Page 133 - Arabiab Studies (IV)

Bibliographical Notes
on European Accounts of Muscat
1500-1900

Robin Bidwell

In their Bibliography of Oman 1900-1970; R. King and J. H.
Stevens remark that travellers’ accounts before 1900 are often of
considerable value but that access to them is frequently difficult.
With this in mind, I have tried to list as many of the accounts as I
could find and, by quotation, give some indication of their worth:
there is nothing more frustrating for the researcher than to go to
great trouble to consult a rare book only to find that it contains
nothing of use. It will be noticed, also, that many of the titles listed
might, prima facie, not be expected to mention Muscat. For the
purpose of this article I have restricted myself to Muscat, Muttrah
and their immediate neighbourhood. Entries are listed chronologi­
cally in order of visitors and where I have not been able to get a
precise date for the visit, I have used the year of the publication of
the book. With regard to bibliographical details, editions, pages,
etc., I have quoted the book that I actually used, and not
necessarily the original edition. I have also confined myself to
printed books.
In order that the researcher may the more easily for himself
assess the value of the various travellers’ tales, I have made no
attempt to edit their stories. They contain much, therefore, that is
arrant nonsense: an account of 1677, for example, attributes the
wealth of the Imam of Muscat to his ownership of the Tomb of the
Prophet Muhammad. Many of the figures quoted completely
contradict one another but I have merely reported the statements,
making no attempt to comment upon them. I have also left
untouched the writers’ spelling of Arab names. I regret that some
of the travellers have said some very unkind things about the
Muscatis but I have felt it incumbent upon me to include these
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