Abstract: This file contains papers that discuss the possible annexation of Khor Fakhan, Kalba and Dibba by Oman from June-July 1886, as well as administration report and trade returns from 1885-86. The file also contains a discrete report on weights and measures employed in the pearl trade in the Gulf by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Mockler the Political Agent in Muscat, as well as separate reports entitled 'Notes of a tour through Oman and Dhahira' by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles. Ancillary papers discuss relations between Oman and Sharjah.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 66; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Volume regarding affairs in Muscat relating to Syed Torkee [Turkī ibn Saʻīd Āl Sa‘īd] of Sohar's rebellious actions against Syed Soweynee [Thuwaynī ibn Saʻīd Āl Sa‘īd].The volume discusses the Joasmee [Āl Qāsimī] Chief's attempts at spreading dissention in Oman; the involvement of their brothers Sayid Majed [Mājid ibn Saʻīd] Sultan of Zanzibar and Syed Burgash [Barghash ibn Sa'id]; attempts at reconciliations between the brothers; the actions of the British Agent at Muscat (Lieutenant Walter Murray Pengelly) which were not approved of by the Government of Bombay; Wahabee [Wahhabi] interests in Sohar; and Sohar eventually being given over to Syed Soweynee, with Syed Torkee being confined to a fort in Muscat, which led to a large scale rebellion against Syed Soweynee. Contained within the volume are several letters in Arabic, some with translations, and one letter with translation in Hebrew.From folio 10 onwards the volume has been divided into smaller sections, each with their own subheading:English correspondence regarding differences between H H Syed Soweynee, Imam of Muscat and H H Brother Syed Turki of Sohar 1857-1860 (ff 10-119);Correspondence regarding piracies attended with murder during hostilities between the Chief of Sohar and the Imam of Muscat (ff 120-141);H H Syed Soweynee quarrel with Syed Majid of Zanzibar, Syed Bughash and Syed Torkee [who?] figure in the compilation (ff 142-194);Correspondence about Sued Soweynee's disputes with Syed Majid. Syed Soweynee intriguing secretly with the French attended to herein, also Syed Burgesh and Syed Torkee (ff 195-225);Miscellaneous. Complaints from Bombay Native Merchants against the authorities at Muscat for demanding customs upon the cargo of the Buglah
Fath El Khair; complaints of Syed Soweynee's indifference towards British Commissariat interests at Muscat; an attack on the
Fath El Khairsouth of Ras El Had [Ra’s al Ḩadd] (ff 226-317).Also included in the volume are four folios of manifest registers for goods exported by Bugla [Buggalow] to Aden produced 17 September 1856, which were sent to Colonel Atkins Hamerton, British Consul at Zanzibar in January 1857.The principal correspondents within the volume are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Commander James Felix Jones); the Secretary to Government, Political Department, Bombay (Henry Lacon Anderson); the Native Agent at Muscat (Khoja Hiskale); the British Native Agent at Shargah [Sharjah] (Haji Yaqub); the Commander of the Persian Gulf Squadron (Commodore Griffith Jenkins, Commodore Henry Albert Matthew Drought); the British Agent at Muscat (Lieutenant Walter Murray Pengelly); the Imam of Muscat (Thuwaynī ibn Saʻīd Āl Sa‘īd); Her Majesty's Consul and British Agent at Zanzibar (Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Palmer Rigby, Colonel Atkins Hamerton).Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences on the title page and terminates on the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Foliation anomalies: 1, 1A, 1B, 164, 164A, 165, 165A, 166, 166A.Folios 256, 257, 258 and 259 are blank.
