Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
OF THE
PERSIAN GULF, 'OMAN,
AND
CENTRAL ARABIA
liB
GEOGRAPHICAL
AND
STATISTICAL
'OMAN (TRUCIAL) 1425
'OMAN SULTANATE
1424
There are at Masqat 12 European British subjects, also 32 British
t . of
complete O'cncalogical table heing drawn up ; hut
suLjccts or protected persons belonging to. :,a,rious l~aces ; and ~ or
'f. :1
obseU1'e,- 0 1'01 ml " '0 ' _ . tl bc third volume of this Gazetteer will t,h e
. tl ace given to man 111 1 . ' last arc found also at Matrah. Other Bntlsh subJects or plOteeted
1ll 10 sp h1' 1 d' 0' all or most of those who l'c1tUn any lm-POl't.."tllce
be fOllnd a, to. ?I me U Inc· persons arc either Hindus or M uhammaJans, in the second case generally
at the present time.
·-
. T k' G C I E
Saivid Sir Fnlsal-bm· \11' ' I , f. • . " IS
Khojahs, and are distributed as follow s :--
Muhlm-
'1.'ho 11l'cscn t Su It ,tn, •J • in his OWll Plare. lIindus.
Muham-
U1allana.
Plnce. Hindus. madanL
)l'ivatc individual, of the followmg estates
pl'opl'ietol', as a I 11 1 Sa.ham 10 6
Barkah
territory! 107 Shinas 9
Khabfirah
n ow proceeds ~rc disposed of. Sohar 8 13
~ Ilt UfC 0 1 property.
AnnUAl value. MaeDa'ah 10 18
Whore situated. Sur 28 31
Masqat 253 122
Suwaiq 7 3'
$300 Assignod \ 0 Su\aiman. Matrah 37 665
, Auhi in t.he sub- Do.te.groves and bin.Suwailim, lately dc- Quryat 9 1 'fobls 382 998
Wilii:ya.t of Sohar cultivated lantl . rCRflPd, who was WiiH of
Dhuffir and in recent
yeRrs of Sohar 0.180 . A brn.nch of i be Arabian Thtfission of thc R eformed (Dutch) Church
. Do. of America is established at Masqat.
Dnte-groves. ~2.500
Bidbi (l in Wadi
Samail $300 Do.
H:\il in Wa.di-al- Date-groves and
Hilti cultivated hmd. As<:.igned to the Wiili of
Do. 51.000
Khasah Khasab.
Nil. Assigned to thE:l officer
Manah Gra.zing l!\nd. of Manah.
Assigned to tht'< WaH of
Uniformity of physical, social and political conditions throughout 'OMAN *
N akh1 Date.gravE's and $1,000
Nakh1. that part of 'Oman which extends from the frontier of the ' Oman (TRUCIAL)
cul tivated land.
$2,000 A::.signcd to tho Witi of ,}o&
Dale-g roves. Nizwa.. • 1'hc matter of tllis alticle a.nd of the "lI1inor articles dependent upon it ha1l been
N izwa
~350
Asslrrncd to the Wali of f(lr the mnst part spec ially collected during tho Jcars 190! to 1907. An abstract of
Quryat Do. Qt'iryat. the then exi8ting informa Lion co ncerning Truciul 'Oman W,IS 'c ompleted h the writer
Hetaincd by t he Sultan. in November 190·1, fr om all a.\·ailnble books and reports; it amounted to 17 pri nted
A few sma.1l date-
Ruwi fo olscap pnges and IVa!! only intended to !'lervc as a basis for further investigation .
groves.
52,000 Assigned to ~ ~le 'ViIi of
Date-grove" and Hi sn Samail. Earl.v in 1905 Iho wrilf'r visitod Sharjah ']'OWI1. where with t.he assistance nf
Samail land. Retained by the SulUtn. Mr. J C. Gaskin. Uncovenanted Politicnl Assistallt in the P ersinn Oulf. and of 'Abdu l
A few small date-
Sid.b Latif, I{csi dency Agent at Sharjah, he W:IS able t.o oollect a quantit.yof freeh in·
groves. ~2 000 ASIIiA'ncil by the S?lt~n to
Date-groves and .. • his eldest SOli TalTuu r. rormation. A serics of articles pr eparf' d from the mat.,·rif11 thus obtained was ready
Wataiyah in Janunry 1906 and f:lIed 65 oct.avo pages of print : this draft was oiroulated to
\ oult.ivat ed Ia.nd . •
lhe local offic ers Wh086 atlent.ion it engaged during the whole of 1906. The
- aheady rcmarked above and furthcr explained by t hIS greater ralt of the work of revision and ampli6cation fell on Major P. Z. Cox,
The S nIt au, as tt . -tent out Rf'eident in the Prreian Gulf, who in July tOOG pa.id a special viuit. to Fujairah t
. bl' d to defray the expenses of governmcu 0 some ex
table, IS 0 1ge and on K. B. 'Abdul Latif-bin·' Abdul' Rahman, n.f:sidcnoy A:.;ent at Sharjab, who
h' oeket d t undertook slich of the inquiri('s as Majol' Cox was unable to carry out persona.H)' .
of IS own P db'. Tt'rki t he brother of the Sultan, owns a small a e-
Muhamma • m - , . . In tho next flet of drafts, which appeared early ill 1907 and extendcd to over 120
lantation at Raudhab in the Masqat D,stn ct.. 1 . and Wataiyah oelayo pages of print, W{'TO incorf,orllt('d the re8ul ts or an important jonrney me.do by
P Thc Sultan possesses conlltry-ho~s:s at_B.alt-al-Fa aJ Mu.jor Cox in December 1905 from Rii.s-;ai·Khaimah Town to the Baraimi Oasis;
also those of oareful inquiries by the same officer reg:t rdillg the Dhafrah tract.; new
. M t District and at Fal.1J m Batmah.
