To avoid needless repetition, I refer the reader to Appendix A for an account of the Khawârij, of which sect the Ibâdhiyah are an offshoot. The derivation of the name from'Abdallah-bin-Ibâdh, efc-Temîmy, who lived during the reign of the Khalîfah Marwân, a.h. 127–132=A.d. 744–749, is affirmed by the following authorities:—

Under the heading of’Omân, Zakáirya bin-Muhammad-bin-Mahmûd, generally quoted as “el-Kazwîny,” writes:—“The Khawârij Ibâdbiyah prevail in that country up to our time, [13th century?], and the members of no other sect are to be found there, except such as are foreigners. They are the followers of'Abdallah-bin-Ibâdh, who appeared in the time of Marwânbin- Muhammad, the last of the Benu-Omeyyah.” Kosmographie, vol. i. p. 37. Ed. Ferd. Wusterfeld. Gottingen, 1847.

The Tâj-el-’Arûs of the Seyyid Murtádha’, a compilation from the best Arabic lexicons, a.d. 1753-1767, explains the term as designating “a sect of the Khawârij, whose founder was'Abdal-lah-bin-Ibâdh, et-Temîmy. They arose during the Khalîfate of Marwân, the last of the Benu Omeyyah.”

Ibn-Batûta, who visited'Omân, a.d. 1328, associates them with the Khawârij by attributing to them the opinions of Ibn-Múljam, the murderer of'Aly:—“The inhabitants are schismatics of the Ibâdhiyah sect. They fall in with the opinions of the base Ibn-Múljam, and say that he is the saint who shall put an end to error. They allow the Califats of Abu Bekr and Omar, but deny those of Othman and Ali. Their wives are most base, yet without denying this, they express nothing like jealousy on the subject.” Lee's Translation, p. 62.

At p. iii of the Introduction I assumed that the island of el-Kishm was identical with el-Idrîsy's Kîsh or Kaish, but lighting subsequently upon the following note in Yule's Cathay and the Way Thither, p. cxv, I deemed the subject worthy of further investigation:—

”I have fallen into an error in the notes on Oderic (p. 52), and again at p. 400, in confounding the large island of Kishm, near the mouth of the Persian Gulf, with the much smaller Kais or Kísh, about a hundred niiles further up, which last was the real terminus of Indian trade for several ages, and the seat of a principality, Quisoi of Polo. At least two modern editors of Polo seem to have made the same mistake. Tet Marco, I see, shows the true approximate position of Quisci as two hundred miles further up the Grulf than Hormuz. Kish, in the map before me, (Steiler's Hand Atlas), is termed Ouase or Kena.”

The passage in Polo referred to (the latter clause of which is omitted both by Ramusio and Marsden) I conceive to be the following, as given at p. 195 of Pasini's edition:—“Leaving the city of Calatu [Kalât, on the coast below Maskat, see ante, p. 37], and proceeding three hundred miles, between north-west and north, the city of Oormos [Hormûz] is reached, and five hundred miles from Calatu, between north-west and west, Chisi is found.”

In the name of God, the Compaffionate, the Merciful!

PRAISE be to God, Who renders eafy to thofe poffeffed of underftanding the knowledge of Biographies and Genealogies; Who guides them in difcriminating between the excellencies of different peoples and communities; Who difclofes to them what has befallen kings of unfullied dignity: enabling them to raife the veil from that which had been hidden; to arrange under appropriate heads the leffons which they acquired; and to communicate the fame in fhowers to all inquirers respecting the character or descent of their fovereigns and the limits of their kingdoms,—their replies flowing like a running torrent! And mercy and falvation be to the moft learned of mankind and the moft eloquent in lucid difcourfe, our lord, the Apoftle of God, and to his Family and Companions, whofe fpeech none could gainfay!

An account of the murder of the Khalîfah ';Aly-ibn-Abi-Tâlih, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, collected from the Arabic authors cited.

”It is related that three of the Khawârij assembled together, namely, ';Abd-er-Rahmân-ibn-Múljam, el-Murâdy, 'Omar-ibn- Bekr, et-Temîmy, and el-Bárak-ibn-'Abdallah, et-Temîmy, called also el-Hajjâj. They were talking of their brethren, the seceders, slain at Nahruwân, and said, if we were to kill the chiefs of the heresy we should give repose to the people.” (From the History by Ibn-el-Wardy, vol. i, p. 133, Cairo, A.H. 1285). According to Zubair-ibn-Bakkâr, the survivors of the Khawârij agreed together to kill ';Aly, Mo'âwiyah, and 'Omar-bin-el-'Âs. According to Muhammad-ibn-Sa'ad, three men of the Khawarij, namely, ‘Abdallah- er-Rahmân-ibn-Múljam, el-Murâdy, who was descended from Himyar, but accounted of the Benu-Murâd, and affiliated to the Benu-Jábalah, (descended) from Kindah, el-Bárak-ibn-'Abdallah, et-Temîmy, and ';Omar-ibn-Bekr, et-Temîmy, having conferred together, met at Mekkah, and agreed together, and bound themselves to kill these three, namely, ';Aly-ibn-Abi-Tâlib, (may Grod ennoble his countenance!) Mo'âwiyah, and 'Omar-ibn-el-'Âs, and thereby rid the people of them. That thereupon Múljam said, ‘I am with you for ';Aly;’ el-Bárak, ‘I am for you as regards Mo'âwiyah;’ and 'Omar-ibn-Bekr, ‘I will satisfy you as respects 'Omar-ibn-el-'Âs.’ Moreover, they settled and covenanted that not one of them should fail his friend, whom each had elected to kill, but follow him until he had slain him or himself fallen before him. The day agreed upon was the 17th of Ramadhân of the year 40.

