'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.' [‎416] (577/612)

416 POSTSCRIPT.
to the lord of Shiraz, who mustered soldiers and dispatched them
in ships; whereupon the soldiers of the el-Hormuzy went forth in
ships to fight them, and during the voyage disembarked on a
cliff to rest. While they were on the cliff, the ships of the Per
sians set fire to the ships of the Hormuzeans, and then pursued
their course to el-Kais, which they easily captured. Neverthe
less, the Hormuzeans were stronger and more expert in sea war
fare than the Persians ; but in this instance their energy was not
brought into play." {Kosmographie, vol. i, p. 161).
Nevertheless, there is good ground for believing that the trade
had once more reverted to the island, and was again driven there
from, during the interval of about thirty-seven years which
elapsed between Polo's passage up the Gulf and Ibn-Batuta's
visit to Siraf, 1 although from the circumstances which neces
sitated the transfer it is most probable that both places were now
superseded as commercial marts by Hormuz. The causes which
led to this last abandonment of el-Kais may be gathered from
Texeira, who gives a detailed and interesting account of the hos
tilities, evoked by commercial rivalry, which commenced about
a.d . 1311 between the " Kings of Keys" who had again called in
the aid of the Persians, and the Hormuzeans, which resulted,
about a.d . 1320, in the conquest of the island by "Shah Kothb-
o'ddin," of Hormuz, who also "took Malek Ghayazo'ddin [of el-
Kais] and some of his relations, whom he afterwards put to
death. He left a strong garrison at Keys, and then departed,
resolving before he returned to Hormuz to attack the island of
Bahrayn, which accordingly he subdued." 3
If the foregoing account of the several removals of the trade
from Siraf to el-Kais, and vice-versd, be correct, then D'Herbe-
lot's summary description of the changes which actually took
place, in which he is followed by Marsden, is, to say the least,
very imperfect. After alluding to the extensive traffic formerly
carried on at " Siraf," the learned lexicographer adds : "But since
1 Marco Polo was in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. about a.d . 1293, and Ibn-Batdta
about a.d . 1330.
2 See the Modern Universal History, vol. v. pp. 231-242, for a comprehen
sive summary of these occurrences, and of the subsequent attempts made
by the Arabs to regain possession of el-Kais, abridged from Toxeira's Rela-
cion del Origen, Descendencia, y Succession de los Reyes de Persia y de
Hormuz, etc.