Abstract: This file is a chronicle of political events in Oman submitted by the Political Resident in Muscat to the Political Resident in Bushire at fortnightly intervals. The contents of the fortnightly reports vary widely, but are recorded for their significance or relevance to the political situation in Oman or the wider Gulf. The report often contain the names of significant individuals involved in events, disputes, or business dealings. The reports take the form of lists of daily events when and where the Agent in Muscat thought them relevant to record. This format is especially visible toward the end of the file.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 352; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains a letter, dated 31 August 1950, from F L C Chauncey, His Majesty's Consul at Muscat, to the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf at Bahrain, enclosing a report entitled 'Notes on the Tribes of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman' (ff 4-28). The report is in response to a letter from the Political Residency, No. 378/27/50G, dated 19 August 1950, regarding specific tribes and their relations with Saudi Arabia. These include: Al bu Shamis [Āl Bū Shāmis], Awamir [al-‘Awāmir], Janabah, Al Daru [al-Darū‘] and Bani Qitab [Banī Qitab]. The report contains details about these and other tribes. In addition, the final eight folios are comprised of a table of details of the tribes, such as district, principal settlements and villages, names of shaikhs, estimated population, estimated number of rifles and other remarks.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-28; these numbers are also written in pencil and ink, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the oil concession in Muscat, Oman, and Dhofar. The principal correspondents are: the Political Resident at Bushire (later Bahrain) [Persian Gulf Political Residency]; the Political Agent at Bahrain; the Political Agent at Kuwait; the Political Agent at Muscat; the India Office; the Foreign Office, Sultan Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Sa‘īd], the ruler of Muscat and Oman; and representatives of Petroleum Concessions Limited and its subsidiary, Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited.Matters covered by the file include:
the ambition of Petroleum Development Concessions for the concession over Rub al-Khali, the desert region that spans the territories of Oman and Saudi Arabia;Standard Oil's interest in the Muscat concession;Lermitte's visit to Muscat in the summer of 1937 to discuss the agreement with the Sultan;the suspension of oil operations during the Second World War;the company's attempts to extend the period within which they have the option to drill by 2-5 years;company plans to begin exploration in Oman during the winter of 1947/48;and Richard Bird's dealings with the Al Bu Shamis tribe in Buraimi in March 1948.Folios 3-7 is a memorandum produced by the Petroleum Department (of the British Government) giving an overview of the current situation regarding oil concessions in Arabia and the Persian Gulf.Folios 9-19 is the record of a meeting between representatives from the Colonial Office, Foreign Office, India Office, Admiralty, Petroleum Department, and Indian Political Service, held at the Colonial Office on 3 May 1933. The meeting covers similar topics to that of the memorandum above.Folios 107-111 are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-91; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding arms traffic through Kuwait to Turkish territory, the Persian Gulf and Persia, and British measures prohibiting contraband.The main correspondents are: the Ruler of Kuwait, Mubarak us Subah (Shaikh Mubarak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ); the Foreign Office; Percy Cox, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Political Agent in Kuwait.There are notes containing names of merchants dealing in firearms and ammunition in Kuwait and in Oman. The majority of the documents in the volume deals with a dhow involved in arms trading in Muscat, flying the French flag; where the British request the French to intervene. The volume contains a copy of the 'Titre de Navigation' of the dhow, and extract of correspondence.There are some documents in Arabic within the file, copies of letters from and to Shaikh Mubarak and receipts for arms and ammunition confiscated by the Political Agent, and some in French, copies of documents produced by the French Consulate in Muscat.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 304; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel throughout; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are either not circled or crossed out.
Abstract: Enclosure nos. 2-9 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay [Mumbai], dated 3 February 1852. The enclosures are dated 22 September 1851-2 February 1852.The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to a peace treaty between Sayud Sayud [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Imam of Muscat and Oman, and his cousin Saied Kais bin Azam [Qays bin ‘Azzān Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Chief of Sohar. By the terms of the treaty the Imam retained control of Khabura [Al Khaburah] and Soham [Saham], but returned Schinass [Shinas] to the Chief. The item also covers the journey from Aden to Muscat of two of the Imam’s grandsons.The primary correspondents are the Political Agent, Aden, and the British Consul, Muscat.Physical description: 1 item (14 folios)
Abstract: The item consists of copies of correspondence enclosed with an extract Marine Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 30 September 1847.The item contains a letter from the Superintendent of the Indian Navy to the Governor of Bombay, dated 7 August 1847, enclosing reports of two journeys made into the interior of the South Coast of Arabia by members of the Company’s Surveying Brig,
Palinurus. The reports are:‘An account of an overland journey from Lesk Kaira [Al Ashkharah] to Muskat [Muscat] and the Green Mountains of Oman by Mr Cole of the EICs S[urveying] B[rig] “Palinurus”’, ff 108-195‘Account of a journey from Soor [Sur] to Jahlan [Jalan Bani Bu Hassan and Jalan Bani Bu Ali] and thence to Ras Roues [Ra’s ar Ruways] by Messrs Ward, Sylvester and James of the HCS Brig Palinurus’, ff 195-201Both reports contain details on the: routes taken; conditions of travel; governance of each region; landscapes and towns; and the people encountered.The item contains multiple spellings for multiple place names.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Marine Department’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 5953, Draft No. 131 of 1848’, ‘Collection No. 21’ and ‘Secretary’s Office, Marine Branch, 1847’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 178, and terminates at f 201, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This file concerns the 1913 uprising of the Ibāḍī imamate and the tribes of the interior of Oman under the leadership of Sālim bin Rāshid al-Kharūṣī against the authority of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, al-Sayyid Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Bū Sa‘īd, and the subsequent intervention and deployment of British Indian troops of the 2nd Rajput Regiment stationed at Bushire. The correspondence in the file is between Major Percy Zachariah Cox, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and Major Stuart George Knox, Political Agent at Muscat. There are also correspondence with Sayyid Muammad bin Sayyed Saeed [Sayyid Muḥammad bin Sayyid Sa‘īd]; Faysal bin Turki Al Bu Said, Sultan of Muscat; Foreign Department of the Government of India; Foreign Office officials Tehran; Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; Commander of the Steam Ship
Dwarka; Major Smith, Officer Commanding of troops at Reshire; General Officer Commanding, Bombay Brigade; Residency Agent, Sharjah, ‘Abd al-Latif; and Arnold Talbot Wilson, India Office.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second incomplete foliation sequence runs between ff 4-17 and ff 73-296; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. Foliation errors: 1, 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D; 26 and 26A. Fold out folios: 67 and 246.
