Page 313 - Records of Bahrain (2) (i)_Neat

304 Records oj Bahrain

( 2 )

its shores. With tlio oxccption of an interval of some
twenty years, .^vhen Imam Malik and his son, Saif-bin
Bombay Selection*, No. XXIV., SllltaD, of tllC . llOUSC Of tllC
pp. fi nud 20.
Yarabis, a branch of the power­
ful; Henavccs of Omau, were masters of tho island, the
, authority of tho Suffavean dynasty was recognized until
its extinction in the person of Shah Sultan Hossein.
The island then again fell into the hands of a Yarabi
) / pj> J i Chieftain, grandson of Imam Malik, who in turn yielded
u / rt Cj\ it to the AfFghan invader, Nadir Shah. The latter retained
Cu )\c*- l' c^ > / yVruCJ his hold on itTili his death in 1747. Thereafter Bahrein
0ubjcct to tho Sheikhs of Tahiri, Asccloo, and
fu * CL/c'/ajCi (.j _/vy^boosbubur« The Sheikh of tho last-mentioned place,
*
/ / ' jjomlay Selection,, xxiv., now known as Bushire, was a
l’,3C4' . vassal of Persia, and under his
rule there is little doubt that Bahrein paid tribute to tho
Shah. L'

3. With the death of the renowned Kurreem Khan
in 1779 the influence of Persia began to wano; and the
petty Chiefs of the Gulf, whose lawlessness had been
^ /j j i controlled by the strong hand of Nadir Shall and his
i. <i /•/'/< tO o immediate successors, were soon involved in coulcsts
for superiority. The section of the Arab tribe of
Uttoobccs which had at this time been settled at Zobara
for some sixteen years, and which had so rapidly in­
creased in wealth and power as to be virtually inde­
pendent, took advantage of the disturbed state of affairs
to attack Bahreiu. The Sheikh
k. D. 1782.
(Nussccr) pf Abooshuhur, who
happened to be them in tlie island, was compelled to retreat
for safety within ihc fort, and, in the abscnco of all
opposition, the Arabs overran and plundered the town
at will. They did not, however, on this occasion
attempt to* occupy any place, but returned to Zobatfi
whence, in tho following year, with tho co-operation of
their old allies, tho A1 Subah tribe, they accomplished
the subjugation of the island. A dispute concerning 9|C
division of land; anil power in Bahrein ended in lj,c
A1 Subah Chiefs .retiring in disgust and leaving l,c
IJttoobccs masters of the situation.
•••I. 1/0‘i‘f*. : •
. • '•
d/. •Sheikh Nussccr of Abooshuhur in his discom
fifcurc naturally looked to Persia for aid, and prcpnralioi'3

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