Page 580 - PERSIAN 2 1879_1883_Neat

20 ADMINISTRATION BBPOBT OF TUB PER8IAN GULF POLITICAL

second occasion, he was sigually defeated, and his younger brother Hamed
killed.
Tn 1819 Seyyid Sa'ced co-operated with the British force which
acted agaiust the Jowasim of Bas-el-Khaimah under Sir W. Graut
Keir.
In 1820 a small British force suffered a disaster in Ja'alan. The
Beni-Bu-'Ali tribe of Ja'alan had embraced the Wahabee faith and
renounced allegiance to Seyyid Sa'eed; they bad also engaged in the
plunder of certain vessels. A messenger, who had been sent ashore at Soor
by the British Political Officer, having been murdered, that officer
proceeded to tsike active measures and landed at Soor a force of 380
sepoys and 4 guns. These were joined by Seyyid Sa'eed in person,
at the head of 1,000 Arabs of different tribes. This force advanced on
the position of the Beni-Bu-'Ali, but, on being attacked by the latter,
gave way, and nearly the whole detachment and all the officers were
slain.
In 1821 a larger British expedition, under Sir Lionel Smith, pro­
ceeded to Ja'alan to retrieve the honour of the British arms. On this
occasion 500 of the Beni-Bu-'Aii were killed, and the remainder made
prisoners and taken to Bombay. Subsequently the prisoners were
restored to their country, and a sum of money given to them to enable
them to rebuild their houses.
In the year 1821 Seyyid Salim died. Previously the Imam Sa'eed
had died at Rastak, and the title was not claimed by, nor conferred
on, any other member of the Al- Bu-Sa'eed family.1
In 18*28 Seyyid Sa'eed once more attacked Bahrain, hut suffered
defeat and returned to Muscat.
It is recorded that in the year 1829 Seyyid Sa'eed seized and im­
prisoned his cousin Seyyid Hilal, the son of Mohammed-lbn-el-Imara
Ahmed. The port of Soweyk, on the Eatinah, had been assigned to that
branch of the family as an appanage, and Seyyid Sa'eed seems to have
suspected Hilal of disloyal designs. . In the same year Seyyid Sa'eed
proceeded to Zanzibar. He soon afterwards captured Mombasah from
the Beni-Mezru'a Arabs, the chief of which tribe he deported to Hormuz
in the Persian Gulf.
On leaving 'Om£u for Zanzibar, Seyyid Sa'eed appointed his nephew
Mohammed-bin-Salim, Wali, or Governor, of Muscat, with full power to
administer the government of 'Omdn generally. Ae soon as Sa'eed' bad
sailed for Africa, disturbances broke out in the Batinah. A sister of
Seyyid HiKl first raised the tribes about Snweyk to avenge the treacher­
ous seizure of her brother, and Soweyk fell into her hands. -
Encouraged by the success of this lady, Hainood bin-'Azz6n, a
nephew of Seyyid Sa'eed, moved on Soh£r, and succeeded in recovering
that hereditary appanage of his branch of the family of whieh he bad
been dispossessed by his uncle. Hamood, pursuing his advantage,
soon .took possession of several other important towns on the B&tinah
coast, and the whole of that province was for the time lost to Seyyid
Sa'eed. Hamood even attempted the capture of Muscat, and was only
foiled by the timely arrival of a body of Ghdfirees from the interior. At
this juncture the British Government prepared to support the govern-
1 Except ’Arran,

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