The Civil War in Oman (1718-1743)

The beginning of the war

The reason for the war was a dispute over the succession of the throne between the legitimate heir of Sultan II ibn Saif - Saif II ibn Sultan , who was a child at the time the war started, and his family members, on the one hand, and his uncle Mukhanna ibn Sultan , who supported him Ibadite clergy. Almost all members of the Yaribi family wanted to keep power in their hands, and not lose it in favor of the Ibadite clergy, therefore they did not recognize Muhanna’s claims to the throne, which proclaimed itself imam, which ultimately led to a civil war; supporters of Saif II relied on gafiri, opponents on hinawis, although even within both tribes there were periodic disagreements, and in fact there were more than two parties to the civil war; in the final period, the opposing armies no longer belonged to specific tribes to such an extent.

Muhanna already in 1720 ^[1] was killed by Ya-Arab ibn Bal-Arab Yarabi , who formally reconciled the warring camps for a while, recognizing Saif II as imam, and declaring himself regent.

The course of the war

In May 1722, the Ya-Arab declared himself imam, which led to the rebellion of Bal-Arab Ibn Nasir, who in 1723 overthrew the Ya-Arab and proclaimed himself regent . Large-scale hostilities began in 1723 when the Nizar tribe led by Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Gafiri and the Bani Hina tribe of Yemen headed by Halaf ibn Mubarak joined the conflict ^[2] . The entry into the struggle of two influential tribes split the society into two groups of Gafiri. As a result of the Battle of Sohar in 1728, both leaders were killed, and soldiers and priests in Sohar recognized Saif II as the only legal imam.

Saif II ibn Sultan could not reconcile warring tribes with each other. The tribe of Gafiri, who initially supported him, revised his position and opposed him ^[3] . In 1732, Saif II was accused of deviating from Sharia law and was removed from power by the council of ulama and sheikhs ^[4] . The new imam was proclaimed Abul al-Arab II ibn Himyar ^[3] . But Saif II did not recognize this decision and began to fight. The war actually divided Oman into two states, and, having suffered defeats, Saif II eventually turned for help and turned for help to the Balochs of the Makran coast, who lived on the northern side of the Gulf of Oman . But the army he brought was defeated by Abul al-Arab ^[4] . Then Persia was drawn into the war ^[5] .

Saif II asked Nadir Shah himself for help. In 1737, the Persians defeated the Omani fleet ^[6] On March 14, 1737, the Persian army, led by Latif Khan of 5,000 foot soldiers and 1,500 horsemen, loaded onto ships in Buschir and four days later landed in Haur Fakkan ^[7] .

After defeating the troops of Abul al-Arab II ibn Himyar, the Persians launched a brutal terror against the entire local population, robbing and destroying cities and turning the inhabitants into slavery. In 1738, fearing that the Persians would conquer Oman Saif II and his opponents agreed that they would fight the invader together (Abul al-Arab II resigned as imam). This allowed Saif II to defeat the Persians at Muscat and expel their countries ^[8] .

In 1738, after that the Persians evacuated a significant part of the territory of Oman formally remained under the rule of Saif II, but its regime was extremely fragile, only coastal cities were loyal to it. In February ^[9] 1742 ^[10] another member of the Yaribi family proclaimed himself imam, whose Sultan III ibn Murshid defeated the army of Saif II. Besieged in Muscat by the forces of Sultan III Ibn Murshid Saif II called for the help of the Persians. The representative of Nadir Shah, Taki Khan and Saif concluded an agreement in Julfar under which he was restored as imam, but he became a vassal of Iran and was obliged to pay tribute ^{[9] [4]}

While part of the Persian army, led by Kalb Ali Khan, besieged Sohar, Beglarbegi and Saif returned by sea to Muscat held by his supporters. Soon, part of the Persian troops went there, but in the fortress of al-Jalali and Marani, Saif did not let them in ^[9] . Taki Khan, knowing Saif’s weakness for Shiraz wine, after drinking the imam and his close officers, they got access to the press. Putting it on orders, the Persians, who commanded the fortress to be transferred, possessed al-Jalali and Marani devoid of possession. After that, Saif died in Rastak ^[11] .

End of War

In the middle of 1743, ibn Murshid, retreating under the onslaught of the Persians, was killed by them under the walls of Sohar. After that, his followers recognized as the imam of the retired Abu-l-Arab II Ibn Himyar.

Nevertheless, in fact, hostilities continued. Ruler of Sohar Ahmed bin Said , a former ally of ibn Murshid ^[11] or Saif ^[12] , refused to obey the Persians and withstood the nine-month siege of the city, but was driven back to Barka ^[13] .

Taking advantage of the fact that Persia again clashed with the Ottoman Empire, Ahmed bin Saeed agreed to an honorable surrender (signed by Taki Khan) promising to pay tribute to the Persians.

By 1744, as a result of the ongoing partisan war and mass desertion, most of the Persian army was withdrawn from Oman to a new war ^[14] . Ahmed bin Saeed and Abul al-Arab II continued to fight for Oman ^[15]

By 1744, Ahmed bin Said controlled the entire coast of Oman and enjoyed the support of the Hinawis and some gafiri, while in a significant part of the country's internal regions, Ibn Himyar retained power, relying on most of the gafiri. By 1745, a peculiar balance had developed between them: Ibn Himayr could not take Muscat and Sohar, while bin Saeed's troops suffered a difficult situation near Bintakh in early 1745. The fighting continued until 1749, when, as a result of a powerful offensive, the troops of Ibn Himimar were defeated, and he himself was killed. Ahmed bin Saeed after that was recognized as the only legitimate imam, having founded the al-Saeed dynasty, ruling Oman so far.

In 1747, Nadir Shah died in Persia. Soon, the commandants of the Muscat fortresses received an order to evacuate the troops and transfer the fortresses from Oman Majid ibn Sultan (a relative of Saif II ibn Sultan), appointed by the “governor” appointed by the shah. But having passed them, they learned that Majid ibn Sultan, having been shipwrecked, was captured by Ahmed bin Saeed, who captured Muscat ^[16] .

In modern Omani historical science, this war is considered from two points of view: as a conflict between two tribes of different origins (the Hinawis were immigrants from northern Yemen, the Gafiri were “native” Omanis), and as a religious confrontation (the Hinawis adhered to the Ibadite trend in Islam, Gafiri were Sunnis) .

• Lockhart, Lawrence , “Nadir Shah's Campaings in Oman, 1737-1744,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol. VIII, 1936.
• Lockhart, Lawrence . Xviii. The First 'Oman Campaign and Operations in the Persian Gulf, 1737-1740; XXI. Operations in the Persian Gulf, 1740-1747, and the Second 'Oman Expedition // Nadir Shah .
• Ryzhov K.V. All monarchs of the world. The Muslim East in the XV — XX centuries .. - M .: Veche , 2004. - S. 226-227. - ISBN 5-9533-0384-X .
• Rodriguez A.M. and other New history of the countries of Asia and Africa of the XVI-XIX century / edited by A. Rodriguez. - Vlados , 2004 .-- T. Part 3. - S. 104-105. - ISBN 5-691-01366-1 .
• Isaev V.A., Filonik A.O. Sultanate of Oman / editor V.M. Akhmedov. - M. , 2001. - ISBN 5-89394-054-7 .
• Plekhanov, Sergey Nikolaevich . Reformer on the throne. Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said. - M .: International Relations, 2003. - ISBN 5-7133-0949-5 .

• An article about the war in Arabic.
• Oman Regnal chronologies .