'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part IA & IB. J G Lorimer. 1915' [‎1176] (1331/1782)

>• r r i rf r , ' i*
1176
appear in person before the Wahhabi Amir and answer for tribute
which was claimed of him. ; Anaizah was at this time ruled hy Zamil
who had seen fighting in his youth as leader of the 'Anaizah contingent
in a Wahhabi expedition against 'Oman, and whose name was honour
ably distinguished in the later history of Qasim; he had succeeded his
cousin ; Abdullah, who was Shaikh in 1853, but his father also had once
held the Shaikhship. The Wahhabis began their operations against
'Anaizah with a loose blockade organised by Mahanna from the neigh
bouring town of Buraidah, to which the people of ; Anaizah retorted
vigorously by laying waste the lands and gardens of Buraidah. All
Qasim secretly sympathised with the 'Anaizans, and even Buraidah
itself, between which town and 'Anaizah enmity usually prevailed, was
on the verge of rising against the Wahhabis. Ibn-Rashid and the Sharif
of Makkah would willingly have intervened, but they dreaded a personal
rupture with Ibn-Sa'ud; and 'Anaizah was left to stand alone.*
Hy degrees a large force was collected before 'Anaizah under a near
relation of the Wahhabi Amir who brought with him Bedouin contin
gents from distant Hasa and still more distant 'Oman; Talal, the
Amir of Jabal Shammar, with his uncle 'Obaid joined the Wahhabi
camp; and Mahanna, governor of Buraidah, and the Wahhabis of
Q,asim were already present. A regular siege of 'Anaizah was then
undertaken, but the Wahhabi artillery produced no effect on the
walls and the _ operations soon flagged, for the Qasim levy at heart
desired their failure and the Bedouins brought from a distance felt no
interest in their success. On one occasion a part of the besieging force
was routed by a sally of the besieged, a Wahhabi standard was taken,
and Zamil, no less humane than courageous, was alreadv exerting himself
to prevent a massacre of the fugitives, Avhen of a sudden a rain-storm
broke and the matches of the ' Anaizah musketeers were extinguished: in
a moment the mounted Wahhabis had ridden them down and the half-
won victory of the defenders of 'Anaizah was converted into the most
serious defeat that they suffered during the whole siege. After this onlv
two petty skirmishes took place, and finally the Wahhabis retired
leaving 'Anaizah as they found it, a free town.
Period from 1862 to 1891.
anng the next 30 years Qasim appears to have enjoyed immunity
i 10 u ^ . ance8, T> e5 5 ce P t tll0se a Petty character resulting from raids
by Bedouins upon Bedouins, and from punitive expeditions by the settled
population against nomad breakers of the peace. In 1878 a notable
defeat was inflicted on the Qihtan near the wells of Dnkhnah bv the
' a!! t- 'i £ N i QQn » -.T? ? t fead ' assisted }) y the townsmen of
Anaizah. By 1880 Buraidah had become a practically independent town
w | , . oS! misiioa from the Emperor of the
u 1 :. j 0 _ r! Wa „ ,h S 1 l' 011 . 1 . 8 iJ ' ,tlCtid ln the h.sto.y of Najd, pa 383 l through Qasim
»» a maui rv uii u
on his way fr -m Hail to R yadh.