File 3939/1926 Pt 6 'Revision of Aitchison's Treaties. Persian Gulf Section.' [‎646r] (727/818)

16
OMAN (MUSCAT)— Sohar.
In U.l the Sultan signified his adhesion (No TTY^ + r ^
tional Arms Traffic Convention ^ to t ^ le I n terna-
In 1923 the Sultan gave an undertaking (No YY) that i, u
exploit petroleum in his territory wUn + i • wou ^ n °l
and the Government ol lndTa ^ COnSUUm8 tie I,olitica,
ploitation Company' 1 gW^rlhem ““ aSreem f nt with . the D’Ar^ Ev-
natural gas, petrol, 0^:^ ^
agreement mclnded a clause authorising its extension £„r a further period
the Sultan' let U ^ able ^ 8i0W - to the ^tisfactiop of
.the Sultan acting on the advice of the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , that such exten-
sion was justified. , & > “ a ugh e^ien
The question of the revision of the Treaty of 1891 (No. XVI) came
dtfti:T 9 05 rat Th m 19 t 03 ’ T a H V M - GoTCrnme “ t
a t i 190o. The question has, however, since remained in abeyance.
The Treaty uas prolonged for five years in 1914, and since 1919 it has
een prolonged every year up to the present time (No. XXI). The
Co^onweahh of Australia withdrew from participation in the Treaty
m 1923.
, * Sohar.
The present’ rulirtg family of Muscat are, as has been already noted,
descended from Ahmad bin Said, the Governor of Sohar, a town on the
Ilatinah coast about 100 miles north-west of Muscat, who in 1741 expelled
the Persians and became the first ruler of Muscat. Saiyid Kais of Sohar,
w ho had attempted to supplant his nephew Saiyid Said in the government
of Muscat, was killed in 1808, and his family were deprived of their
patrimony. In 1830, however, his grandson Saiyid Hamud bin Azan,
,the^ cousin of Saiyid Said, taking advantage of the absence of the latter
at Zanzibar, regained possession of Sohar and compelled Saiyid Said to
restore to him also other districts on payment of tribute. His popularity
in Oman was great and, but for the intervention of the British Govern
ment, he W’ould have succeeded in dismembering the Muscat possessions.
In 1839 a reconciliation was effected between Saiyid Said and Saiyid
Hamud through the mediation of the Besident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and
an engagement (No. XXII) was mediated between them by which they
engaged to abstain from aggressions on each other, and to admit free
intercourse and trade between their respective possessions. Saiyid Said
also bound himself to support the Chief of Sohar when attacked by
enemies. _ ,
By this agreement the Chief of Sohar became independent. As the
general engagements for the suppression of the slave-trade in the Persian
.Gulf were concluded while the relations of Sohar and Muscat were still
undefined, no formal agreement had been concluded with Saiyid Hamud.