'History of the imâms and seyyids of 'Omân by Salîl-ibn-Razîk, from A.D. 661-1856; translated from the original Arabic, and edited with notes, appendices, and an introduction, continuing the history down to 1870, by George Percy Badger, F.R.G.S., late chaplain in the Presidency of Bombay.' [‎14] (47/612)

XIV
INTUODUCTION
to have borne any distinctive title. 1 Religious influence
seems to have stimulated this effort to throw off a foreign
yoke, for the record of it is coupled with the remark that
the IhddhiyaJr had become the predominant sect in ^Oman.
1 he same motives probably led them to change or to confer
a fresh title upon their sovereigns. The Khalifah, or Successor
to Muhammad, is, par excellence, the Imam or Pontiff of all
Muslims; but it is a cardinal doctrine of the Ibadhiyah to
deny that ^Aly or his successors were legitimate repre
sentatives of the Prophet. In fact, they do not believe in
the theological dogma of Succession, or spiritual descent,
holding, on the contrary, that the Imam should be the elect
of the people, who are justified in deposing him, if adjudged
guilty of malfeasance either in secular or religious matters.
Jul an da's reign was cut short by an abortive expedition
dispatched against 'Oman by the Khalifah es-Saffah, a.d.
/49-/54; but in the contest which took place between the
two armies -Julanda was slain. Thereupon followed an
interregnum of several years, during which the country was a
1 I am not quite certain on this point. From a sentence in page 2,
■where Suleiman and Sa'id, the sons of 'Abbad-bin-el-JuMnda, are styled
"of the lineage of its [Oman's] Sultans," it may be inferred that
"Sultan" was the designation previously borne by the rulers of that
country. On the other hand, the term bears the common signification
of ruler, or lord, and may be taken in that sense in this passage. Abulfeda
uses it for the first time, in its restricted meaning, in his account of
Rukn-ed-Daulah, the Khalifah el-Muti'-b'Illah's nominal deputy over
Fars, who, he says, bestowed upon his nephew 'Imad-ed-Daulah, the
title of " Sultau," placing him at the same time— a h . 338= a,d. 919
upon his throne. But according to the generality of oriental authors
the title was not directly applied to any Eastern prince till a.h , 393=
a,d . 1002, when Mahmud-el-Ghazny dignified Khalf-bin-Ahmed, the
governor of Sejistan, with it. It soon superseded the designation of Amir,
or el-Amir,which had before been used in the same sense, was subsequently
assumed by the Mamluks in Egypt, and is still used by the Ottoman
emperor. See D'Herbelot, under Solthan. I may add that this title is
also given to many petty chiefs in Yemen, who in other parts of Arabia
would be styled Sheikhs.
2 For a detailed account of this sect see Appendix B,