cte r of the
Q fl.simi lIame sunk to an u ll prccedcntecll y low leycl. In pr~vate
Shaikh of lire the Shaikh was weak, miserl y, and uxoriou s : in public busHle~s
Shiirjah, he was apathrtic ano :-;cemell incalmblc of exer t ion_ H e a1iel~ated , hiS
I OOi. subj ects a.nd f unnel' Bedouin adherenb; by indiffcrence to t helr gl'l~V'i
an(:CS an d requests; an d he forfeited t he respect of the ot her Truci
S ua..ikhs lJY hi s genera l i ll~ignifi. can ce, bot h as a man and as a ruler. U
763
his personal relations wit h B rit ish o fll Ct!l'r; Sh aikb 8:1113.1' alwa.y s
showed himself friendly and well-disposed; but, from iudo IOl.ce, he \\as
sometimes remiss in en forcing thc just cla ims of Bl'itish subjects; and,
on the occu rrcnce of internal d ifficulties in hie: state, he manifested
-
toO great :l. disposit ion to rely on thC' help of UtP British Res i-
dency, instead of grappli ng with them h imielf. I n l!\O± the ~eneral
dissatisfaction of his subjects with h is l'ult' found eXI)l'eF:..ioll in a plol tu
d.epose Shaikh Saqar in fa.,·ol1 l' of his unde, tbe ex· Shaikh Sii1illl i hut
timely information cnabled Shaikh Saqar to fnl!~t.rate the intrig'ue and
MuLa.nlloatl -bill -KhaJilll olle of the chief conspirators, ",as ohligeJ, on
j
csc:aping from custody, to seek refuge at Umm-al·Qaiwain_ II'he direct
ad ministration of tbp tow II of Shal'jah was hel d, until his death about
]9 lju by Shaikh Saqar's son H..l silid,-tl. ,Young- mall who in character
resembled hi s fathe r; a,ntl H:ls-al-Kha imah waS ill ]907 still gorcl'llctl by
K hfliic1 tbe only son the n sHn 'ivi ng of the Shaikh.
j
ANi'lEXU lW No. Z.- li'\ 'l'J<: R .'A L lll STORY OF '1'1 1 1£ A lJ lI
DHABI PRD'C1P ,\L1 'J'Y.
AI) ill t he Ct'lse of Shflrjah it appear~ advisab le tv duvote a shurt
sep~rate not ice to t he i nternal affa ir::. of t.he ALu Dhabi prillt-ipality, of
wincJ} the external histol'Y has been g i\'en in t he prCt..'eding cha pter_
Early hist ory, 1761·1818 ,
Thc fOll ndation of t he tu w n of Abu DhaLi is ::tSl:l'iiJec1 tu t he ,-ear F ou.nd a.tion
17£i.1. T he sU1TouIHling cou nt r,)" was then a lrea.dy o(·t..'lIpied IJ.v" t he of Abu Dhll.bj
Balli Yas,-a lan d· fa ring' Bedouin lribe who, unt il the aCl'idelltal discoven ' t own, 176 1.
of water at t he site of A bu D hab i town, wherc a small vi liaO'e of 20 ~
IlOuses now sprang' up, Lad not apparcntl_,- a. !:;ingle permanent settle-
ment upon the coast _
1,10 1' informatio n reg'al'dio g t bc rl liefti of t he tl'ibe at the ti mc of R ulers down
th e establ ishment of t he A bu Dhab i prilll"ipali t,'- the reader is referred to and in cl ud·
to the gencalog-it:al tab le of t he B a.lli Yas SlmikhfO_ P rolJaLh· the ing Sh aLk h
i\1u hRLllLllad,
last Sha ik h to reside t.:h ietir i n t he intcrior was D hinlb-bill. 1 1sa" wh o deposed in
in 17\:),j was murdered lJ~' his ~el'on d cousin, 1I :12Z,·ll·lJin-'Z,lid. '1'he deat h I B1 B.