tn the .a.s~a . ~ . 'rrl interests in the 'Oman Sulta.nate, whether data relating 10 communi catic..ns oblaincd by Liclltrnnnt C. H. Gabriel at the end of
Fore f 91t 1nteresf,~.-} Otelt:P~..1 . tly British and Britain is the only HJ05 j the facls cnntained in a I<e .. ics of usefnl reports by Captain F. B. Prideaux,
. ' 1 mmerCla) al'e pl'eu O m l n a n , d tl Political Agent in Bahrain, on the wh oht (GllEtal r egion bllt.lVeen Qatar and Abu
pohtlCa. or co ., C 1 P l' t ical' Agent France an 10
Dhabi Town j t.ho oblcrva.lionil or Commander W. S. Bowman of H. M. S.·' Sphinx"
ted by a onEin or 0 I •
power reprcsen 1 V' C . 1 The only European on t.he islands of Bli. Musa and Tunb, recorded after a villit. to tho same; ana some
United States arc each repl'cscntC( by a lCC- ons\~. fi. which
t' B 't'sh as arc also most the European Ims or I'omflrks by Captain A. P. 'frevor, Assi stant Re8iden~, on tho islands of Tunb an d
firm at Ma~qatlls . . r~ \ ~me of the more recently establisbed businesses Nibi,u Tunb, aillo founded 011 a personal inspection.
ha.ve agenCieS lere, U . ' 4v
· belong to French or RUSSian subjects.
in the a.rms 1lOO
Sult~n~te on the east to Qatar and tbe Jafiirah desert on the west requires The name '1 fucial 'Oman.-The region in question consists of the
that the region should be treated as a geographical unit. ~ctual possessions of tbe Shaikhs of 'Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Dihai,
U mm-al-Qaiwain and Sharjah and of the territories of the tribes who, in
For discnssion!! of tbe ancient geography Sprenger's Alte Geo9"apltic A.1·alJiens, fact or in theory, are directly subjec t to their influence; but in Arabic it
1975, and Miles Note OIL Pliny's Gcogt'apl,y of tile East Coast of Arabia, 1876,
has no general name. A mOl1g the subjects of the 'Oman Sultanate the
may be COll8ulted.
The prinoipal authorit.y ill I'ilgard to the geography of 'l'L'llciai 'Oman hBs hitherto whole is kl own as Shamal Jt..,.;., either on account of its position with
beeD the Per8ian Gulf Pilot, 1898, in which t.he Coa~t alld all maritime features fire l'efel'enre to t h eir own country oj' because or
its exposure to the north-west
fully describei. bllt littl.., is said of the intprior j simiJRrly restri,-ted in its scope,
wind; and in Eastern Arabia, further to the 1l( lrthward, the part
for the most part, is tho older information cl'lntained in B ombay Selections X Xl fT,
1866. Vll.lllsbJe IhollAh early authorities (In the coentry are Wllite \..ck 's A ccount of
adjoining AJU Dhabi Town seems to be spo ken of as "Oman-ash-Shamali
the ..dmbs, etc., and his Llcsc'I'i1Jtiull of tlUJ ~ f'abialt Ooast, 1836-38, the former of be('au~e it is the northernmost part of 'Oman j but neither of these
whicb is occupied largely with tho subjecl of population . Trllde, as it, WI\8 in 1863, and terms is in t.'ommon use among the inhabitants of the regions \\ hich
qaestion8 of iocail'csources, taxa tion, etc., are fully d£'alt with by Pelly in hill Report
they used to describe, The nenl'est approach to a recognised gen~ral
on the Tribes, etc" at'ou1ld tlw Shares of tile Persian Gulf, ] 863, in which some older
statistics for 1826 Ilnd 1831 lire also quotod. Recent topographical and olhol' infor- designation is apparent ly Sahil 'Oman '-:Jt..>,~ JAot.... 01' Coast of 'OllIan ;
mation regarding the interior is due almost clitirely to Major P. Z, Cox, among whose but this expl'ession, though not unknown to the pCOI)le of the country,
communications the following are important: his Notes to a('company Sketch Map of is wanting in precision and distinctiveness and is far from being
R oute ... from Abu Th abi t o Mask at ill tho Proceedings of the Govern ment of India
in the Foreign Depllrtment for December 1903 (rela.ting to the route between Abu
universally understood. In English official literature :t part of the shore
Dhabi Town and tbe Baraimi Oasis); his letter No. 290 of tho 2nd July 1902 in line has long been familiar under the name of {( The Pirate Coast H j but
Foreign Department Pl'cccedings for NMewber J902, (relating to the Shamailiyah the term is not sufficiently comprehensive, and, at the presont day, is
district.); aud tbe el.closure to his letter No. laOO of the 5th AIlgU8t 1906, a" Resident
obsolete and even misleading, inasmuch as the ~tate of affa.irs which it
in the Persian Gulf to the Secretarr in the Forei~n Department to the Government
of India (des~ribing tho route from Ras-al-Khaim&h 'I'own to the Baraimi Oasis). once accumtely connoted has long since passed away. Regard being had
The onJ ,V other modern account of aUJ part of tile oOllntry at a distance from the coast
will be found in the Rev_ S, M. Zwemer's 7'k,'cc J OU1'IlCYS in iVortliet'll Omall, 1902;
I to a perpetual maritime truce which regulates the relations of the rulers
to one another alld to the British Government the pentarchy in question
bot a recent descripfion of plaoes on the CI)f!st, accompanied by photogI'II phs, if! given by
Burchardt in his Ost-.Ambien von Basf'a bis Ma ,,:Cat, 19C6, may he stylc~, not inappropriately, Tl'llci.1 'Omiin*; but it must be
The Annual Administration and Commercil'l l\epol'ts of the Prrsian Gulf Rasidency l'elllemhercd that Lhe trncial obligations of the Shaikhs do not exteDd
are the principal pource of information in reg-arli to trarle, to the interior of their dominions.
