'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.' [‎17] (50/612)

AND ANALYSIS.
XVU
Muhammad-bin-Nilr took up liis residence at Nezwa, but
it was not long before one of the chiefs of the el-Hinay
summoned the tribes to expel him the country. They had
nearly effected their object^ having driven him as far as the
sea-coast at es-Sib, when a strong mounted reinforcement,
two men riding on each camel, coming to the aid of the
refugees, a battle was fought in which the ^Omanis were
defeated with great loss. Thereupon Muhammad-bin-Nur
re-occupied Nezwa, and ruled with a rod of iron: " he cut
off the hands and ears, and scooped out the eyes of the
nobles, inflicted unheard-of outrages upon the inhabitants,
destroyed the watercourses, burnt the books, and utterly
desolated the country." On leaving for el-Bahrein he ap
pointed one el-Bujairah as his deputy over ^Oman, who
shortly after fell a victim to the vengeance of the infuriated
people.
No less than seven Imams were successively elected and
deposed within a space of about thirty years after this
occurrence. The narrative leads to the inference that the
'Omanis took advantage of the serious disturbances raised
by the el-Karamitah 1 at this period throughout the Muslim
empire to re-assert their independence; but their efforts
were too feeble to prevent the " Sultan of Baghdad" 2 from
1 For a brief notice of this sect see note, p. 27 ; also Appendix B,
pp. 587-390.
2 In two foot-notes, pp. 26, 33, I have supposed that the Khalifah
was indicated by this title. It is quite true, as there remarked, that the
religious scruples of the Ibadhiyah author frequently restrain him from
giving the designation of Khalifah to the orthodox Muslim sovereigns ;
nevertheless, subsequent reflection leads me to think that by the " Sultan
of Baghdad" the Amir-el-OmarS, is intended. The date of the narrative
in which it occurs, namely, subsequent to the death of el-Mua'tddhid,
a.h . 289= a.d . 902, confirms that idea, for the latter title was first given
to Abu-Bekr-ibn-er-Kaik by the Khalifah er-R&dhi-b'Illah, a.h . 324
=a.d . 935. Besides the entire management of the finances, the office
comprised the administration of all military affairs, and the Amir-el-
Omara frequently headed the army in person. In course of time the
influence of these Commanders-in-Chief became paramount in the
d