"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎١‎٥‎١] (١٧٨٢/١٣٠٦)

1151
Al Morrah tribes^, which were previously at feud. He made several halts
at watering places in the neighbourhood of Salwa Bay; and he had a
meeting at the 'Araiq camping ground in Qatar with Jasim, the Al
Thani Shaikh of Dohah, from whom his father was believed to have
obtained valuable assistance in 1904, Eventually 'Abdul 'Aziz, finding
the heat excessive, returned home vid the wells of Zarnuqah in Kharmah ;
but, before his departure, he wrote letters to the Shaikhs of Trucial
'Oman, announcing his intention of visiting 'Om^n in the following
spring. These missives, as related in the history of Trucial 'Oman,
created some excitement among the chiefs to whom they were addressed,
and the British political authorities were obliged to take cognisance of
the matter.
The hostilities of the Wahhabi and Shammar Amirs, suspended for Renewal
a short time out of a transient respect for Turkish authority, were renewed ^en 1 Ibn-
towards the end of the year, Between the two rivals, as subsequently Sa'^and^
explained by a Turkish Pasha who had dealt with both, there was a decided an( j death of
contrast in character, for, while Ibn-Rashid was the " desert warrior "
pure and simple, Ibn-Sa'ud was more of the desert diplomatist" ; but
the deficiencies of the Wahhabi chief were more than made good by
the soldierly qualities of his son 'Abdul 'Aziz. Towards the end of
1905 'Abdul 'Aziz-bin-'Abdur Rahman, assisted by his brother Muham
mad, began to raid the Harb tribe and the Bani 'Abdillah branch of
the Mutair to the westwards; he had now made Qasim his base, and the
headquarters of Ibn-Rashid were at Kahafah on the north-western
frontier of the same district. At the end of March 1906 the Wahhabis
were encamped at 'Ain Ibn-Fahaid in Uasim, and Ibn-Rashid was at
Thamami, a watering place in the Batin, about 70 miles to the north
east of their position. Ibn-Rashid had by this time sought the media
tion of Shaikh Mubarak of Kuwait, whom he begged to regard him as
a son, and that wily politician had already begun to weave a scheme for
restoring peace in Najd by the creation of a buffer state to lie
between the territory of the two Amirs, to be under the Shaikh's
own control, and to consist of the Qasim, Washam and Sadair
districts. Meanwhile, however, on the night of the 11th April
1906, the Wahhabis succeeded in surprising Ibn-Rashid, while
he was encamped in fancied security at a place known as
Ruwaidhah, 20 or 30 miles to the east of Buraidah. A duststorir
was raging at the time, and Ibn-Rashid might perhaps have e6ca^ d >
but he boldly declared his presence and fell, reciting his Rajaz jC vvar "'
song, under the concentrated fire of his assailants' rifles. A • iam ^ er
the Amir's followers perished with him ; and his head, >^ing been cut