'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.' [‎33] (194/612)

THE IMAMS OP 'OMAN.
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remained atKddam until lie heard that his enemies had entered
el-Jauf, 1 when he departed from thence with his scanty fol
lowers to the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -^l-Bahar, where he rallied together all
the chiefs and nobles who were still loyal to his cause, and,
by the aid of God, was enabled to maintain that position.
At this time the Sultan and his nobles were at Nezwa, but
by the advice of those who were with him and sympathized
with him Rashid-bin-Walid did not attack them, trusting
that such forbearance on his part towards the Mussulmans
and his own countrymen would tend to strengthen his cause
and ultimately give him the victory. He therefore stopped
short at Nezwa, close to the road leading to the ^Akabat-
Fih, 2 and not far from the the Sultan el-Jair's 3 army. But
what God had foreordained came to pass : his adherents
attacked the enemy and were overcome, whereupon they fled
and were scattered in all directions. This engagement took
place at dawn, and by the evening of the same day he was
abandoned by all his followers, and in utter despair of re
ceiving any aid from his people. The Sultan el-Jai'r now
seized upon the whole country, the people on their part
doing all in their power to conciliate him, while the Sultan
1 El-Jauf, according to the information obtained by Niebuhr, is a
small town on the borders of the desert, about forty miles to the south
east of Nezwa. Wellsted does not notice it in his Travels in Arabia.
The author repeatedly remarks in the sequel that the town is vulgarly
called " el-Jau."
2 'Akabah, (in construct case, 'Akabat,) means the summit of a moun
tain or a steep declivity; sometimes a difficult pass which is easily de
fended against an enemy. There are many such localities in the moun
tainous parts of 'Omjin, generally bearing distinctive names.
3 The lieutenant of one of the Abbaside Khalifahs is probably alluded
to in this passage, but I am at a loss to determine which of them is in
dicated. The designation " el-Jair," (the Tyrant), is evidently a nick
name. As the Imam Sa'id-bin-'Abdallah, Rashid-bin-Walid's prede
cessor, is said to have died a.h . 328, and el-Khalil-bin-Shadzan to have
succeeded him about a.h . 405, it must have been one of the five Khali
fahs who reigned during that interval. The principal Arabian histo
rians throw no light on the affairs of 'Oman at this period.