'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.' [‎46] (207/612)

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46
THE IMAMS OF 'OMAN.
Subsequently he removed to Yankal, leaving a garrison in
the fort at Makniyat. These had become so weary of his
tyranny and oppression that they determined to stir up the
people to put an end to him; they accordingly dispatched a
messenger to ^Omair-bin-Himyar and another to Seif-bin-
Muhammad, el-Hinay, to join them. On their arrival with
their followers they entered the fort without any opposition,
and some days after a detachment from both parties started
for Yankal. On learning this, Nebhan-bin- Fellah Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. fled with
four men to the domain of his uncles of the Riydyisah. 1 This
occurred on the 12thofSafar, a.h . 1026 [ a.d . 161 7]. 3 'Omair-
bin-Himyar and Seif-bin-Muhammad remained at Yankal
for some days and made over the district to the inhabitants,
in order that they might enjoy the benefits of it. He then
went to Makniyat, where he assembled the people together,
and inquired what Nebhan used to exact from them. On
hearing that he used to take one half of the produce of the
date-trees, and one quarter of the harvests of grain, he re
duced the rate to one tenth of the produce, and assigned the
Beit-el-Mal 3 for the support of the garrison of the fort, over
1 A plural form of Rais, equivalent to " Awlad-er-Rais,"a tribe already
mentioned in the narrative.
2 It is difficult to r econcile several of the statements made in the fore
going narrative with the fact, which the author himself confirms in the
sequel, that Mdskat and Sohar were in the hands of the Portuguese at
this period. However, as in most of their conquests in those parts they
were generally satisfied with holding the principal defences, and allowed
the native rulers to carry on the internal administration of their re
spective districts so long as they paid tribute to the king of Portugal,
often cooperating with them in their intestine feuds, it is just possible
that there is a substratum of truth in the account of the assistance ren
dered to one party by the Christians, obviously Portuguese. A notable
instance of the intervention of the latter in behalf of their tributaries is
recorded by Faria y Sousa, a.d . 1521, when being themselves masters of
llormuz they joined the " king" of that place in an expedition against
Mukrim, his vassal of " Lasah," (el-Hasa,) to oblige him to pay his
usual tribute for the island of el-Bahrein and el-Katif on the mainland.
See Kerr's Voyages and Travels, vol. vi. pp. 188-90.
3 Beit-el-Mal means the Government Treasury, that is, the State Keve-