of p hiyflb was am pl.v' a \ enged by h i~ SUIl S hak hbiiL, fo r t he young
Sha ikh sm:t..'ccded ill putti ng' t o deat h no fcwer t han tell persons who
had bee n pl'csen t at hi s fnt h e r'~ as~a8s i llat i oll . and ill liD5 H :.LZZll 1 , the
<lelual IIl Urdel'~ l') fOlJnd himsclf obl igcd, fr oIII fear of a . . illl ilaJ' fate, to fly

764
Shaikh Shak bbiit "emaine<!
tho (·onntry along' with all bis snpporlf'rs .
at the h ead of the trihe uutil I H16: he was thell de posed by his SO il
)luh:ulllllad, who ruled for two rea.rs .
Shaikh Tahniln-bill-Shakhbilt, 1818·33 .
AcceSRion of In 1 'd H ,luhammad ",as expelled from Abu DI",bi by his brot hel'
Shaikh Tab · rrahn llll,-an enterpl'isc favoured by Shakhhut, the father of both,
nun, 1818.
by a. majority of the Balli Yfls trihe, ::t.nd h.v t.he ruler of .:\[asqat who
a.fiordef\ m:ttcrird assif:::i.a.nce.* 71fllbamma,(l sou[!ht refu.!re a.t Dohah
in Qa.tar under the protection of the Shnikh of Bahra.in, whi le Ta.hnUI1
bet·:tnw ~ haikh of Abu Dhabi, but f or n. lime associated his f ather
with himr.:/.'If in the administration and ~mployed him on impor t ant
llIil"f;jOIlR, par! iClllarly on that of ncgotiating a peace with the com mander
of thc British expedit.ion a.gainst }l,fls-:Il-KiJaimah in 1 819-2U. rrhe
:](:("l·~~ion u[ Talilliin to power ulld er the auspiccs of !\1asqat was the
heqi nnin g of a. permanent brcaciJ bclwee n thc Qawilsim a.nd t he Ba.ni
Ya8, wuo, i[ tradilion may be belic\·ed, Lad hitherto lived as close friends
and allies.
Movcm4'ntll In] "'2l or 18:ll?, some time after the accession of Shaikh T abnun,
of Sli waidln · an indi\·idual named Suwaidan bin-Za.'al, who appears to have been
bin·Za'al, head or the )Iah,irihah section of the Balli Yfls, absconded f rom Abu
1822-23.
Dhabi in orde!· to avoid payment of his deLts, and adopted a rovi ng anu
preuatory life. Action was at once taken ap:ainst him by Shaikh · rralll~tlll,
wh o Rllccccded in capturing some of lLis boats j but these proceedlllgs
w('l'e view('d hy the British :lllthol'il ics of the da.y with disapproval, a8
Clldan(rcritw tho tra.tlCluiliity o[ tho SC:lfi,' alld the Shaikh was even
~
rC(jllircci, M I' t
Ott pa.ill of a Hrili8h war vessel being' Bent against us port, 0
c\ el' ist I'rom thCli1 atld to givo up thc vessels wh ich he had seized. ~t the
und of lhe ycar Suwa.iclan paid a viljit to ?'I"£alj(plt, where he received a.
prCf;ctti from. ~a,iyicl Sa'id, and in .!:\.Iluary 1 t;;!S he was repo~,ted to
ha.vo r.:cli led down quictly on the island oC Y{ts. A different \'le~. of
Suwa-iuan's charac ter \lOW appa.rently presentcd itself to the local R:lt~sh
ollicel'tl, for we find the Residen t.. advising hiln to make his subn~l ~slO ll
Lo Sh:,ikh 1'ahnull and even encouraging tbe latter, 011 certain condl tlon~,
to reduce him by force. Eventually Suwnidan was reconciled t o hlB
chief and rctltl'llC<\ to Abu Dhabi in 1828.