The map whioh acoompanies this Gllutteer is the most uscfnl, for ceneml purposetl, The component principalities or Trucial 'Oman arc fully described
of Trncial'Omsn; its pr.. dece88or in this re8pe c~ wa.s that knowil as Pa9'ts Of ..d.9·abia
and Persia, 1883, on tho SSIDe scale. Smaller portion ... of the region aro ~IIOWIl on a elsewhere under t heir own names; and the function of t}l c. present
largel' scale in the R Qutc of LicutclIant·Coloncl Ht.'·l'bC'1·t Dish9'OW6 ... and Captui'lf. :11,ticle is accordingly to correla.te them! to describe the cc.untry and its
Walter Powell ... ii'om Dibba ht tkc I mliall Ocean to Ra,~- el· Kkyman in tllc Pet'sian inhabitants as a whole, and to dispose of eertain matters (such as com-
Gulf. 1865, R.nd in thl' R oute taken hy ldajot· p, Z. 00.7' mid LieutcnUll.t
O. ..d. Scott, R,I.}'}., f'l'om Ras-al-Khaima t o Suhm' yia. R emimi, 1905; the former
munications) which could not be dealt with piecemeal under the names
of t.hese i8 map No, 1366 in tho Library of the I!'oleign Departmelot, Simla, and the of the separate principalities,
laUer Wtloll reprodnced by the Survey of India. in 1907. .A 11Iap of DnafNth, Liwah.
to Khor Fakkan (n the f'll.stern, a.nd tllnt from Sha'am to Dibai en the ,;estern
ctc., 1906, compiled by l\1ajor Cox from nativ~ information, giv ps the topilgraphy of
side of the 'Oman Promontory. Of the Cl'Iflst between Abu Dhabi To'vo 3:ld tbe
tllat tract so far as it could be ascertained and is fil ed as map No. 1367 in the LibrliTY
island of YnB the best delineation will t:c found in a. 1.'riqonometrical Surve.1/ of
of the Foreign Department, Simla; and 0110 by Capt.ain F. n, Pridea1lx, Political tIl e .d:,·abian or southe-rn side of tlte P C9 ·si(.J,1~ Gulf from .iJ.botlJuLLee to Z,aboot
Agent in Bahrain, from a similar sourcc,- Map of Jiifumh, 'Agal, Mfjun and
Isl and, 182·.1. j tid .. was apparently Ollee 1\ chart IllImbered 19B, but it seems to have
Sabalcnat Matti, 1906, Foreign Department Lib1'ar~; No, 1E65 -is the be!'t for the been wit.h(\I'IIWD. A small sketch of P ad (if Klw1'-al·Batin was prepared by
tracts mentiolle i in its title, but is not of equal authority with Major Cox's Dbarrilh
Commander G. Sin clair, R,l.M., in 1906 ror the iuformatioll of the writpr. and is now
map for those furth er to eastward.
wap No, 1364 in the Library of th e Foreign Del'artment, Sitnla.
The whole coa..t ofT1'ncial 'Oman :.ppt'ar s ill C1,arts NOQ, 2373-2837A and 2374.- ., This nam e was enggested by C"plain F. B. Prideaux, and ;in the absenoe of any
2837B of tho Persian Gf4lji A.nd Chart No. 2376·763, Entmllcc Of the Persia1& other, either Arabic or English, it appears to bc the wos~ convenient, the most. des.
Gtl.lf, containll parte of the same on a largor 8cale, vi~" the stretch from Dibah r.riptive, and goneTall.Y tho most suitable for adoption.
'OMAN (TRUCIAL) 1429
1428 'OMAN (TRUCIAL)
the subject of an article, is described below in the paragraph on the of it a s yet traversed by Europeans bciul.! that which lies ou the direct
topography of Tl'ucial 'Oman. The only remaining portion of the route, through Wadi·al·Qaliddi, bct.veeu Dibah and R,,,-,,I·Khaimah;
country is that which lies between the sea and an imaginary line joining aud e\'eU of this pa.rt no accoHnt appca.rs to be extant. As seen from
Ras·al·Khaimah '1'own to the Baraimi Oasis: it ends southward s in the west, from thc Ras·al-Khaimah·Baraimi roule, thc mOl:ntains
tho district of Khatam which is elsewhere described under its own n.me. appear to be Jisposed iu three more or Jt!SS parallel ridges rUIlning from
80 far as can be asccrtained this portion, from Ras·"I·Khaimah as far uorlh to snuth : of these th~ wester nmost terminates at a. hill ca.lled
south as Dibai 'rown, is not entirely composed of saud duuc!l, but Qumr J.J imlTIetl iately behind the village of Adhau j amI the second
conta.ins also level shingly plains with sparse aca.cIa. vegetation j ridge, after cUl'v i ug' slightly wcstwardF, scemS to continue the interrupted
southwards from Dibai the whole surface appears to be sandy and line of the first. The third or easternmost ridge contaiu s the big'hest
undulating, but deser~ vegetation a.nd wells and water holes aft! still peaks allll probably o"erlooks the Gulf of 'Oma n: one of these high
sufficiently plentiful t o snpport a scanty Bcdouin populat ion. In the pea.ks, situated apparently 12 t o 15 mi les east of Adbau, is :-aicl t o be
whole of this region no running watcl' is fOllnd except in one subterranean named Jaua\ Sa'ta lb~. It is possible, however, tha.t these three
aqueduct which irrigates the settlement of Falai; but there arC numerous ridges are apparent ouly, twd t hat the hill systcrn is more complex tha.n
wells, sunk generally on the bank s or in the beas of dry wa.tercourses, from the west it scorns ill be. As Adhau iu the Jiri plain is considered
and sometimes in spots whieh from their elevated position might have to be a vilbgc of Wadi Ham, il may be inferred that this v"lley pierces
been supposed unsuitable for tbe purpose. On the Ras·al·Khaimah· the whole mfl ss of mountain s from side to side and even conveys part of
Baraimi routc tbese wells nre genel'ally from 40 to 60 feet deep and tbe drainage of th'c soulh end of the Jiri plain to the Gulf or 'Om,tu at
arc lined f or 8 01' 10 feet near the sm'face with timber or rough~hewn Fujairah; out it has not beel! fonnd po:: sible to locate with certainty
stones brougbt from the hills. the true head ot 'V~ldi Ham: in auy cast', howe\'er, its average direction
Acacf's, which are the commonest kind of tree, are of t he Ghaf and appear~ ill be fr,HTI north-wc::it to sQuth-east, and not from west to
Samr varieties; the Ashkar shrub, the ~1arkh bush, and grass of the cast as has hitherto been gcnerally supposed. ",V'-tdi-al-Qor, further
kind called Arta are frequently met with; and the dwarf tamarisk, the south than " 'adi Ham, is th. only other considerable valley that
wild castor oil plant, and a bulbous grass calicO. Qufa are also found. comes down to t he sea. [rom the bills of 'Prucial 'Oman on their eastern
Othel' sorts of vegetation which afford grazing are Rimth, a species of side. 'l'he dl'aillagc from the western slope of the hills never,
Salsola which, when green, is eaten by camels j Halam, a small sand apparently, reaches the Persian Gulf, but is swallowed up by the
plant j 'l'hamam, a coarse g rass which cventually dries up into twigs intervening sands.
