"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٧‎٦‎٥] (١٧٨٢/٩٠٨)

765
of a number o£ Manasir Bedouins and attacked and plundered the ex-^Shaikli
town ; but he was driven out with a loss of 35 men by his brother M,3h aauinad,
Talmun, who hastened to the spot with a large force from the interior. 1823 '
Retreating northwards he took refuge in Sharjah, whither Tahnun
followed by land and demanded his surrender ; but, before matters
came to a crisis between the Shaikhs of Abu Dhabi and Sharjah,
Muhammad relieved the latter of his presence by returning to Qatar.
Shaikh Tahnun had long distrusted his brothers Khalifah and Sultan Assassination
and had kept them at a distance from Abu Dhabi; but he was at length ^ Shaikh
persuaded oy his father, Shakhbut, to allow them to return. Soon AprUlSSS
afterwards they were found to have entered with some of the principal
residents of Abu Dhabi into a plot for the removal of Tahnun, — an act
of treason with which the Shaikh prepared to deal by throwing some
of their confederates into prison. This precaution, however, was not
sufficient. On the contrary it precipitated the action of the conspirators;
and in April 1833 Shaikh Tahnun fell a victim to the pistol of his
brother Khalifah and the dagger of his brother Sultan.
Shaikh Khalifah-bin-Shakhbut, 1833-45.
Khalifah and Sultan at first ruled in partnership; but gradually
the predominance of Khalifah declared itself, and Sultan descended
to a subordinate place. A tender of allegiance and Zakat on the
part of the usurpers was readily accepted by the Wahhabi Amir, who at
once took them under his protection and forbade the Qasinu Shaikh
of Sharjah to meddle in their affairs.
In the course of the following summer a conspiracy was formed by
some malcontents at Abu Dhabi to murder Shaikh Khalifah and replace
him by one of his first ecousins ; but the cousin whom it was mten e o
benefit himself divulged the plot to the Shaikh, who, letumg m o us
fort, seized three of the ringleaders and put them to death. He was a so
about to execute two influential merchants ; but popular indigna ion ^ am
the opposition of his brother Sultan diverted him fiom us puipose
and obliged him to be satisfied instead with the expulsion o one o ie
merchants named Bin-^Iyan, whom, after beating and despoi ing o
property, he sent in a Baqarah to Lingeh.
This violence on the part of Shaikh Khalifah was highly
to his own interests, for it led to the secession lom n.i
Dibai, during the pearl fishery, of _a large number o n0 ^
A1 Bu Falasah section. Dibai, of which the date 0 r ou . n to have
be fixed but may have been later than that of Abu a 1; 8 -f on
been readily surrendered by the individual who en .8"°^ foiiowine-
behalf of Shaikh Khalifah to the seceders ; and ^ 111 . •„. f r0I ^
autumn, were joined there by the bulk of then re a ives, x- re
the pearl banks. The secession was permanent, almost
Acceision of
Shftikh Kha-
lifah, 1833.
Plot against
8hailvh Kha"
lifali, 18 33.
Seceiwion of
the A1 Bu
Palasab to
Dibai, 1833.
tllC UCttH UitllKB. 1 * "1 J of
of the Al Bu Falasah being to the present day domiciled a