Page 38 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

‘English gentleman of respectability’ to be appointed to Muscat
was a Surgeon Bogle, but a few years later British agents were
withdrawn owing to the high rate of mortality, due to the un-
healthy climate. Muscat was the first Arab state in the Gulf to
have direct diplomatic dealings with Britain.
In 1803 the Sultan went on the Pilgrimage, leaving his two
young sons, Salim and Said, in charge of a Regent Mohammed
bin Nasr, their maternal relation. During his absence, his nephew
Bedr, who had been living at Lamu on the East African coast,
seized Muscat and imprisoned the boys and the Regent. He
occupied the town of Muscat but failed to take the forts. The
Sultan returned in time to relieve them and drove out Bedr. In
the following year the Sultan was killed at sea in an engagement
with pirates. 1
I
Once again, Oman was ravaged by civil war between claimants
to the succession, and during the confusion which ensued the
pirates made the most of their opportunity to attack the towns on
the coast. The two boys, Salim aged fifteen, and Said aged thir­
teen, were in Muscat with Mohammed bin Nasr, their guardian,
when the town was attacked by Qais, one of their uncles. The
boys’ aunt, Bibi Mooza, a lady of great character, who played a
leading part in Muscat’s history, suggested to the Regent that he
should call in Bedr and his Wahabi friends to drive off Qais. This
was done, and Bedr assumed the reins of government. At various
times in the Gulf’s history, ladies ofthc ruling families have wielded
powerful influence behind their strict purdah; there have been
instances of this in Bahrain and Dubai during the present century.
Bedr despatched the boys and the Regent to a distant part of
the country and set off on an expedition against Bundar Abbas
which had been occupied by Joasmi pirates. On his return, he
found the pirates in possession of Muscat, but he was able to expel
them and was soon well on the way to becoming ruler of Oman.
Said, who had been sent to Barka by Bedr with Mohammed
Nasr and the redoubtable Bibi Mooza, although only a boy, had
distinguished himself in fighting against the pirates. He had with
him a faithful body of Baluchis from Makran, who had served his
father. Bedr was suspicious of these men and wished them to be
disbanded. Until recently, Baluchis were employed by some of
the Gulf Shaikhs in a sim ilarcapacity to the Swiss guards in
Europe, being loyal and dependable fighters. In Bahrain the
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