Page 300 - UAE Truncal States

The External Influences
of desperate resistance formed the rallying point for all the elements
in Oman who had become aware of the danger that neither of the
contestant parties would emerge from this internal strife as victor­
ious ruler of Oman, but that a third parly, and an intruder at that,
was about to carry off this prize. The wcili of Suhar, Ahmad bin SaTd
of the small Hinawi tribe of the A1 Bu SaTd, who chiefly resided in
Adam, refused to hand over to the Persians the Ghafiri contender for
the Imamate, Sultan bin Murshid, who had taken refuge at Suhar. By
1749° the coalition of Hinawi tribes of ,ulama, from the interior who
opposed the Shi’ah Persians, and of merchants from the Batinah
coast who dreaded Persian control over their trade, had become a
strong enough national movement to evict successfully and per­
manently the invading Persian army. The Hinawi Ahmad bin Sa'fd
became the Imam, and although his rule did not gain the whole­
hearted support of all Ghafiri tribes nor of all the religious men
Culama') of the interior, this decision marked the end of this
prolonged period of fierce fighting among the tribes of Oman.
The A1 Bu SaTd dynasty founded by Ahmad bin SaTd has to this
day provided the Rulers of Oman; for some time they have not
pretended to base their rule on the principle of the Imamate but have
dropped this title in favour of “Sultan”.10 The A1 Bu SaTd source of
power shifted from the spiritual and the military support which an
Imam could muster from the tribesmen, to the reliance on wealth
gained from maritime and commercial enterprises with which the
ruling Sultan could recruit a mercenary army of Baluch or African
soldiers. Ahmad bin SaTd and his successors were therefore neither
the “national leaders”, which previous strong Imams have been
styled because they could rely on the voluntary support of almost
every tribe in eastern Arabia, including al Shamal; nor were they terri­
torial rulers of the coastal region without any claim to sovereignty
over the hinterland. With the change in the means of gaining and
retaining sovereignty came a change in the character of the State of
Oman. Eventually it had in many ways more in common with States
such as Persia, where a regular army had usually been the principal
means of exerting sovereignty.
The tribes on the northern and western fringes who had for so
many centuries identified themselves with the events of Inner Oman
now adopted a more independent attitude, making alliances at their
convenience, or being forced to accept the rule of the strongest man in
the area.

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