Page 27 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

from the banks off Ra’s Tannurah.112 The Al $abah possessed a number of
vessels which they used in trading with India and throughout the Gulf.113

Qatar

The peninsula of Qatar is situated on the western coast of the Persian Gulf,
along the southeastern border of Najd. The sea which surrounds Qajar is
shallow and full of reefs and shoals. In the past, under the authority of the Banu
Khalid of al-Hasa, Qatar served primarily as a grazing ground for the herds of
the nomadic tribes. A few settlements, however, were set up on the coast by the
Al Musallam (a clan of the Banu Khalid at Huwaylah), the Al Ma‘adld (a
branch of the Al Bin ‘All), and their kinsmen, the Al Bu Quwarah, at
Fuwayrid.114
When the Al Khallfah moved from al-Kuwayt to Qatar in 1766, they settled
on the western coast at al-Zubarah, subduing the Al Musallam and assuming
rule over the settlements. Their kinsmen, the Al Jalahimah, joined them at
al-Zubarah a little later, but soon dissented and moved to al-Ruways,115 a
fishing village in the northernmost part of the Qatar peninsula. Later, they
settled at Khuwayr Hasan under the leadership of Rahmah b. Jabir (d. 1826), a
mortal enemy of the Al Khallfah of al-Bahrayn. With the emergence of the
house of Al Than! in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the peninsula
developed into an independent principality which exists to the present day.

'Uman

The vast region of ‘Uman lies to the southeast of Najd and is divided into two
major politically distinct regions: the Sultanate of Masqat and ‘Uman ruled by
the Al Bu Sa‘Id family, and the coast of ‘Uman, controlled by the Qawasim,
both of whom came to power during the eighteenth century. This pan of the
Arabian peninsula has been traditionally divided into several districts which,
with the exception of the northern district, are located in the territory of the
Sultanate. These districts are: al-Gharbiyah, “the west”, comprising the area
west of Abu ZabI to the Qatar peninsula; al-Batinah, “the lowland”, which lies
between the sea coast of the Gulf of ‘Uman and the mountains of al-Hajar;
al-Zahirah, “the highland”, extending from the al-Burayml oasis in the north
to jabal al-Khawr in the south; ‘Uman, the central district, which gives its
name to the whole of southeastern Arabia; al-Sharqlyah, “the east”, which
includes the eastern part of the mountains of al-Hajar; and Ja‘lan, the
southernmost district of the Sultanate, which lies between Ra’s al-Hadd in the
north and the Arabian Sea in the south.116
In contrast with other areas in central and eastern Arabia, ‘Uman is
distinguished by being the home of IbadI religious and political institutions.
The IbadI movement takes its name from ‘Abd Allah b. Ibad (d. 748), who
broke from the extremist Khawarij by adopting a more moderate stand toward
other Muslims, helping to ensure its peaceful existence within the Muslim
empire, and thus sparing it the fate of the extremist wing of the Kharijites.117
Abu al-Sha‘tha’ Jabir al-Azdl, a native of‘Uman, replaced Ibn Ibad after his
death as leader of the Ibadites at al-Basrah and later in ‘Uman. The first IbadI

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