A.t.lAck nil Lale in lI,e year 182:3 lhe ex-Shaikh )[nhammnd, whose headquarter~
Ahu Dhabi werc no w a.t Doltah in Qa.tar, al)pcarecl hc[oro Abu Dhabi at the hea
town by the
Sueh is thC' !\1·COuut t.:ivoll by Lil'utell Bll t Hcnnl·ll about 1831. Bee Bom~{
Selcl'lio1ls, XX) V. page ,J64 ; unt. Lieutenant !\l c1.Je~, writing in 1 ~23. stat es t h~B
'fahnun waB BI·t up hy the ruler of MlISqflt, nbollt 1821 III plnco of hll fa t her, t
hrc ,tlt er !It lLhl\mmat.l At tilC r:.an .e time tailing fl i ght. Si g uattll'O of th e GOnP Tai Trl!' ~
of }leaCO Oil behalf of Abu Dhaui wn~ ill [til)' C'a90 pc~f(Jn~cd (on tl!e !lth of. JIlo~u:~n
J820) by SllI\ikh S hakhbut , who In 1833 WU8 still ahvo; Lut It i8 certAin t ..
.hllunry 182:3 '1'!llmun 1l1r<Jl\dy held tllo f;o lo power.
'/ 00
of a. numbcr of ':\ian1lsir BedouinB and attacked Dud plundered the ex·Sh"ikh
town; but he was driven out with a loss or 35 men by his brother 1\l nham1l1ud.
1829.
~'ahllttn, who hastened to thc spot with 1\ largo force from Iho intel'jor.
Betrcating northwards ho Look ror~lge ill Sharjnh, wltithrr Ta.hllllll
followed by land and domanded IllS surrondcr; but, be forc ma.tter8
calllO to n. ("riEiis betwecn Lhe ShaikhEi of Abu Dhahi and Shflrja.h,
Muha.mmad rcljo\'(~d Lho laUer o[ his prc6o nco by returning' lo Qatar.
Shaikh 'raitnun had long diEitruEitcd his \,rothers Khalifah and SulUin AIISA6IIill at i ol1
or Shnikh
o.nd had kept Lhem at a distance [rolU Abu Dhahi j bllt he was Ht. length 'fa.llIlun,
persuaded by his fath er, Shakhbut, to all o w them. to return. Soon Ap, ;118S3.
o.[t Cl'wards they were f ound to Itayo entered wit.h some of the principal
residcnts of Abu Dhabi into a plot for the rem oval of Tnhnutl, - nil nct
of tl'co.son w ith which the Shuikh prepared to deal by Lhrowing some
of their confederates into prison. 'l'llie prec:mtioll, howe,"cr, was not
sufH rit.' tlt. On the contrary it precipitatcd Lhe nct ion o[ th e conspirat.ors;
rt. nd ill Apr il 1833 Sha.ikh rrahnun I'cll a yictilll to tho vistol of his
Lrother Khalifah find tho clagg-or or hit; brothN 8ulbll.
Shaikh Khalifah-bin·Shakhb ut, 1833-45.
K halifah and Sultfm at fi rst ruled in partnership; but gradually Acecllion of
Shaikh Kha.-
tho pl'ellomi ll aoee of K halifah dec laret! itself, and SultflU descended lifah, 1833.
to a subordinate place. A tender of al1e~iance and Zaka.t on the
pal'l, of the usurpers was readily accepted Ly the Wahhabi AmiI', who at
on co took thorn ullder his protection and f orbad e I lto Qflsimi Shaikh
of Sh.-ll'jall to meddle in their affairs.