and becomes inedible; and Qasad, a small vivid g l'ecn shrub of the caper
tribe: the I.st th"eo are eaten by livestock of all kinds. There is also a Climolc. -The olimate of Tl'ucial 'Oman in winter is pleasantly cool
bright green edible weed, somewhat resembling migno~ette, which is oy day and cold at night, but frost is unknown: 011 the coast, in the
called Hamm. same seasou, the weather is often boisterous. Between l\fay and October
the climate is excc@sively hot aud trying' ; and during the worst of the
Hill, of 1rt/cial 'Om<in .-The only mountainous part of the country heat, that is from .\ lay to September, travellers j ou rney by night as
is in the east, where a section of the spinal range of Lhe 'Omin Pl'OmOD ~ much as pObsible. The rainfall is scanty and is believed to average
tory is inolnded: this section is the part between a line joining Dibah about 5 inches a year. .M.o:::;~ of the rain is received in midwinter, but
to Sha/am· ou the north, and another, on the south, which runs jnland there arc also occasional showers in sprin g',
from Khor Kalba, first westwards then southwa.rds, so as to curve
ronnd the northern and westem side, of the Mah~dhah tract ..nd the PtJ1J1tlo/ioil allt! /l' ibe.}' .- 1I he people of 'rl'lIcial 'Om~LU belong to
hills connccted with it. Th. hill traot of Trucial 'Oman is thus abont llun1.CI'OliS di::itind tribes; indeed, the countl'y is tribally one of the mORL
50 miles in extent from north to south, and its average breadth seems to composite and perph·xing ill the P~reiau Gulf. The comprehensi\'e
be about 20 mile.. It is still almost entirely unexplored, the only part H Joasmee J) tribe, ass umed by some wl'itel'~, has no real existence. Only
'OMAN (TRUCIAL) 1433
1432 'oMAN (TRUCIAL)
the members of the family of the Shaikh of Sharjah, numbering at the Settled in
'fnlt'ial
Bedouing
in Tmcial
Sing'llar. Location. LhtH AlIi:9.
Tribe. 'Om~n
present day about 20 adult males, arc Qawasim (Jawiisim) by blood; 'Omir."
(;.oOlls) • (sJuls).
and tbe use of thc namc to denote all suhjccts of the Sharjah Sbaikb,
though partially sanctioned by local practice, is really incorrect. Dllababihah Adhbaihi. 200 Wadi Sfuni and The dest'fllt of tllis
its bl'Rl\ch tribe is unknown:
The following IS a synop~is of the principal tribes of rrl'ucial ~l~;,) ~~')J
Wadi Nllidain . they Ilre said to be
'Oman:- aboriginaL
"
I Settled In
,'rueial
BedOUlns j
I, 8ctlled lu
Trllcinl
ijedolllll~
'I'ruelsl
ID
Singular. Loclltlou. RSNAIIIs.
Tribe.
'Omlin
(~oul,).
" '''''',' I
'Omlln
(lfOull).
I.oCll tion HI!NAltlfl. Tribe. Sillgular. 'Omlill
(SOUI Sl .
'Omlin
(SOllla).
- -- ---
Ma!lii.rah
&}~J<O
l\In.hfi.
I..S .;s:'"
.. J I
l,25~ ... Rii8·a!·Khaimah The origin of t.his
'I'own. tribe i8 ob~llure; th ey
Qawii.id Qil.itli . ... 260 AL and the
'"
neighb 0 11 1'-
By ~Ollle thl'.Y
bt·liovOII t o u. on
.r.
AppNU' to hnve some oJlj l.J'..JlJ huod uf olTshoot of no
conuuoLion with the ShiJk",h in Mazari' , but t hia
Za'ab, bnd Itcoflrding Wiidi Ham. i, doulttful. 'rhey
to 100!\1 trad it ion
they are of the same " 'Own about 10 ou.mels
aud 150 sheep aud
stock as Mir goat!! j but tbey also
Mahnnna, the cele- cultivato a li ttle,
S.-ttled in r Drdo,JiIlS
I Muimmmallans at Dibai, ll'ls·al·Khaimah "nd Sha rj ah TowIIs;
rrudal \" 'J"rueial
Tribe. ~illgular.
'Om~n 'Om >l n
I,oration. U.liaUIlKH,
and Pcrr:: ian$\, ~OIl1C Ara,Lil'i~ct1 a.ml t-iomc not, abo lit 2,.100 at Abu
(~v'll~.) (soJi~.)
Dhabi all(l Dibai TO\\,Il', II: hoI' Fakkan and Ghiillah. Negro
S1a.VCRarc exceptiunally lll/mel'OIlS in the coa$\t tOWlll-l, but no separate
S har q iyin S\u\I'qi. 7,000 .. ~ee a l't i ~ i e
cstimato of tbem i~ pO:'l'iblc nnd tbcy may he takcn as inc:1uc1cd in our
Sbarqiy i n .
I.;/~~'r .jr tables among'tile Arabs to whom they belong'. rrhe Indians are not
Shihfih
Cr -
-,
SLihhi.
