Page 274 - The Arabian Gulf States_Neat

212 THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES
Trucial Coast. At or about this time, a certain Omani chief, called
Sayyid 'Azzan ibn Qais, usurped the Sultanate of Oman from the
legitimate Sultan, Turki, who was on a visit abroad, and declared
himself, in his place, as a Sultan. r Azzan was also encouraged by the
death of the Wahhabi Agent at Buraimi and his followers to send
troops to that place and occupy it, which he did ‘after a trifling
resistance' on the part of the small Wahhabi garrison. The surrender
of Buraimi to 'Azzan’s forces took place on or about 18 June 1869.
According to Lorimcr, the occupation of Buraimi by Sayyid 'Azzan
resulted in the ‘disappearance of the Wahhabis from Buraimi which
they occupied, almost continuously, for nearly seventy years'1 (i.c.,
from 1800 to 1869). And according to Ibn Ruzaiq:
In July (1869) he [rAzzan] captured the fortress of cl-Bcreimy—long the
frontier stronghold of the Wahhabis . . . and established friendly relations
with Beni Yas [of Abu Dhabi] and the El-Kawasim.2
8. Amir fAbd Allah ibn Faisal made some attempts to recover
Buraimi from fAzzan in the following year, but he failed to do so.3
The British Government also ‘reminded’ him, says Lorimer, ‘of his
promise, given in 1866, not to commit aggressions upon Arab states
having fiiendly relations with the British Government.’4
9. The expulsion of the Wahhabis from Buraimi in 1869 concluded
the period of their control over it, lasting from 1800 to 1869. During
this period they were twice dispossessed of Buraimi: from 1818 to
1824 and from 1838 to 1842. In May 1871, the Turkish Government
sent another expedition to Arabia and occupied the province of Hasa.5

(b) 1869-19526
During their occupation of Hasa (including the ports of Qatif and
Uqair), a period lasting from 1871 to 1913, the Turks had not exer-
1 Lorimcr, p. 1127.
2 Badger, op. cit., Introduction, p. cxv. And see Lorimcr, p. 1127. According to
Lorimcr, 'Azzan was regarded as a mere usurper and the British Government
therefore declined to recognise him as a legitimate ruler of Muscat. ‘The arrogant
and fanatical character of his ('Azzan) Counsellors, the unfavourable influence of
his administration on trade, and the fact that he was not of the line of Said, whom
British Officers had come to recognise as the natural rulers of the countiy, were
the principal objections against him.* See Lorimer, p. 487. 'Azzan met his death
early in 1871 in a battle with the legitimate Sultan, Turki Al-Bu-Sa‘id. Sec ibid.,
p. 490. 3 Lorimcr, p. 1127. 4 Ibid. 6 Lorimcr, p. 1128.
6 The year 1952 is chosen as the ‘critical date’ in this dispute, the date after
which the actions of the parties cannot affect their legal positions or rights as they
then stood. This is because in August of this year Saudi officials established
control over the Oasis after they left it in 1869. After this year the parties proceeded
to make arrangements for the settlement of the dispute. On the other hand, the
year 1934 may be suggested as a critical date since it marked the beginning of
negotiations on the Saudi Arabian eastern boundaries, as stated above in the
introduction.