III t he course of the following summer :t COtlspiracy was formed Ly Plot agninst
SOmo mnll:o ntents nt Abu DhaL i to lnul'(ler SlmikhKha.llfah a.mll'cpbce ~hl\ i kh Kiln-
iifnll, 1833.
hi m by OItL' vI' his lirst ceousinf'>; but lhe l'Olltiilt wlill1tt it. W:I:-; inlvttdl'cl til
b\'lldit hilliself divulged the pl ot. to tho Sktikh , wIt o, retiring- inlo his
fort, t>cized th ree of the ring-leadcrs and put them Lo death. lIe W:16 all'o
ahout tv C~~Ctlto two influcntial men: hallt~; but. popular inliig'natiu ll and Ij
t he OPPOSItIOn of his brother SulUul diyerte(l hilll from hi t; purpoi:iC
and obliged him to be satil5fied instead wi lh the ('xpulf'ioll o[ one oE tho
merc ha.nts named lJin·'Iyflll, whom, aft.er beating a,lId tlespoiling of his
property, he sent in a Baqarah to Lingch.
rl'.lt ili violeltce on the part of Shai kh Khalifah was highly prejudicial SecrIJllion 0 f
to Ius OWn interests, £01' it led to the Fecession from Abu Dhabi to the Ai Eii
Dibai, during th e pearl fishery, o[ a lnrge number of Bani Yas of the FaIR.ah to
Dibll i,1833,
Al 13rl Falasah secLion. Dibai, of whi ch the date of foundation ca nnot
be fixed but mar h:nc been latar than that o[ Abu Dhahi seo ms to ha\'c
been readily sm:rcndered b\' the indiyidu:d wh o lhf'rt ;on~rned it on
behalf of Shaikh Khalifah to the seceders j and they, i~ the foll ow ing'
aulumn, ,,'ere joilled there by lhe bulk of th eir rebt iVL's, rel urnillg from
tl lO pe:trl L:1Iti.;s. rl'ho sccession was perm:tll ent, :ilmoRt the entire Lody
of tbe Al Bil Fnlflfmh being to the pn.'6ollt day dOllliciled at DiL~i; and
 766
that place, wh ich had hitherto heen a dependency of Abu Dhabi
became afler 1833 a dangerous riyal, and at times enemy, of the parent
t)tate.
The attack on and subsequent blockade of Abu Dhabi town by the
o SlJalkh of Shiil'}th 111 the auLumn of 18:33 were due to these dissensiOlls
\yhich appeared to Shaikh Snltan-bin-Saqar to provide an excellent oppor~
tunitr of crushing the Bani Yiis chief on pretext of obtaini ng justice f or
the merchant Bill-Jlyan; hut the result was far from answering to t.he
('xpe('tatiolls of the wily intriguer.
First seces- III 1~35, wh ell he~yy damages on accoun~ ,of piratical outra.ges by
tit111 of the
~be - nalll Y:18 were belllg 1'eco,'e1'e<1 by the Bnhsh Governml?nt from the
Qubai~ii L to
Shaikh of Abu l' habi, the subjects of Shaikh Khalifah began to dis.
'Odaid,
1835·3i. 1)cI'FC in :\11 JirC'ctiolls with a view to avoiding payment of t heir in-
dividual contributions; and it even became necessary for t he :British
alltbol'it ies to J'equest other Shaikhs to abstain from affordin g asylum to
fugitives from Abu Dbnbi,
It \,'as impossible, howcyer, to prcyont by these means the emigra.-
tion of the QuhniEat F:cdion of the Ban i 1'5.8, who now, under t he lead er-
ship of Khi!d_im-bin-Nn/amull and leav i n~ their dcbts at Abu Dhabi nn-
8ettled~ removed in aooi,h· to Khor-al -' Odaid,-an inlet of the unin habited
('onst neal' the base of U;e Qatar promontory, distant nearly 200 JIliles
fr0tll Abu Dl!:"tbi, rrhr, British Resident made an e ffort to reconcile
the Qubaip;at with tbrir chief a.nd to induce them to return to their
all eg ia.uce, bnt iL was nnsuccessful j and soon afterwards it was reported
that the fleU]et's at ) Odaid \Yere affording encouragement to pirates)
espe(;iallr to the notorious Jiisim-bill·Jabir, R aqraq i, whose depreda.-
~ions occasiol1(-1d fI. Briti8h naval demonlitra.tion along t he Qatar f'o n.st in
1836, as related in the history of that promontory. The usual hc"d-
lluarters of the pirates were at l\lirfah, an anchorage on t he coast of
TarfY. in Dhafrah, wh ere they were accuslomed to bring their spoil ash~re
and load. it on camels f or despatc h to different destinations; but .l aslm
had in the £l'st instance issued from' Odaid, and the headman of that
place continued to countenance I,im so long as he dared.
