Page 28 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

imamatc in ‘Uman was established in the year 134/751, when Julanda b.
Mas‘ud was elected as imam and invested with supreme religious, military and
political authority. This form of government continued to exist with occasional
interruptions until the Nabhanl family came to power in the middle of the
twelfth century.118 The Nabhanls established their hereditary rule, made
themselves kings of ‘Uman, and suppressed the IbadI imamate for two and a
half centuries.
The imamate was revived again by the Ya‘aribah, another indigenous
family, who overthrew the Nabhanls, reduced the power of the Portuguese,
who had held part of the coastal plain, and finally drove them out of ‘Uman.
The Ya‘aribah era was, for the most part, one of internal peace and prosperity,
but towards its close it was disturbed by a contest for succession that paralyzed
the power of the imam and created a civil war. This led to the intervention of
the Persians in support of one of the contenders, and opened possibilities for
their permanent occupation. Recognizing the damaging effect of their conflict,
the weakness of the imamate, and the danger presented by the invading foreign
troops, the ‘Umanls formed a united front with the governor of Suhar, Ahmad
b. Sa‘Id, who was then actively defending his city against the Persians. The
Persians gave up hopes of success, made a truce with Ahmad b. Sa‘Id, and
returned home.119
In the meantime, the two contenders for the imamate soon met their
respective ends; Sultan b. Murshid was killed, and Sayf b. Sultan died shortly
afterwards. The energetic success of Ahmad b. Sa‘Id in defending his city
made him the prime candidate for the imamate.120 He was elected in 1157/
1744, thus inaugurating the rule of the Al Bu Sa‘Id dynasty in ‘Uman, a reign
that has continued without interruption to the present.

The Coast of* Uman

The coast of ‘Uman, which the ‘Umanls call al-Shamallyah or al-Sir, is
known in the literature of modern Arabian history as Trucial ‘Uman, and
presently as the United Arab Emirates. It stands on the southern shore of the
Persian Gulf and stretches southward and then turns west toward the Qatar
peninsula.
During the period under consideration, the coast consisted of a number of
small and large settlements built on or near the shore. The major settlements
were Rams, Ra’s al-Khaymah, Jazlrat al-Hamra’, Umm al-Qaywayn, ‘Ajman,
al-Shariqah, Dubayy, and Abu Zabl.121 These settlements were populated by
numerous tribes; among them in the north were the Nu‘aym at Ra’s al-
Khaymah and ‘Ajman, the Banu Qitab at al-Shariqah, the Za‘ab at Jazlrat
al-Hamra*, Al ‘All at Umm al-Qaywayn, and the al-Shuhuh at Rams. The ports
of Dubayy and Abu Zabl, on the southern section of the coast, as well as the
hinterland of al-Zafrah, south of Abu Zabl, were inhabited by loose groupings
of smaller tribes that had accepted a common leadership under the Al Bu Falah
house, and came to be known as the Banu Yas.
While the southern part of the coast came to acknowledge the leadership and
authority of one of the smallest clans, the Al Bu Falah, the northern tribes
associated themselves with the ruling family of Ra’s al-Khaymah. Submitting
themselves to the Qasimi family, the northern tribes became known as the

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