Page 140 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

RECElf"’ HISTORY AND PRESENT POLITICS 247

The reigning Sultan of Oman, Teiinur ibn Feisfd, the eldest son i
of his predecessor, succeeded on October 4, 1913, at the age of 27,
and was recognized by the British and French Governments on
November 15 of that year. He found his realm in a bad state. In
1895 his father, Feisal ibn Turki, had already experienced a formid­
able rising of the Hinawi tribesmen, when the rebels actually pene­
trated into Muscat, and drove him from his palace to take refuge
in the eastern fort. At the time of his death he was faced by another
serious rebellion with which his son has had to cope. His reign may
be said to have marked the rise of the arms traffic, which during the
last few years overshadowed all other questions at Muscat, and more
than once imperilled the friendly relations between his State and the
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British Government. For not only did Muscat become a local centre
I of supply of arms and ammunition for Oman, but large consign­
ments were re-exported thence to the Persian coast and Afghanistan.
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! A blockade of the Mekran coast, which was instituted by the
British Government in 1909, paralysed for a time the export trade. !
Several large captures were made, and the practice of carrying small
consignments was stopped by the burning of dhows which were
proved to have carried them. More stringent measures became
necessary in 1912, when, after a preliminary proclamation in June
of that year, an Arms Warehouse was established at Muscat, through
which all traffic in arms and ammunition, whether for import or
export, must be conducted under direct Government control. From
the date of the opening of the Warehouse on September 1, the port
of Muscat rapidly ceased to be a distributing centre. To a certain
extent its place was taken by a number of smaller depots, scattered
chiefly among the Oman hills and along the Batinah coast; for sea­
going steamers continued to smuggle arms in amongst bales of
merchandise at various ports of call. But, after making all allow­
ances, it would seem that, as a result of the Arms Warehouse, barely
a tenth of the former infiltration of arms and ammunition reached
the inhabitants. Moreover, in October 1913, the deportation of the
notorious Baluchi arms trader ‘Ali Musa Khan, and his banishment
for five years, served to inspire all arms traders with a wholesome
respect for the State Warehouse and its regulations.
In May 1913 the rising of the Oman tribes, which had been
threatening for a year past, began to assume serious proportions
under the leadership of the so-called Imam of Tanuf, Salim ibn
Rashid el-Kharusi. The rising was due to the preaching of the '
principal Ibadhi Sheikh, ‘Abdullah ibn Humeid es-Salimi, who
inflamed any feeling of discontent at the establishment of the Arms
Warehouse, and proclaimed his son-in-law, Salim ibn-Rashld, as
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