'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎45r] (94/180)

79
revolution was facilitated by the unpopularity of Shaikh Salim, attributable to his
partiality for men of religion and to his indifference to the interests of his
subjects; but in general character Salim was not, perhaps, inferior to his successor,
who soon proved to be weak and unobservant of his promises. Shaikh Salim
retained possession of Bu Musa; but in May he paid a visit to Yusuf, one of the
Qasimi Shaikhs in Lingeh, and in July he moved to Dibai, where a settlement,
guaranteed by the Shaikhs of Rasal-Khaimah and Dibai, was arranged between
himself and his usurping nephew. Under the terms of this agreement Salim was to
acknowledge the Shaikhship oi Saqar and was m return to receive an annual pension
of $600 and to retain his personal property at Sharjah and Dhaid, while his debts
at Sharjah were to be discharged by Saqar.
In 1884 there were complaints on both sides that this agreement was not being intervention
observed, and the guarantors apparently held that the blame rested with Salim, of the British
who was reported to be again living on Bu Musa. In the meantime Shaikh Saqar P olltlc ^
allied himself by marriage to the Shaikh of Ras-al-Khaimah. Up to this point
the Resident had avoided all connection with the dispute, refusing to give advice
or instructions to Saqar on his accession and declining to take special security against
breach of the maritime peace from Shaikh Salim; but in June 1884, on Shaikh
Salim appearing at 'Ajman, the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent at Sharjah was able to arrange a
friendly meeting between him and Shaikh Saqar at 'Ajman. On this occasion a
written document was executed by Shaikh Saqar in favour of Salim, in which it was
promised that the latter should receive a pension of $400 a year, half in kind and
half in cash, also the revenue of the island of Sir Bu Na'air, which sometimes
amounted to $200 annually, and, finally, a sum of $250 on account of the past year.
In April 1884 a fatuous attempt was made by the new Shaikh of Sharjah to Futile effort
recover Hamrlyah, which, apparently ever since its secession in 1875, had continued b y Shaikh
to enjoy virtual independence. The expedient adopted was to invite Saif-bin- reSn^^Ham-
'Abdur Rahman, headman of Hamnyah, to Sharjah, and on his arrival there to ri y a h, 1884.
despatch his brother Muhammad-bin-'Abdur Rahman to take charge of the place
in the interest of the Shaikh of Sharjah. The coup was effected as arranged; but
Saif, on his return to Hamriyah, at once expelled his brother Muhammad without
the slightest difficulty.
In December 1885, Sh'am having revolted against the Shaikh of Ras-al- Expedition by
Khaimah, that chief, assisted by his cousin the Shaikh of Sharjah, proceeded against
the place and quickly reduced it to submission, inflicting a fine of $1,600, of which Khaimah"
a portion was paid at once. and Sharjah,
1885.
The expelled Shaikh, Salim, continued to watch for an opportunity of obtaining Proceedings
better terms than he had yet received from his successful rival. In June 1886,
on a combination being formed by the Shaikhs of Dibai, 'Ajman and Hamriyah d lm,
against the Shaikh of Umm-al-Qaiwain, Salim once more landed at 'Ajman; but
no opportunity having occurred of prosecuting his designs against Sharjah, he
shortly returned to Bu Musa. In 1888 Salim paid a visit to Dibai, between the
Shaikh of which place and the Shaikh of Sharjah enmity at the time prevailed; a
reconciliation, however, having taken place between the two, he was persuaded
by the Shaikh of Dibai to promise, in return for the restoration of his pension,
which had been suspended, to abstain from intrigues against his nephew. In
April 1889, nevertheless, he organised an attack upon Sharjah; but he was unable
to carry it out. Again, a little later, he became reconciled to Shaikh Saqar, who
this time received him into favour and appointed him his Wazlr.
On the 2nd of August 1900 Hamaid-bin-'Abdullah, Shaikh of Ras-al-Khaimah, Re-incorpora-
was removed by a paralytic stroke, and Shaikh Saqar-bin-Khalid in the following Ra u"
month re-annexed the town and district to his principality of Sharjah without ^j th t ^ a
encountering any opposition. Shaikh Saqar at first placed his cousin Hamad-bin- sharjah
Majid in charge of Ras-al-Khaimah; but a few months later, having found his Shaikhdom,
conduct unsatisfactory, he substituted his own son Khalid as governor. 1900 -
The township of Hamriyah, of which the headman on the occasion of Lord Hamriyah
Curzon's visit to the coast, in November 1903, vainly sought to obtain recognition
as an independent Trucial Shaikh, continued in theory attached to the Sharjah
principality and in practice virtually independent; the reason of the prolonged
estrangement was chiefly, so far as could be ascertained, the neglect or incapacity
of the Shaikh of Sharjah to protect the interests of his vassal when assailed by
others. On the 3rd of September 1904 a change of headmen occurred at Hamriyah
by the death of Saif-bin-'Abdur Rahman and the succession of his son 'Abdur
Rahman-bin-Saif. The latter soon resigned his position in favour of an elder