Page 44 - Arabian Studies (V)

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34 Arabian Studies V
The majority of the landholders in Bahrein arc of Persian extraction and
of the Shcah persuasion but arc held in great surveillance by the Utubccs
i who are Unefia Sounccs.
The general residence of the Sheikh of Bahrein is at Rufa and the
administration of justice is left in the hands of Negro Slaves which is of
course at a low ebb.

Notes

1. Native Agents were appointed at the principal ports in the Gulf
during the 1820s with instructions to report regularly to the Resident at
Bushirc. See J.B. Kelly, Britain and the Persian Gulf, 1795-1880, Oxford,
1968, and Penelope Tuson, The Records of the British Residency and
Agencies in the Persian Gulf (in the press).
2. The development of the overland routes has been discussed at length
elsewhere. See, for example, Kelly, op. cit.; C.R. Low, History of the
Indian Navy, London, 1877; H.L. Hoskins, British Routes to India, New
York, 1928.
3. I am grateful to Mr lan Baxter, India Office Records Biographical
Section for information on NVyburd’s career.
4. IOW: P/387/14, Bombay Political Proceedings, Consuln. 2099 of 17
August 1831.
5. IOR: P/387/33, Consuln. 4022of 5 December 1831.
6. IOR: P/387/32, Consuln. 3568 of 17 October 1832.
7. IOR: P/387/14, Consuln. 2099 of 17 August 1831, Superintendent
Indian Navy to Government of Bombay, 19 July.
8. The Nasiris had been hereditary rulers of Bushire since the late seven­
teenth century and Kharag was generally regarded as their personal
property. Naslr III succeeded his father ‘Abd al-Rasul in 1832 when the
latter was killed in a return journey from Shiraz to Bushire. Towards the
end of the year Nasir was expelled from Bushire by the Persian Govern­
ment and blockaded the town using Kharag as his base. In November, only
a few days after he had discontinued his blockade and fled to Kuwait, the
Qasimi ruler, Sultan b. Saqr, whom ‘Abd al-Rasul had cultivated as an
ally, arrived with a fleet of over 1,000 men. The Qawasim were subse­
» quently forced to withdraw.
9. Presumably Haffar Channel, the entrance to the Karun River from
1 the Shalt al-‘Arab. In 1831 the Porte deposed Da’ud’s proteges, ‘Ajil
i '
} whom the Pasha had raised to supremacy over the Muntafiq, came to his
patron’s support and enlisted the help of the Ka‘ab, the great tribal confe­
deration dwelling east of Basrah, whose fleets blockaded the town. In spite
of their efforts Da’ud Pasha wa eventually removed to Constantinople.
Wyburd’s Memoir on the Arab Tribes on the Banks of the Euphrates and
Tigris (L/MAR/C/570) includes a long section on the Ka‘ab.
10. The Persian ruler, Shapur II (A.D. 310-379), called Dhu’l-Aktaf
because he had the shoulders of Arab prisoners dislocated or pierced.