At lenO'th in l\fay \ ~37, ]lOl'mission to take such measures as w e r(~
necessary ~having been accorded by the nesident, Shaikh Khalif~h con-
triyed to fall without warning upon the 'Odaid settlement, whIch ,be
completely destroyed: 50 of th e inh abitants were kill ed; t he forl~ fi­
cations and houses W~I'C dismantled j and tIe wells were filled up With
the ruins of ihe uuildillO's and the bodies of the slain, A number of
the QuLaisat then took l~fllVC a.t Dibai, anti prubably at uLher place8
also ' but when they saw t1~at some of their number who had gone back
to A.'bn Dhabi were treate<.l with illdulg'ence and had their boats restored
to them the)- aCCe lJted a O'eneral am nest" offered by Shaikh Kbalifah ~ntl
returned, to their homes and ~ -
t h eir allegiance, a.mong them bemg
· Kh a- d I n1. -
bin-~' a'aman, the chief of the seceders,
Assrtssinr'\ ion In July 1845 in circumstances whi ch are not fully explained, Sbaikh
of Sh[\i~h Tahllfm with his' brother SnlUul was t l'eacl!cnlllsly murdered by O!l~
Khl\1iCah. ) lsa-bill-Khalid who had 10110' been l..-illrr ill wait for his life. The de~t
1845. W<lS comn1itted ~t a. F(':.tSOIl \then the'to,;n wns nlmost deserted bY \F.
inhabitants, these having gone either to the pend banks 01' to the d n f'
767
groves of Liwah j and it formed the conclusion oC a Ceast of wh ich ill('
victims lind just. portnkcn, nt the im'itaiion of tlH' murdrl'el's, under the
shade ora Balil dmwn up upo n the heach,
Notwithstand ing' the fratricidal cl'imf' hy which he firFt attained to Admini~lra ­
tion of
power, but wi ,ich wc may consider tn b::tvf' been rxpii1ted iJy the ~ha i kh
manner of hi s OWl} <.leath, the rul C' of Shaik h Khalifal! had becli in cn'IT Khali fah,
respect creditable to his eba1'3cLer, Hy hi s g:al1an1l'y, firll1llf'~-" an~l
prudence he rai sed the Ahu nhabi principality Lo a pOf'ilion mllc ll higll{'r
than it had eyC'r before occupied; and at thr ~a.m e timc he lllrt.intainrd,
at least after 1~3G, a. good und erlstarH.lillQ,' with the Hri Lish authoritiefi,
and restrained. his ~uh.ipcts to thr best of h is ability from 1reach('" of the·
mariti me peace ,
Interregnum, 1845 .
On th c <.leath of Sl!aikh Kl!alifah LlIr headship nf lhe Ba.ni Yii.."l was
assumed. by thc principal a~sa~sill~ 'ha-b in·K halid , apl'fln'iltiy \\·ith ihe
consent of such of the triLl' aF; wore titrll at han<.l j llut h\"4~ !llol!th:-: later
the Ilsurper was cut ofT by Dhiy:ilJ-b ill-' l fia, wl lo from his llalll4' lIlay lie
supposed to have Lcen a lil'sl eousin ()f ;")haikh Khalifnh, n!!il'i"ib waR
slain ill hi s turn by Kh.-tlid-I)ill-'Im, a ~OJI of hil-' yit,tim j 1m! this ill-
diyidual, in stead of a.llempting- to secure thr Shnikhdo1ll for hil1l~elf,
prudently returned, a.fter a\,PIlg'ing' his fatiter'fO. death, tu Sh ,-t rjah ",holl('('
be had set out, A brothel' of Kh fdi d contrin'd to oLtaili p06~;(I:-.E:ioll of
the f ort of Aim nh ahi; hut. he wa~ ::;pccd ily <'jected 1/)' :\IulliLlllmad-lJin-
HamfLid an d R::-u:ihid-lJin-l \l.dhil two influential lea(lel"s uf lhf' Billli Y'-lR.
j
who now declared [or Sa'id, a F:on of the FOl'Jner Shaikh 'ra.hlllill anf!