'-?=-
2,500 ... ... See article Shihfih. domiciled nor accumpanied by their families.
to m ention that the Ua.radir ]!.,')~ found III
Hcrc it mn.y be useful
Sir, :It Dibah, and
elsewhel'O ".g., "L Khasab III Ruiis-al·J ibal, me not a t ri be
Sh wllihiyi n ... 2.050 ... D ibai Rnd rrhh II ibe ore apparrntlJ'
but :1 cl:MH":,-' the cln.!'!' Hamely of the agricultural la,ootlrer to
Shiirjah identical with the
d:'«.1~ Towns. !<ection simi lar! y whatever tribe he may belong. 'rhc !'ingnlar of the name is Baidul'
nnm .. d of tho Ba,; i
Ka'ab, willi wh ich )!.>~ .
tribe they st ill inter-
1Ilt'lITY. but ;n this
The toLal nllmhel' of Bedouins in 'l'ruciai ) Omii.n may be estimated
Gazettee r they have in accOl'cian('c with the tahle a.hoyc a.t al)out 8,UOO !'Oli1!'. ] n respect of
noL been i~cll1dcd
amnllg the latter . In settled popula.tioll) howeyCl', the ta.ble is llOt exhausti,'c, :1nd rOcoul'se must
r~ligion th!')' a l"O be bad to tbe articles upon the principalities, from which it will appea.r
Han bali!'!.
tbat tbe figurcs al'C ': -
Sudan SUII':\iJi. 5,000 ... .. . Sec ar lic:le SUdan .
}'rinripality, Scttlru inl'lluitants,
owI !J)' ... ~~:J""" 'Ajmfin 750
, Dhabi (Abu) J 1,000
T anaij Tanai ji. :&,500 1,500 ... 81'0 IHticlc T a naij .
Dibai . 10,250
j.I, ,.iJ,
.. Qaiwain (U mm-al-) 6,000
t' ~~
,15 ,000
Sharjah
Thamairat 'l'hiimil'i. 120 ... Abu D habi Tho Thl\mairiit wero
o ~~ .... J l:!J~t.:i" TIlwn. originnlly Marar. 'I'otal £'JI' l'rl1cial 'Oman 72,000
but t h"y are now
rcciloncd amon g
tht Ban i Vas. By far the strongcst numcricallyof the settled tribes arC tbe Ban i Yas,
whose Bedouins al!'o arc the mo::; t numerous of any cxecpt t be Bani Qitab.
Yi'iB
,-",4
(llan;)
Yiisi. 10,000 2,000 ... See 8r ~iele Bani Vas.
0 .,-4 Next aftl'r thc llani Vas therc rank, in point of lltllnUcrs among t he
Z a1ab Za'abi. 3,500 ... .. . See a r ~icle Z a.'iib . settled tribe" fir,t the Sbarqiyi n and Al 'Ali, and tben tbe Al Bu
~l tj .,r.lt; Mahair and tbe Siidan.
7.n. hiim Zabllli . 100 ... Sij i near Wad i They a r t! ~ aiu Lo Puliticul and 1'e/i,qi IUtj d /stiJlclio1ls.-Like thc l)Co plc of the ' Oman
,"""; ..rj Ham. h!lvC bC'(>n forme r ly
Sha rqiy in of the Sultanate those of Trucia,l ' Oman arc divided betwecn the H inawi a nd
H I!. rai Hit section, but Ghftfll'i political factions, but G hanriyn.h gren.t1y prcJominate, t he Bn.ni
at t lle present ti m e
they nre un· Yas and the Shi hiih alone being 11 inawi; and) whereas in the Sultn.nate
dOllbterl lya distinct thc Hinfnviyah arc mostly Ib5.dhi~ and the Ghafil'ipth mostly Sunnis by
hibe.
religion, herc the Hinawiyah arc all Stlnnis of the l\ [fi,Jiki sc hool w hile
tbe Gbiifiriyah arc yirtnal Wahhiibis. The Wabbiibi ism of Trucial
Besides the foregoing tbere arc about 1,-100 Baliichis at lJibai TowD,
'Omtin is not now, howevcr, of the militant ordcr; it is generally
Ghallah and ltiis·al· Khaimah ; 101 Hindus at Abu Dhabi, Dibal',
described as Sunniism of the orthodox school of Ibn lIanbul, and it even
Umm-al-Qaiwain and Sharjah Towns; 214 Khoj ahs or other Indian
connives at tbe private consumption of tobacco, though not as yet at tbe
'oMAN (TRUClAL) 1439
1438 'oMAN (TRUCIAL)
public sale of the same. Modol'll rifles are widoly clistributccl among the a.re everywhere plentifnl and excellent, and turtle are caught upon ~h c
people in bot.h town and co untry . 181andH.*
Character, '~le a.nrt languIIg". - rl~h{' people of the western COllst, at least fJ1he f'(.f,tll'1i pOl'u lal iUlI who dn I1 cd lin' by t.he H'a axe herd smen and
those of tho 0101'0 llortllct'li parts, kwe shown themscl ves in tho past a agl'i(,llltul'il'tK: to t hi!' ('!n$!'< helong' 1l1()l'it of UH' Hon-Homa.dl' of the intel'ior
bold alld energetic r::tci..'. By t hei r piratical ex.ploits at the beginning of and of til(' ca.!'tl'rn f'ide of the ' Oman Promo1ltory, rl'lI(' a.gri cultul'i.\l
the 19th cOllill!'Y iboy gained, \llIdel' t he mif'lcadillg' name of {( Joasmees," capab iliticR o f the ('01lnt,I'Y :tn', llOwt,\,C'I', very limited j alill cel'eal8, 8\1ch as
a pe rmanent pla.ce ill history; a.nd t hoy played a. largo part in tho politics wheat alill jowa,1'i, :1,r/..' p;rowlI only in a. few favourcd local itic!\ suc h as Sir
of the Persian Coast, cSjlecially ot Qishm i, lalld, and in those of allll the Shamailiyah diHtl'i ct. Dates flouris h in most places; but on
Bahrain and the 'Oman Sultanate. At the present day they lead a thc west coast sonth of Ras-al-Khaimah ffown they ncver fully ripen, £01'
quiet a.nd nnobtrllsive existence, but doubtless the old qualities am latent want of watur, and nre caten £I·esh. Vegetables arc raised at most
in them stil l. places by m('allS of well irl'ig·ation. Li \'cstock are chie fly camels,
frhe weJ.l-ta-do classes on the coast of 'l'rllcial 'Omfltl have throo meals uOllh'YK, c;LUll', l'll('('p :LlId g'oats, ;LIlU there is plc1lty of poulLry; but
occupieR in this rCSl)Cct the place formerly held by Lingeh; it has also Umm-al-Qaiwain; the average number!=; launcbed annuaJly are a.bout
tmpplanted Lingeh as tho distributing centre for impol'teu goods on the 20 at that place, ]0 at Dibai and 5 at Sharjah Town.