Abstract: This file is a continuation from the previous file concerning the events of the 1913 uprising of the Ibāḍī imamate and the tribes of the interior of Oman under the leadership Sālim bin Rāshid al-Kharūṣī against the authority of the Sultans of Muscat and Oman, al-Sayyid Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Bū Sa‘īd and Taymūr bin Fayṣal Āl Bū Sa‘īd, and the subsequent intervention and deployment of British Indian troops of the 2nd Rajput Regiment stationed at Bushire. The correspondence is between Major Percy Zachariah Cox, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, and Major Stuart George Knox, Political Agent at Muscat, and later between Knox as officer on special duty as Resident in the Perisan Gulf, and Liutenant-Colonel Robert Aruthur Edward Benn, Political Agent at Muscat.Subjects included are: the illness of the Sultan (f 2); Muscat Arms Warehouse (ff 12-13, 18-22); the death of Sultan (f 11); succession following the death of the Sultan by his son (ff 16-17, 24, 43-44); funeral of the late Sultan (f 30) blockade of Muscat and the Batinah coast [al-Bāṭinah] (f 23); relations with the French Consul (f 45); Special Diary of the events connected with the Imam’s rising for the period 29 March to 5 April (ff 70-74); movements of the Sultan and the Imam; assistance from Shaikh Hamdan bin Zaid [Ḥamdān bin Zāyid Āl Nahyān] and other Trucial Coast chiefs (ff 120-121).There are also various extracts from Muscat News.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the cover and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second foliation sequence is also present in the volume between ff. 2-122; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: Correspondence discusses the attacks on Muscat and Mutrah by the tribes of the Omani interior. Correspondence between Robert Benn, Political Agent Muscat, the Foreign Office in London and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf discusses:The immediate context of the situation whereby in 1913 tribal forces from the interior attacked and occupied the coastal towns of Barka and Quaryat [Qurayyāt]. These were bombarded by H.M.S.
Foxand
Dartmouth.The context of the outbreak of World War I which emboldened the rebels as they thought no ships would be available for defence of Muscat. Reports continued to be received of the determination of Shaikh Hamyar bin Nasir, the Imam's chief Lieutenant, to harrass Matrah of the Bani Battash to attack Muscat.Discussions of troop deployment and development of armed forces by Sultan Taimur bin Faisal [Taymūr bin Fayṣal].Discussion of 'pro-German propaganda'.Timing of Imam's decision to attack on 11th January 1915.Report on the events leading up to the attack with enclosures on casualties and a letter from Shaikh Isa bin Saleh al Harithi to the Sultan of Muscat; sketch map of the attack drawn by Robert Arthur Benn, Political Agent, Muscat, to illustrate the report.Correspondents include Robert Arthur Benn, Political Agent, Muscat; Stuart George Knox, On Special Duty for Political Resident Persian Gulf; Saiyid Hamad bin Hilal [Ḥamad bin Hilāl] ; Shaikh Isa bin Saleh al-Harithi [‘Īsá Bin-Ṣāliḥ al-Ḥārithī]; Sultan of Muscat.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation system in use is the sequence of numbers appearing in a circle in the top right hand corner of each page.
Abstract: Distinctive Features:Hand drawn sketch map by Major G.P. Murphy, Political Agent, Muscat, attached to a report on the general situation in Oman, dated 30 October 1928 (folios 195-198). Shows the extent of Sultan’s influence and nominal rule exclusive of Gwadur and Dhofar.Labelled and coloured for reference with a key provided in the lower left.Signed 'G.P. Murphy' and dated ‘30.10.28’.Physical description: Materials:Pen and ink with wash on paperDimensions:420 x 320 mm