{;onseqllclltly nephew CJ[ the late Slmikh Khalifall.
Shaikh Sa'id-bin-'fahnun, 1845-55.
\ 'rhe chJef allt~lOrity was.retained ~H ~hril' O\\'~l hands hr, ~ruhnmm!l.(l Acces «ioll of
a.nll Rashid un tIl the arrl\'al of ~. hnlkh S:t.ld ~ who, hf'lll!.!," ~('nl:'ralh­ Shtlik h Sn'id,
l S,J,·j,
regarded a.s the most elig·ihlc cllirf, and !;eing' finpported mor('O\'er hy U;n
Illol'al influence of thc Britis h Volitical TIesidrnt, rsf:llli ishrd him~e]f ill
power without a.n.\- difficulty.
In 184,9, dissat isfic(l at t.he f:-LVOI1I' shown 11\' Shnikh Sn'id (4) tho Second
~ [aharihah section of the Balli Y,I.S with WhO ~l the\' Wf'r(' at feud (., tempted)
sPcPII'Iifln of
il
cncoumgcd also 11)' the Shaikh!:; of Sh.-lrj<1h ::tnd nilJn{ to hopI' that ll!~ th e Qubnisiit
'VahhiilJi AmiI' would sh ul'tly assist t~\em Lo esiallliE=h themsclves at. to ' Od:lid,
'Odaid, the Quhais:"lt of .-\ htl nkll;i oncC' more ahandolH'd their homes IBI9.
and settled temporaril r at lXlh<1h in Qatar. l~fff'ctual mf'a,stlrf'S to com-
pel the ir retn rn \\"Cl'c' at oller take!!, i! 1 )[OVE'!HI.C'r or DccC'wber I \) l~, by
 768
tho Shaikh of Abu Dhabi. Art. er imprisoning some of t he Qubaisflt
who still remai ned at Abu DI.n.Li, he se nt for t he leaders of the D ohah
colony alld 0 11 lheir un'ival gavo lhem n. flattering receptio n, D uring
tho fullowin g night, howc ver, the lH)ntl:> ill whi ch they ha.d co me were
stripped of masts, sails and a,1l ot.her gear j and the entrappod en voys
thm; dopri ved of t ho moa nl:; of esca. pe, found themselvos obliged to aO'rc~
to lho turms imp()sed by the Shaikh, whieh included, besides retur n f~om
DOltah, lho salisfaction of all deula du e uy the Quuaisiit to private
creditors and the parmollt of a. fine to himse lf.
ExplusioD of
Shni kh Sa'id In 1855 Shaikh 'Sa'id uecame emb,'oiled ",it h tho entire body of hi.
suhjects. 'rhe occasion was the murd er by a triLa l elder oE his 0\"11
a nd a ccceaion
of Shaill h brother, a.lJparen tly lIot without justifi cation, for the Ba.ni Y tiS as a whole
Zlid, 1856,
silled with til e elder and res isted the i ntention oE S hnikh Sa/id to Ptlt
llim to UO:1t h. On a p(omiso gi,'e n by tlw Shflikb to rem it both t hat alltl
over'y at her pena.l,t)' th e ~nnr~l ('~'er W:I S bro.ugh~ int.o his pr~se n ce, where.
