'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.' [‎377] (538/612)

APPENDIX A. 377
This deviation from their first principles is remarkably illus
trated by the case of Seif-bin-Sultan, the sixth of the el-Ya'arubah
Imams, (pp. 99-101). He was elected in preference to an elder
brother, but, being still underage, his cousin Ya'arub-bin-BeFarab
was appointed regent to carry on the administration; neverthe
less, " he did not lay claim to the Imamate, for that belonged of
right to his cousin,"—an opinion utterly at variance with the rule
which had previously prevailed in 'Oman regarding the succession.
The el-Ya'arubah were succeeded by Ahmed-bin-Sa'id, the
first of a new dynasty, which still bears rule in the country.
Very little is said of Ahmed's pedigree : he was of the el-Azd
tribe, and appears to have been engaged in mercantile pursuits
before his appointment to the governorship of Sohar by Seif-bin-
Sultan, of the el-Ya arubah. His patriotism and bravery in ex
pelling the Persians secured for him the suffrages of the people,
and he was elected Imam. During his administration his sons
obtained the title of Seyyid, or Lord, and his daughters that of
Seyyidah, or Lady, which their descendants have retained ever
since. The title, so applied, was an innovation ; it tended, more
over, to distinguish the ruling family, and to give them a corpo
rate dignity and preeminence over all other native chiefs and
grandees. The "House of the Seyyids," like the reigning
Houses ' of Europe, has become a recognized dynasty, having
the first claim to the succession; but the gradual increase in the
number of rival and aspiring Seyyids has been one fertile source
of the intestine feuds which have arrested the prosperity of the
country for the last century.
On the death of Ahmed, leaving seven sons and three daugh
ters, the chiefs of 'Oman wished to elect Hilal, " as being the
eldest and the wisest," but he was incapacited, owing to a cata
ract in the eye, which obliged him to go to Guzerat for surgical
advice, where he died. Sa'id-bin-Ahmed, the second son, was
consequently raised to the Imamate, but his rule becoming un-
tbe Khalifate within half a century after the death of Muhammad. Up
to the reign of Mo'awiyah, the first of the Bonu-Omeyyah dynasty, the
Khaltfahs were professedly elected by the body of the faithful, but
Mo'awiyah succeeded in making it hereditary in his own family.