"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٩‎٨‎٦] (١٧٨٢/١١٤١)

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escort were for the most part, either killed or taken prisoners and kept
bv the Bedouins as hostages for the safety of fellow-tribesmen then in
jail at Hofuf. The booty of the robbers consisted of goods worth about
Hs. 1,00,000 in addition to some COO camels and 300 donkeys. In June
1902 Talib Pilsha arrived as Mutasarrif of Hasa, and in July the
Turkish garrison of the province was increased by 500 infantry, 200
cavalry and 4 light yuns, On the l()th of September a column, sent
out from Hofuf, succeeded in surprising a large camp of A1 Morrah
at Zarnuqah, about 40 miles south of the Hasa Oasis ; many Arabs were
killed, including a brother of one of the Shaikhs of the A1 Bahaih, and
much Bedouin property fell into the hands of the Turks. The new
Mutasarrif further interdicted the people of Hasa from trading with the
A1 Morrah ; and in October, after a skirmish with an Al Morrah escort,
a caravan of 80 camels, laden with rice and dates for the tribe, was
captured by the Turks ; on this occasion there were several casualties on
the Turkish side. Probably w r ith a view to strengthening their hold upon
the Arab tribes, as also to asserting their sovereignty over the coast to
the northward, the Turks, in 1902, established Dhabitiyah posts upon
the islands of Musallamiyah and Jinnah.
At the beginning of 1903 the internal position must still have been
unsatisfactory, for, in January of that year, another battalion was added
to the Hasa garrison.
In January 1006 a serious fracas occurred at Ruqaiqah, a great
Bedouin camping ground one mile to the south of Hofuf, between the
J A jman and Al Morrah tribes; but the Turks intervened and stopped the
fighting. A day or two later Muhammad-bin-Sharaim, the chief Shaikh
of the A.1 Morrah, was murdered, and the tribe seem to have considered
the Turks in someway responsible for the event; the result was that,
on the 3rd of March following, a large caravan on the Hofuf-'Oqair
road was ambuscaded by Al Morrah, Bani Hajir and Manasir at
Baraiman, a place only live miles from Qofdiyah, where a similar disaster
had taken place in 1902. On the present occasion the Turkish escort of
45 men and a number oi camelmen and travellers were killed, and property
to the value of Rs. 3,00,000 was carried off. No retributory measures
weie undertaken b^ the Turks ; and in April, August and September
other caravans were surprised and looted by Bedouins on various roads
lead, ng to oi from the Hasa Oasis. In August a collision occurred
between the inhabitants of Mubarraz and an encampment of the 'Ajman,
in which se\eial li\es were lost ; and in October a more serious conflict
took place between the townspeople of Kofuf, aided by the Turks, and