Ilpo n Sa'id, re\'erling to his ong1l1al d r tcrnlllllltlOll, drew Ills da.gger and
wiill hi s OW II hand st ruck the mall ueau. frhe popnla ce at once rose ill
:tr ms j and Shnikh Sa'id , :Ifter dt'i't' lH.ling' h imself 1'01' somo t ime in hi/!
citallel, escaped Lo the l'ersia.n isla nd of Qais, takinA' wiLh him most. or
hi8 property hoth ill g'oods and callie. rro ille British ltesidoncy t.he
S haikll represe nted Ilis explIh:icm :"I S due to ofTorts which he lin d made to
pllnish fl, piracy, comm itted hy llani Yal' of th e Hnwamil an d Mabnribah
sections, upo n a Shu'ai uelo ng illg to Olle 'Abdul Kanm.
Shaikh Zaid·bin· Kh alifah, f r om 1855.
On the tli(J'ht. of Sh:likh Sa'id-binfl'ahllllll, his first cOllsin, s hnlkh
'l.flid.b in,Khnlifah, wns elc('tud to sucered ll im .. Acco rd ing to all arrang~
mont appa.n'ntl y ClIf.;{.onmry :~mong th e Bani Yas, a brot.her na m
DhiyfllJ wn l-> :lssoeinled with Zflid in the g-ovcrnlll c ut; but as usuul
notLing wa !' hC;Il'd, after thc first, o[ the assist.ant chief.
Attack on I n .July IH5Q:t piratical and altog'ether un expec ted dc~ce nt ul~o n tho
Abu Dhabi
~own ,o[ AIJ~I UhniJi was. mal~e by. the cx ile~l Shnik,h, Sa'id:bm.T a,hnu n , ,\~~
t own by t hc
In tillS afI~lr took Sh.lrph lor IllS Lase oCoperations j Ius fleet co nSIS h
cx· Shaikh
~ ~ 'jd , 1856. ?f three YCRRe,lsJ all small, of which one \~TaS hi s own, olle, b~lo n ged t~ ~a~
ISland of Q,"S and the othor was obta.ned at Abu H a.1 III tbe Shal')
principality, On the 19th of July, the pri ncipal S haikh (Zaid) belll~
t.hen absent in Dhafrah Sa'id-Lin·'rahnun landed at A bu DhabI a.n
,
outaJltcd , of the "town, wInch was plundered by b IS
pORsess lOll ' adl1erent•I!.
Shnikh Dhiy ~d) and t he few inha.Lit:1nts then prese nt at A bu Dl~a I~
simt themsch'es lip in the fort, !Llld l here held out until the arrlV{l
of Siw ikh h ;'lid I'rom LIle interior with a. party of l3 edoui ns. C?n tho
appearan ce of th e rcli e\T in g' force the invadcrs werc immediately .dl seol~­
filed : SaJid Lin-Tahnllll himself was amo ng tile slai n . As mentIOned I,n
the hi story of 'l'rucird )Om~llI. tho damage done at Abu D habi ?n Ullci
occlIsion W;IS partially. made g ood ouL of:1 bl'g-~ fine oJ: $25,OO?, l.mpos~.
on lhe Shadd. of Sharph becall'" of lhe compliCIty of some of h.s SlI
jects in the raid .
769
In noth i n~ does the (,~Rc lltially Bedouin character of the slIujcc ts o( Third laces -
t.he A Im D haL i Shflikh ;lpl'rflr more di stin ctl y tllflll in th e readiness with l ion of t he
which, o n !=llighL provoc,liion, 1hcy ahandon thoir ll omes and. Hot tle elsL" Qu h"i sAt. t o
' Od.id, 18UU·
whorC'. We hayc :dre:llly noliccd. tilt' perman e llt hivillf'r-ofE of the Al 80,
Du Ffllas:1 h in 183:3 alill the temporary !-l'ccs~io ll o r u7 e CluiJ:lisai ill
11.{:J5-37 alld IH4!) , n IHI mcnlion Illlist now lIe mad e 01' n l:iUstai ll rd ctrod
on Lhe pfLrL of tile Qubaisflt 10 frec tllcmselvcs, hy removal to a di stan co,
from (ho cO lltrol of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi,
In 1S0U, for reasOIlS 1I0t ascerta inod and thoreforo p.'ohably of slight
importance, :t body of the Qnbaisat under Lhe leadership o r llut i-bin·
Kltiidim unce mom f~ol'~ook Abu Dhabi and es t:~blis h ed themsclyes in the
remote creek of 'Odaid
In I S7], in con'o'lllOlIOO of complaillts by Shaikh Zai d t hat the 1871.
