'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎42v] (89/180)

74
Treacherous
seizure of the
Shaikh of
Umm-al-
Qaiwain by
the Shaikh of
Abu Dhabi
and his
rescue by the
British Resi
dent. 1907.
continued to hold out. The quarrel was at its height in December 1905 while
Major Cox, the British Resident, was journeying from Ras-al-Khaimah to Baraimi,
and there was at that time some talk of a combination between the Shaikhs of
Umm-al-Qaiwain. Sharjah and 'Ajman for the purpose of supporting the Bam
Qitab against the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi; but in reality the Ghafiri Shaikhs were
not prepared to go far, and a remonstrance which Major Cox addressed to Shaikh
Zaid, referring to the threatened danger of a Wahhabi incursion, was not without
sedative effect. But the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi was still anxious to convince the
Bani Qitab of the impossibility of opposing his wishes and the Shaikh oi Umm-
al-Qaiwain of the folly of attempting to compete with his influence in Bedouin
affairs; so in February 1906, after notifying a demand for blood-money on account
of Baluch slain, he collected his forces and prepared to move against the Bani
Qitab. In this extremity the tribe appealed first to the Shaikh of Dibai, who
intimated that he regarded the claim for blood-money as just; then to the Shaikh
of Sharjah, who declined to have anything to do with the matter; and finally to
the Shaikh of Umm-al-Qaiwain, who, doubtless under great pressure from the
Bani Qitab, in the end undertook their case, so violating his recent promise not
to afford them encouragement. Finally counsels of moderation prevailed, and a
general meeting of chiefs was held at Khawanij near Dibai, which resulted in a
setlement. A written agreement, dated about the end of April 1906, was also
drawn up, in which the respective spheres of tribal influence of the Shaikhs of
Abu Dhabi and Umm-al-Qaiwain were defined; in this document the Bani Qitab,
the Ghafalah and the Bani Ka'ab were assigned to Shaikh Rashid, while Shaikh
Zaid—in some cases to the prejudice of third parties who were not apparently
consulted—obtained the following as dependents: Sultan-bin-Muhammad, Shaikh
of the Na'im of Baraimi; Muhammad-bin-Sulaiman, Shaikh of Dariz in Dhahirah;
Hamad-bin-'Abdullah, headman of Fujairah in Shamailiyah; and the Shihiih
tribe of Ruus-al-Jibal. Jurisdiction over subjects of the Sultan of 'Oman may have
been claimed by Shaikh Zaid merely on behalf of that ruler, whose representative
and plenipotentiary, in consequence of the strict alliance existing between them,
he may have conceived himself to be; but his invasion of the rights of the Shaikh
of Sharjah by asserting influence over Fujairah is more difficult to justify; and,
were it not for the well-known apathy of Saqar-bin-Khalid, the continuance after
this of amicable relations between Abu Dhabi and Sharjah would be inexplicable.
The settlement was a triumph for the Shaikh of Umm-al-Qaiwain as con
firming his right to a voice in Bedouin politics; but it was impossible that the
Shaikh of Abu Dhabi should for long acquiesce in a partition of privileges hitherto
exclusively his own with his youthful competitor. Accordingly, about the end of
November 1906, having arranged with the Shaikhs of Dibai and Sharjah for
their support, he began to collect and arm his adherents among the Manasir
and the Bani Hajir tribes and to prejpare for a fresh rupture with the Bani Qitab
and for an attack on Falai or Falaj A1 'Ali,—a small but valuable oasis belonging
to the Shaikh of Umm-al-Qaiwain, from whose capital it is distant about 16 miles
inland. The Shaikh of Umm-al-Qaiwain, on his part, proceeded to set the defences
of Falai in order and applied to the British Resident for assistance in procuring
two breach-loading guns to be mounted on the fort,—a request which was of course
declined. Major Cox then addressed a forcible remonstrance to both Shaikhs,
and a seeming reconciliation took place; but, at the beginning of January 1907,
Shaikh Rashid, who had ventured to pay a friendly visit to Shaikh Zaid at his
camp in the interior, was, after being hospitably entertained for several days,
suddenly seized, thrown into chains, and called on to surrender Falai upon pain
of forfeiting his life. On receiving news of this affair the Resident immediately
despatched a letter from Biishehr by H.M.S. Proserpine" demanding of Shaikh
Zaid that his prisoner should be released; and on the next day, the 17th of February,
Major Cox himself followed in the R.I.M.S. " Lawrence On arrival at Sharjah
it was ascertained that the Shaikhs of Sharjah, Dibai and 'Ajman had joined the
Shaikh of Abu Dhabi at a place 20 miles inland from Sharjah,where they held
Shaikh Rashid in confinement and were preparing for an attack on Falai; also
that the attendants captured with the Shaikh of Umm-al-Qaiwain had been sent
by boat to Abu Dhabi,—an act which might reasonably be construed as a breach
of the maritime peace. With much difficulty and after a week's negotiations, the
Shaikh of Sharjah being employed as an intermediary, Major Cox succeeded in
arranging for the unconditional release of Shaikh Rashid, whose appearance when
he reached the " Lawrence " bore witness to a good deal of physical and mental
suffering. After this, in accordance with a friendly understanding that the Resident
should, on Umm-al-Qaiwain being set at liberty, mediate between him and the