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BRITISH—SAUDI CONTROVERSY OVER BURAIMI 211
records describe how he was greeted by the tribes of Nu’aim, Dhawahir
and al-Bu Shamis who all ‘hastened to tender their submission when
they heard of his approach’.1 And in 1853, Amir Faisal sent his son,
Amir 'Abd Allah, to Buraimi with a mission to reconcile differences
between some tribes in the interior of Oman. According to British
records, Amir 'Abd Allah ‘took up his position at Brymee, and sum­
moned the chiefs to attend him’.2
5. The predominant position which the Wahhabis occupied during
this period among the Shaikhs and tribes of the whole eastern region
of Arabia is clearly shown in a report submitted in July 1854 by
Lieutenant A. B. Kcmball to the Government of India. In this report,
Kemball stated:
These states are independent, but acknowledge the feudal supremacy of
the Wahabi ruler whenever his own power, or their dissensions, may place
him in a position to exercise it. Their chiefs are expected to afford military
aid in his expeditions, and to furnish supplies to his troops when present,
as in the case of the garrison at Brymee in Oman . . .3

6. In 1865, Amir Faisal died and he was succeeded by his son,
'Abd Allah, who was proclaimed in the same year as the new Amir of
the House of Al-Sa'ud.1 Very shortly after Amir'Abd Allah’s reign
the British Government accused the Wahhabi Agent at Buraimi of
sending troops to Sur, a territory under the authority of the Sultan
of Muscat, and attacking Indian subjects resident in that territory.
The British Government, therefore, sent an ultimatum in July 1866
to Amir'Abd Allah requiring reparations for the damages sustained.
At the same time the British Government gave military aid to the
Sultan and encouraged him to oust the Wahhabis from the territories
of Oman.5
Later, however, the differences between the British Government and
the Wahhabi Amir were reconciled when they both arrived at an
understanding based on a declaration, made on behalf of Amir 'Abd
Allah, dated 21 April 1866. According to Lorimer, in that declaration,
Muhammad ibn Mani' assured the British Resident at Bushire, on
behalf of his Master, Amir 'Abd Allah that:
(1) British subjects would be protected in the Wahhabi dominions.
(2) Beyond collecting the tribute established by ancient custom, the
Wahhabis would not in future interfere with Arab principalities in alliance
with the British Government, in particular, the Sultanate of Oman.6
7. In April 1869 the Wahhabi Agent at Buraimi, Turki al-Sudairi,
was shot dead while he was on a visit to the town of al-Sharjah, on the
1 Ibid., p. 456. r 2 Ibid., pp. 232, 456, 460. 3 Ibid., p. 292.
4 Saudi Memorial, I, p. 237. 6 Lorimer, pp. 474, 1121-2.
• Lorimer, p. 1124. For an accurate translation of Amir'Abd Allah’s letter, see
Aitchison, p. 206.