Arabian coast between Ruiis-al-Jibal and Qatar.
rrhe following arc the ch ief imports with the ~L\'crag'c annual ya,lue of Topog,-aphy. -The topography of ncarly the whole of Trncial 'OI1'.'n
each during the past scptellil ium (ill Jakbs of rupees): -grain and pulse, is explained in the articles on the five principalities of which it consists,
chicO), from Persia. <:tHO India, 12k; cotion picce-goods, from I nd ia, 4; and ill the various subsidiary articles to which clum; are given in
dates and date juice, mostly from rrlll'kish )Iraq, :3; coffee, from India, the articles on the principalities. Some additional facts may he
2~; miscellaneous provision", il'om Persia, 2. j and sugar, from 01' through learned from the paragraph on communications which follows b310w.
India, 11. Con siderable amonnts or specie rtlso pass in both directions. It only remains to deal in this place with the topography or a small land-
In face of the facts it docs not seem nnl'easonable to hold that all locked tract which does not apparently belong to anyone of the !ll'inci.
sources of profit ho1'o are subsidiar}' to pearl divillg, alld that if the pearl palities in particular, and which bas no general name; the centre of this
banks WOI'C to rail this coast would EilOrLly be depopnlated, tract is approxi mately the l\fad~'tm plain which lies about ·:W miles inland,
south-eastwards, from Sharjah Town. The principal points of the tract
Shipping.-Dibai is the only ~icam port of rrt'llcia,l 'Oman, 'rcn years in question are as follow * '-
ago Dibai was almost nnvif'ited hy Europcan "essel1', unt in 1905·00 the
Position. Clmracter. R8)LUU:S.
numbcr of stcamers calling bad rison to 34, all British, with a tonnagc of N;lme,
'Aui\ij (Ramlal) 20 miles south of A narrow stl ip of This tract lies east
about 90, distributeu as follows :- Aiyoh. rolling l'A.nd hills. god weg- IlC!~IIP the
. ;u,.
Bidyah ' ]0 Khaimah (Hii.s·a.l-) '1'o wn 15 ~~ r. U' e froll1 Riis-R i.
Dhabi (Ahu) Town 10 Qaiwain (Umlll'al-) Tow n 1
Khaimah T O il n to
Ibe Bar a i mi Oa,is.
Dibai Town 20 Rams.
Fakkan (Khor) 5 and Badu' 11 miles ~ol1th bv A group of water 'rhe sito isII blind re-
west of ·Aiyoh. · holes. enTrant alllong- f:'.IIU ·
GhaHah 10 Sharjah'ruwl1 18 hills, Iorilling a
The majority appeal' to be SamLfi1{fo" but a proportion of them arc b,·sn.·b of Wiidi Sa-
maini.
Baghlahs, and there are some jollrboat~ and lladans: these vossels are
chiefly employed in runnin s to India and port~ of the Pcr~iall Gulf for Dhlikhal' B tWpen Raml>lt A well . It i~ flit1lRt.ed flo litt1(' to
. Anaij fLnd Bs,~ :he west of (IrdiIlK,"Y
snpplie!'. rfhe statif'tics of pearl boa.t~ are given in the Appendix on the }o-'o hah S-I,lItliLil 011 rOllt!' bf,tw ·t'n HaS-'ll·
pead fisilOl'ics. Fishing boats nota-1 m used as pcarlel's appear to be roughly t i, e rig t hallk of Khai mah T;)wo
the latter . fL- d the Bar aimi
eqw11 in number to pearl boats, hnt they are often extremely small. OaS!8.
Jazimt-al-Hamra and Sha'am, though they hftve no large vessels,
Fii."Ah (Jabal) 1 to 2 milrs we~t of A range of hill .. , At the n{lrthern ex~
possess some coa.sters of a. useful f:izc.
~t;~ th .. oldillar,V mlJTe
hetwl·;·n Rlls ai-
Khaima.h '1\ wn
R.bout 1,0.
runs
°
rpliclli,,~ 1\ rei~ht
feet; it
nOl'lh and
(If hemitl" (If
Fii \ ah Arc tw(! (:.n ·
ta,,:ic TOI'ka forming
Jabal
Internal trade a lid manlifacturc8.-Inluml traliic if' pett,}, a.nd it; ch ieAy Illidthe Baraimi /-"lIlh wit!. fL lcnlZth j"nnmlu ks, T ill y
with thc Bcdoui" tribes; but Sharjah, Dibai amI All" Dhabi divide with 0\, iI" _fr"m Qallah of Sbllut 12 mill'S, li re known HI' Zibb-al·
Sohar Town in the 'Oman Sultanate tho trade, suc h as it is, of the Mat.iitldh un Ihe
Iionh to the
ann is ronglily
pitrall,} to th .. rnai'l 'Az:lh ,,:"",~I ":j I a.nd
Baraimi Oasis. M ,u1ii.,m plain on mllgon£ lh,,'Oman lOtll.rikii :-al·Jiili \" a h
the south, Plumol!tory at'out 4.~) l ~JI 01;' .>~, n~mea
Local manufactures are few and none of them are exported. Fine
sheep wool 'Abas are made at Sharjah rrown, and daggors at Has-al-
:l<A,rfhority.-Majol' P. Z. C.·x f(olll pelsolla} observHtionand inquir.l'. Most. of
Khaimah. A certain number of sailing ,"oswls are built, chiefly at the plaoe!! m<tntioned in this taLla are :..hown in th~ HH>l) RG'l'[(' ta~'I'n by Maj(J.'