pro~r.er lty oE Abu Dhabi was dimini shed Ily the l'ompct ilion of tht'
'Odald settlement. and that the' latter had become a. city of refuge for
fr::mdu lently ab scondin g dehtors, Colonel P elly, th e British Reside nt in
tht' . Gul f, Imi de careful cnquirics both perso nally an d tllrough his
A!;:R lstant, ~~ I nj ol' Smith, regarding the o\'flH'rship or 'Odaid i lhe I'e~ult
wa s to show tha t. 'Odaid itself, tl) whit'h a t this time III) Shaikh of Qat :l ),
so muc h :1.8 lu.id c/:tilll, wa s undoubtedly situated wi t hill the j\ll'isdicj,joll
o[ the Shai k h of AIm Dhabi . 'The 'Odaid colo nists, however, clnimcd to
form :1 state (.ntirely illdepende nt of AIJu Dhab i i th ey 3Rscrted that the il'
territo ry exlonded half way from 'Od.id to Wakrah on the side of Qatar,
alld I n the other direction as far as the ir; land of Yas, nnd that it in cluded
D al mah and other adj;went islands formerly co nsidered to belolw to AL11
Dhabi j moreOVCt·, whil e tllry CXPl'cSfo;t.'d a wish to continue ~nd('l' the
'J'ruc,ial fl ag, th ey hinted not oLs(;u]'ely that, iC t.heir prefensi 0ns were lIot
adm lttcd, Lhoy would pl:lCC tilCll)Sclvcs undm the prot.ection oj' til(' '[ nrks,
wllo lmd now :nrivcd i n Qata r. Cololll'1 P elly asked tha t IH' mi g ht ht,
gi"('n ill ~t nlCtil)n s for d ealill g' with the matteI', ina RnllH' h as lite Shaikh
or Aha Dhn lli, relying' 011 tb e Perpetual Trea ty of Veltte o/: 1 ~ 53, had
olaimcd hi s i lltencnLioli as an arh itrator.
'11110 orders oE the Gov ernment of India, communi cated i ll May 1872.
1872, wo ro to tho effoct that no aclio n hy lho Res ident was callod for
und er the l\faritimc T ruce, no attack hav i llg been mado by sea. upon the
Shaikh or A btl Dhabi, and tbat Colonol P olly should not interfere
unless he appreh e nded a breach of the peace at sea between tho parties i
but thn-t hr should report at once any overt action indicating an inten-
ti un o n the part of the Turks to establi sh their supremacy at 'Odaid.
The position l'cJnnill cd un changed until 1873, when Coloncl Ross, ]873.
who had mC:l.nwhilr succeeded Colonel Pelly in charge of the Gulf
Residoncy, reported an appl ication hy tb e Shaikh of Abu Dbabi for leaye
to take IlfLval action ag-nillsL tlte 'Odaid reb els: it was oxplai nod that an
ex pedition by land was impracticable on account oE phys ical ohst.nclo8
Colonel Ross wa s inclin ed 1.0 t.hink that refusal of sanction illig-lit thro w
t he Shaikh himself in to the arms of t he POl'to; but t he G overnmont of
Tndia in reply directed him to avoid , if possible, giving any answer to
Zfl'id's reqll~st, alld, in tho opposite easo, to inform him tha.t the Govern-
mont of Inch:1 co uld not counte nance, and would eve n prevont, t he
proposed naval expedition,
58