Shortly after the death of the Seyyid Sa'îd-bin- Sultân, the sovereign of 'Oman and its East African dependencies, who died A.D. 1856, war became imminent between his two sons, the late Seyyid Thuwainy, who had succeeded to the Principality of 'Omân, and the late Seyyid Mâjid, who claimed Zanzibar, the neighbouring islands, and the Arab settlements on the adjacent mainland. Actual hostilities were prevented by the friendly intervention of the Government of Bombay, and the rival brothers eventually agreed to submit their differences to the arbitration of Lord Canning, then Viceroy of India, and to abide by his decision. As a preliminary measure, a Commission, composed of Brigadier, now Sir William Coghlan, K.C.B., and myself, was appointed to report on the matters in dispute, a duty which involved personal interviews with the Seyyids both at Máskat and Zanzibar. It was while so engaged at the former place, in 1860, that the Seyyid Thuwainy presented me with the original manuscript of this History.

The work embraces the annals of 'Omân from the rise of Islâm down to a very recent period, and is, I believe, unique in the continuity and fulness of its narrative. The native records from which the earlier portions are compiled, if they ever came within their reach, have never, to my knowledge, been utilized by foreign authors either in the East or West. Moreever, the dearth of information from other sources respecting 'Omân in bygone ages is extraordinary. The most eminent Arabian historians, such as Abulféda, el-Belâdzory, et-Tábary, el-Makîn, Ibn-Khaldûn, and others, contribute little beyond incidental notices of the country, either before or during its dependence on the Eastern Khalîfate. Of its subsequent progress under an indigenous Imâmate they afford us no glimpses whatever.

The word “Imâm” comes from an Arabic root signifying to aim at, to follow after, most of the derivatives of which partake, more or less, of that idea. Thus Imâm means, primarily, an exemplar, or one whose example ought to be imitated. It is applied in that sense, κατ εψōΞην, to Muhammad, as being the leader and head of the Muslims in civil and religious matters, and also to the Khalîfahs, or legitimate Successors, as his representatives in both capacities. It is also given—in its religious import only—to the heads of the four orthodox sects, namely, the el-Hanafy, esh-Shâfa'y, el-Mâliky, and el-Hánbaly; and, in a more restricted sense still, to the ordinary functionary of a mosque who leads in the daily prayers of the congregation—an office usually conferred on individuals of reputed piety, who are removable by the Nâzirs, or wardens, and who, with their employment and salary, lose the title also.

The term is used in the Kurân to indicate the Book, or Scriptures, or record of a people; also, to designate a teacher of religion. Hence, most probably, its adoption by the Muslims in the latter sense. “When the Lord tried Abraham with certain words, which he fulfilled, He said, I have made thee an Imâm to the people.” Again, referring to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “We have made them Imams that they may direct others at our command.” And, again, “We delivered to Moses the Book, therefore be not in doubt of his reception thereof, and we ordained it to be a guide unto the children of Israel. And we appointed some of them to be Imams to direct the people according to our command.”

Ancient Western geographers afford very slight information respecting 'Oman. Ptolemy's account of the Eastern Coast of Arabia contains little more than a list of names, and his map is meagre and distorted. He mentions a Moscha a portus in latitude 14 deg. N., one degree and a half to the westward of his Syagros extrema, and an Omanutn Emporium in lat. 19 deg. 45 min. These localities are also mentioned by the author of the Periplûs, who says: “Adjoining to Svágros there is a bay which runs deep into the mainland [of] Omana, 600 stadia in width; after which there are high mountainous rocks, steep to and inhabited by a [wild] race that live in caverns and hollows of the cliffs. This appearance of the coast continues for 500 stadia more, at the termination of which lies a harbour called Moscha, much frequented on account of the Sachalitie incense which is imported there.” According to this statement, Suágros was at one end of the bay and Moscha at the other, 1, 100 stadia farther north, or rather north-east, the two places being separated by the mainland of Omana. As the Syagros extrema of Ptolemy and the Suágros of the Periplûs undoubtedly represent the modern Râs-Fàrtak, it is clear that the Moscha of neither can be Maskat, which is at least 480 miles to the north of that cape. There is no port answering to Ptolemy's Moscha where he locates it; but the Moscha of the Periplûs may stand for Bunder-Resût, with which Mr. H. J. Carter identifies it.

The most learned and accurate historians agree in this, that whereas after the disturbances and dissensions which had occurred among the people the supreme authority was eventually vested in Mo'âwiyah-bin-Harb-bin-Sofyân, nevertheless Mo'âwiyah exercised no jurisdiction whatever over 'Omân. It was not until 'Abdu-'l-Málik-bin-Marwân suc- ceeded to the sovereignty that an attempt was made to reduce it to subjection. It took place on this wise:— 'Abdu-'l-Málik had appointed el-Hajjâj-bin-Yûsuf, eth-Thákify, governor over 'Irâk. According to concurrent testimony, Suleimân and Sáîd, the sons of 'Abbâd-bin-el-Julánda, of the lineage of its Sultâns, at that time ruled over 'Omân. El-Hajjâj was the first to send troops against them under successive commanders, but they were generally repulsed with the loss of their baggage. At length he was advised to dispatch an expedition under the command of el-Kâsirn-bin-Sh'iwah, el-Máziny, who embarked a large force in ships, and, on reaching the coast of 'Omân, anchored near the village of Hatât. Suleiman-bin-JAbbad attacked him at the head of the Azdites, and after a fierce encounter the invaders were routed, el-Kâsim and a number of his men were slain, and their equipage fell into the hands of the victors. Some state that none escaped; but God knows.