P. Z. Ooz, 6tc., 1905.
1442 'OMAN (TRUCIAL)
Fiiiy.ih (Yahfli.l'- 8 mill'fI north by /I well similar to that This well is on the
a!-) ('u~l of 'Aiyoh . of lI amdah. ordil18n route viii
Warii 'Hatta from
6-.P tiJ !..lis!. Dibai to Shinas
'1'own. .
I
_______ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _._ _________,_J_._'I~~_~~_y_al_,_th~
sisling of black Bind
",,<I ,hi,,"I.; nCR< to
'OMAN (TRUCUL) 1443
P.odl",h (J .bal) A lon t .~ m ilE'S A de l8cl ed hill about It fo rms a fine blnff
10Ith'E'3st of t ho 1,500 feet high. peak .
"-") <-4e- midd le o r the
1\ladillll plain .
San;l\ ini (J a.bitl) On the west. s iJe of A hog backed rauge This range is parall el
t h" tra ~ t under running' nnrth an d to, bilL fL p p('ar~ to he
~~+ .... J~?- ('on,.i<1('r a I ion, £ollth for a distnnce sepllrated by fin in.
frl'lu Lh ... l1adilm of nbuut 20 mil es, {(, l"vA.l from, tl lc mai It
plain in th e H<, rth nnd attaining in on e rIln gc of tbe 'Oman
to tho) sout.hern plac e nn all itudo of Promontory, wl lich i.
t'xt ltl lH it.r . I\bont 2,01.10 fee t. to ~be east of it.
oonnect the western coast of the 'Oman Promontory with the Baraimi l(r). R n"te fro", Sha,;nh Town to nr".air.*-'l'he first part of t.hi.
route lies ovel' open desert by the wells of Zibair J~j and Tahil ~u to
Oasis, aud (3) those which run westwards through Dhafrah, providing
Dhaid village, a distance o[ about 3U miles. From Dhaid it run s to the
access from tile castern parts of Trucial 'Oman and from the Barai-
wells of "'-usilali, and thereafter it. ente rs Wadi-al-Qor, which it descends
mi Oasis to Qatar and the Hasa Sanjiiq. We proceed to deal with them
to l\1"urair. I t is asscrted by native informants tha.t Wadi-al-Qor has
in the above order . easy gradients and co uld probably be made practicable for wh~eled trallie
witllOllt great difficulty, uut. the, statement must be treated With l'ese~ve.
I (a) . ROlttefrom. Ra,,·al·Khni1llak Town to Dibali.*-The places first 1 ' he distance dil'el't born Sharjah Towll to Murair is under 70 miles,
passed arc Falaiyah, Hail and Khatt jn Sir, which arc reached at 6, 7 but by roa.d it must be conside rably lUorc. 'l'he general dil'eetion is
and 14 miles, respecti\'ely, from Ra-al-Khaimah Town. A bout I ! miles about south-east by east.
beyond Khatt the hills of tbe 'Oman Promontory are entered; and The part of this route beyoud Dhaid may be used also 'by travellers
from this point the w"y lies up Wildi·al·Qaliddi to a pass neal' Muhln,rqah from Hamriyah and Umm-al·Qaiwain, those from Hamriyah making
vilbgc j the chief poinif; passed hctw('cn KhaLt and l\fullt:U(Plll arc g·iven direct for Dhaid (25 mil,>s) hy the wells of SilTah ;- and Ban'ah "!;) j
as Labiinnh 6.jt~ , S:Jnllll ('J~' and rpllwij':lin \.:..rl.~,b) whiGh are water ing and tho," from U lllm·,I-Qaiwain following route No. 1 (h) above as far
placcf'J aBd tile vill:lg'c of Ya,'akal. li'rom tile pass nca r ~fllhtarqah, as 11'a,laj AI' Ali and then diverging to Dhaid (0 mil es from Fala.j AI 'Ali).
which is "bout h"lf way from Khatt 10 Ilibah al1(\ has good waleI', the l(d). R01ft e from /)i/'ai 'l'0101t 10 Shi'R.as J'ouJ1t .1' - This route crOsses
route descends towards Dibah j and at five miles Ahort of that place it
emerges from the hill s, continuing for the rest of the way ovcr a. plain
the de.ert behind Dibai Town by th c well. of Matluah ...,h~, Kha-
walliJ' .01,':'" ]\fuhdathah ",j,,>.r'"', and
Gh!lttah or Q atta Ibj; passing ovet
.
grown with brushwood. The journey was pcrformed (in the reverse t ·· ,
(or thr~ug'b) Jabal Paiyah it arrive' at the well of Yahfar-al-Faiyah, 37
direction to that described) by Colonel "isbrowe and Captain Powell in miles iu a direct line f,om D.bai. It then £aI ,s into \\ adi Hatt.a
1 ~65, apparently in E'i,!!ht st.:'l.ges, cut most of these were extrcmely short. whieh it follows down to Shinas. 'rhe actual distance in travelling
The direct distance between the termini ECCIDS to be less than 25 miles, must exe' eel by a good deal the di!:'t,lllce in a straight line-which is a.
but the actual distance is probably about '1·0: the general direction is, little over 811 miles-between t he ext t'clIll! point!), The averag\! dilection
rou g hly, from west-north-west to cast-Rout.h-cast. is south-east by east.
