Page 186 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

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at this time established their rule over part of the Arabian mainland
as well as over Qatar. Khalifah’s son Mohammed aspired to take
his father’s place as joint ruler and after some time he was awarded
a measure of authority by Shaikh Abdulla, which was the signal
for an outbreak of family quarrels among the sons, nephews and
grandsons of the old Shaikh.
In 182S, the Sultan of Muscat attacked Bahrain in spite of the
efforts of the British to dissuade him from doing so. He landed
with a large force but preparations had been made for the defence
of the islands, such as blocking the entrance of the harbour by
sinking numbers of boats filled with rocks. The Sultan was de­
feated with heavy losses and narrowly escaped being captured,
he was saved by his Nubian guards, who carried him, wounded,
back to his ship. For many months after this engagement the
people of Bahrain used to find the bodies of the Muscatis washed
up into their fish traps. Once again, during the fight, some of
his Arab troops changed sides, this time it was the Beni Yas tribe
who deserted him and joined the Khalifah. In 1829, a peace was
made between Bahrain and Muscat.
The combination of Shaikh Abdulla and his great nephew
Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifah was not a happy one. Bahrain
became devastated by civil wars, as each Shaikh brought in Arabs
from the mainland to support his cause. There was a general
exodus of the Shia inhabitants to other places in the Gulf such as
Katif and Muscat, to avoid being involved in the quarrels of the
Khalifah, owing to this the population was greatly reduced.
Shaikh Mohammed was a forcible personality. There are con­
flicting descriptions of his character. One writer describes him
as ‘a man who combined in himself the worst qualities of a tyrant,
the most unbridled lust, and greed for wealth, an uncontrollable
temper, ignorance and impatience against restraint’. Elsewhere
it is said of him, ‘His good deeds bear testimony of his fine resolve
and sound judgement, he was master of great courage and forti­
tude, and had the merits of shrewdness, majesty, gravity and
cheerfulness’. Thirty-five years ago, an old man who, as a
youth, had met Shaikh Mohammed when he was living in exile
at Mecca, described him to me as ‘short and stout, very fond of
women, even in his old age, and a great talker’.
During 1837, Shaikh Abdulla had trouble with the Qatar tribes
who owed allegiance to the Khalifah. They revolted against his
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