142 CIVIL HISTORY AND 



Sanaa, and, though containing only about 300 houses 

 of mean appearance, is the capital of the province. 



The province of Hadramaut is ruled by a num- 

 ber of petty independent sovereigns, of whose his- 

 tory or dominions little has been recorded beyond 

 the names of a few cities on the coast. These have 

 their particular sheiks, many of whom may have 

 descended in patriarchal succession from the most 

 remote antiquity. Among those princes, some have 

 been dignified by travellers, but improperly, with 

 the title of kings. The city of Doan is said to be 

 more elegant than the capital of Yemen, from which 

 it is distant five-and-twenty days' journe3^ The 

 most powerful of these sovereigns is the Sheik of 

 Keshin, whose dominions composed the imaginary 

 kingdom of Fartach, as laid down in the older maps ; 

 ■ — an error which may, perhaps, have arisen from 

 his occasional residence in the town of that name. 

 He possesses the island of Socotra, of which the 

 heir-presumptive of the reigning family is always 

 the governor. Dafar and Shibam have their resi- 

 dent sheiks, Aidan used to be celebrated for its 

 annual fair, and the pilgrimage to the tomb of 

 Kahtan. 



The province of Oman is governed by an imam, 

 but contains a number of petty sovereigns, of 

 whom the princes of Jau, Gabria, Gafar, Rank, 

 Gabbi, Dahara, Makaniat, and Seer have the title 

 of sheik. Seer, which the Persians call Julfar, ex- 

 tends from Cape Mussendom along the Gulf, and 

 js ruled by a chief of considerable maritime power. 

 It is one of those districts which withdrew from 

 the authority of the imam- Of the cities and towns 

 of Oman little is known. Rostak was formerly the 

 capital of the sovereign. Sohar and Kalbat were 

 once flourishing cities, but now greatly decayed. 



The modern capital, from which the sovereign 

 takes his title, is Muscat. The Portuguese made 

 themselves masters of it in 1508, and built two 