T,aveller; from Sharjah T ow n Lo Shin as may al,o (LV.il them'elve,
] (6). Rout" (r" 'm ''Umm-nj-Q ,liwo£n 'PI"f01t to Fu,1nirolt.t-This l'Outr o[ this rout.e, joining it at Ghalta.h 0 1' at ): a.hfar-a.I-!":liyah.
rUlls across the desert by t he wcllt-: of ~1m\'aih ~b"" ,Ghal'a ~i, and Umm-an-
2(a). Rottte Irom RaB-at- A'haimah 't oW/t to th e Barainu: Oasif.t-
Naghul J)'iiJI ~I to the ill!:1lltl villagc of Valaj AI 'Ali (01' lralai), whicll This rout.e can be most conveniently described in tabular form, a'j
is a dependency (·f Umm-al-Qaiwain :lnd ] 6 miles distant, south- east.. follows : -
wards, {!'OID. t he same, From Falaj AI 'Ali it continues 8 miles further,
south·eastwards, to the Muraqqibat wells in the yicinity of Dhaid. It Stllrt\lIg poi ll t. Halling place.
c,jurnctr r "f halliug n elcription of t h .. Interml'<iI:Ho
\llaee. Sh g tl.
tben enters the hills, passes by Slji, and drops into Wadi Ham which it
- - --- - ---
follows down to Fujairah. This ronte is f:aid to pl'eEcnt no difficulties
to camel transpoJ't: its length, wcre it straight, would be undel' 60 miles, Ra..'- ~ 'I·'Khai- Had ,ithll h Soc article Jiri. 'I be loln l dillill1lce by ro\d
but in consequence of windings it is probahly a good deal more than tbis. mah'l'owu
~...).~
18 mil,·s and Iho L.','n"ril.l "
dirl'cLiOIl 8ou: b by W ('lIt. The
1'be average direction if: nearly south-cast .
• ,dllth',rjtie.r.-Pl\rlly ~I&ior P. Z. Cox from n Jitive informAti on. C-,I" II .. 1 H_ Dis- • Autho,.itic.\".--l'l>e ~nml' 811 for l'onle No.1 (6).
browe, T'olitira} Agent, lind C .. ptl\in W. l ' iI W .. II, LN., travcl1ed this W ily in 1865 i a t Alltlt fJ ritie4.-TIi0 80.1110 as for I'l'lu'e No.1 (b).
sketch of the route h.y the hlt .er is cxt.8n~ . but the n'p"rt, if any existed. is I IO W luAt. I .d'utltnt'it.V.-~'alor P. Z. Cox, Po\iLi,'a\ Resi-tcnt in the Per"i&1I ';ul£. from
t From native information obLlliued by Mu.jor P_ Z. t:ox: and Lieutena.n t C. H. person ...l (IbsrTVutiun in a r t'purt submitted \\jtb his letter No. IBOOof 5th August 1906
O.briol· to the Govl'rn,,,,,,,,t nf India .
'OMAN (TRUCIAL) 'OMAN (TRUCIA L) IH.7
each of which has been signed by, allli. i!:> iutli\'idnally binding lipan, the 'l'OTALs 19·1 21,1
five Shaikh. of 'Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Dibai, Umm al-Q,aiwain and
Sharjah. If some l:'cl'si.uns from the oppositc coast and thcir concerns are left
'rhe earlier in (bte of these agl'cl!mcnts is a perpetual il'Uce, concluded out of aCcollllt, G rcat Britain is stili the only foreign country which
in 1853, which IJrovided for the entire ccss~tion of hostilities at sea among possesses :wy moral 01' matcl'ial j!licre~t~ or subjects in rj1rucial 'Oman:
the signatorie,s, and impo~ed all the British Government the duty of for the l)l'uicctioll of thc~e a Natin: Agent of the 11 ers ian Gulf Residency
enforcing peace and obtaining rcparation for maritimc aggre:;;sions commit- is maiutained a.t Sha,rjah 'rown. (rhe :;ubjects in question arc the
ted in contravention of the arrangement. It is ill virtuc of this treaty Indians, llilldu~ and Khojahs, who arc settled in the la.rger ports .
that the Shaikh, of thc principalities arc styled 'frucial Shaikhs and that
their country may appropriately be stylcd 'l'rucial 'Oman.
By the second trcaty, signed in 189:1" thc '1'rucial Sbaikbs bound
themselves not to enter i nto any agreemcnt or corrcspondence with a
power other than the British Govemment; not to pcrmit, without the The name is vcry [rcq l1cntly pL'onounced JOjair. A coastal tract ill 'OQ,AIR
assent of the Briti::; h Government, the residence within their territories the Sanjii'l of Hasa containing the port of 'Oqair; it falls naturally ( BARR-~L-)
of the agent of any other gO" crnmcnt; and not to cede, bcll, mortgage or
otherwise give for occupation any part ?f their territories save to the
within themaillbountiul.ic!; of Biyadh aDd should l>Cl'haps be regardcd ;>.iWl .r.
as forming' part of that diyibion.
British Government.
The exact international effcct of lhesc two agreemcnts is a matter for Bonndaries ... Burr-al·'O(lail' cxtends upon thc sca from Tall-az·
publicists to dcterminc, but taken togethcr they evidently creatc prcferen- Zabanai, on the sonth ,ide of tbe entrance of Dobat Ruhum, to Ras-
tial and almost exclusive relations betwcen the 13riti~h Government and as-Sufairah, a. promontory of tbe mainland opposite the south end of
thc Trucial Chicfs,-relations which might Le held to imply ihe depen- Zakhniin iyah i. land; its length from north-north-wcst to south-south-
dence of the Shaikhs on the Dritish Govcrnment in foreign affairs and a east is thus roughly 3S miles. It, dcpth inland is undefined but small:
.moral obligation 011 the part of th£' :British Government to IJfotect the possibly howevcr the easternmost of tbe wells which arc enumerated in
Shaikhs in so far as they may he endangered, or di,abled from defending the article on Biyadh (diyision VI) should be regarded as belonging to
"0111. Miles (vide J. A. S. .B. Volume XLVI, Part I, No~. I~IV. 1877, pages "Barl'-al-'Oqair, ill p:ll'tieul:ll' those of Dannan) Hnghwtill, 1\1ijama'ah
69·60) giTeS more precise directions than t!u'sC', but the posit ions an (1 flven the Uloer and SU\Y~Ld.
of hill Itll!toe do ,Dot always agree well with the results of the 1ll0S5 recent enquirie!!.