'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.' [‎376] (537/612)

H
376
appendix a.
The original Khawarij were defeated by 'Aly, and cut off, as
some writers affirm, even to a man ; others say that nine escaped,
of whom two fled into Kerman, two into Sejistan, two into Meso
potamia, one to Tell-Manrun, and the remaining two into 'Oman,
where they propagated their heresy. This took place about a.h.
38= a. d . 658. Daring the reign of the Khalifah Marwan, the
last of the Omeyyah dynasty, ( a.h . 127-132= a.d . 744-749), the
head of the sect in 'Oman was one 'Abdallah-bin-Ibadh, et-
Temimy, whose followers are still called, after him, Ihddhiyah, and
our author expressly states (p. 7) that his doctrines were secretly
countenanced by the native governor appointed by Abu-'1-'Abbas,
es-Saffah, Marwan's successor in the Khalifate; moreover, that
the sect became so powerful shortly after that they took the
government into their own hands, and elected Julanda-bm-lVIas ud,
who was " the first of the rightful Imams of 'Oman."
It is evident from these data that the Imamate of 'Oman owes
its origin to the peculiar religious tenets of the Khawarij, as adopted
by the Ibadhiyah. They disallowed the claims of the Baghdad
Khalifahs, as well in civil as religious matters, and set up one of
their own, whom they invested with corresponding powers in
both capacities. They acted upon the same principles by uni
formly electing Imams for their personal merits or popularity,
irrespective of family descent, for the space of nearly nine
hundred years, reckoning from Julanda to the accession
of Nasir-bin-Murshid, of the el-Ya'arubah, a.d . 1624; and if
the nominees during that period were mainly confined to the el-
Azd, it was because that was the predominant tribe, and possessed
greater influence in the elections. After the supremacy had
fallen into the hands of the el-Ya'arubah, and throughout the
century during which they held it, these principles underwent a
modification. Like their predecessors—and not unlike what took
place in the kingdoms of the Western and Eastern Franks—the
'Omanis started from the same point: the Imam was elected, but
with a strong preference to the ruling family over strangers, and
with a strong preference to the son, not necessarily the eldest, of
the last Imam over other members of his family. 1
> A similar change had taken i)lace in the order of the succession to