'Précis of the Affairs of the Persian Coast and Islands, 1854-1905 By J A Saldanha, BA LL B' [‎18r] (35/212)

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Nadir Shah that gave the lease, then their subsequent tenure of Bandar . S bbas
must have been very precarious, as Mulla AH Shaw was practically supreme
at Gombroon until he was seized by Nasir Khan in 1852 (No Laii in my
Selections, 1600-1800). We find him at liberty soon after, and his power at
Gombroon was so great that he could have left little room to his enemies the
Bini Maainee Arabs.
8q. Sheikh Abdullah Maainee exercised however at the same time supreme
power in Kishm island at least for a time. In 1753 Abdul Sheikh, Governor
of Kishm, as he is called by the Resident, proposed to sell a Persian ship to
the Siddee at Maskat. this Nasir Khan was anxious to prevent by all means,
which he however was powerless to do, and it was^ only the despatch o wo
British ships by the Resident at the urgent solicitations of Nasir Khan that
saved the vessel from being taken to Maskat {Selections, No. LX ).
qo. It is very improbable that Sheikh Abdullah could have got ^ a farm of
Bandar Abbas and its dependencies before the removel of the British factory An East India Company trading post.
from Gombroon in 1763, since if this was a fact, it would have been referred to in
the Gombroon diaries of the time. For many years after this Sheikh Abdullah
as we have seen, adopted such an independent and hostile attitude against
Karim Khan that it was unlikely that until the latter's death in 1779 any inhu e
was paid by Sheikh Abdullah to the Persian authorities. After Karim I ban s
death there reigned so much confusion in Persia until Aga Mahomed final y
established his power over the ruins of the Zand dynasty in 17^5, tha
the Bini Maainee Arabs increased their hold in the islands of Kishm an
Ormuz. Their fleet of ships was at a time a terror to the 111 ( e I<r • '
It was probably during the period of confusion that followed the death of Karim
Khan that the Bini Maainee Arabs, obtained possession of Bandar Abbas and the
ports close to it, for which they must have later on begun to pay a rent to the
central authority in Persia, as it became consolidated.
qi. In 1708 the islands of Kishm and Ormuz and Bandar Abbas and the
towns near it were taken by Saiyid Sultan, Imam of ^ Maskat. The following
account is given in the " Imams and Saiyids of Oman edited by Badger
' Sultan went next to es-Sweaik, which was then in the hands of his brother, Said bin
el Imam and captured it, and from him he also took el-Masnah His next conquest
was Shakhar (Chahar) of Mekran, after which he attacked el-Kasum (Kishm) and reduced
r Then after a reconciliation was affected betwixt him and Bin, Maainee, the people of
el-Kasum, he attacked it again ; he also attacked Harmuz, the port of winch island belong-
ed to Mulla Hasan el-Mainy and took both places.' ^ ,
02. No mention is made in this account of the Kishm Arabs having invited
Saiyid Sultan. Reference is made to his reconciliation with them and a sec-n
aftarck-of the island. , . ■ ,
o. Soon after this Saiyid Sultan farmed Bandar Abbas and its dependen
cies but from all accounts it is clear that Kishm and Ormuz were not specih-
c allv mentioned^ the grants. The presumption would be that a large island
like Kishm would have been specifically mentioned, had Ae grant included it in
addition to Bandar Abbas and its ' dependencies,' which included the coast near
that town and perhaps the islands close by under the control of its Governor,
■which was not the case in regard to the island Oi Kisfim.
04. Soon after Saiyid Sultan had acquired these territories a treaty was
concluded with him by the British (istli October 1798), in which Bandar Abbas
is referred to as a port " of this Sirkar," that is the Imam of Maskat ; and there
occurs the following article; r ,. u u n i-. /t
" In the port ot Bandar Abbas (Gombroon), whenever the English shall be disposed
tn establish a factorv, making it as a fort, 1 have no objection to their fort.fymg the same
r „, nt; n c, ™ns thereon Is many as they list and to forty or fifty English gentlemen
and monntin „ ^ ■ 1]t hundre d English sepoys Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank. ; and for the rest the rate of
dnUe's on goods, on buying and selling, will be on the same footing as at Basrah an
CK On the death of Saiyid Sultan in .804, and during the troubles result-
ino from the succession being doubtful for a time, the Bin. Maainee tribe recover-
ecTtheir old possessions. Saiyid Bedr proceeded against Kishm and Bandar
Abbas in 1865 and regained all the lost possessions. The details of this
expedition in which the British co-operated are given in Section XIV (Ji) of
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Precis
Ali ^•s.etteMNe.CCLXV.n
f rom the State Papers regarding the Persian C.uLf, 1600-180 ).