1874.] 
E. C. Ross —Annals of ‘ Oman. 
113 
dience to him. When he was well on the road, his camels yearned for their 
pasture grounds, and turned wistfully towards el-Sarat. But he jounced 
on towards ‘Oman. And he passed not any tribe of the tribes of the Arabs, 
of Ma‘add or of ‘Adnan, 8 but they sought his friendship, and formed allian¬ 
ces with him, on account of his dignity and the number of his fighting 
men. 
He marched on until he reached Rahut, 9 a valley in Hadhramowt, 
where he halted awhile for rest. Then he learned that the Persians were 
in ‘Oman, inhabiting it. So he drew up his forces and reviewed them, and 
it is said they were upwards of 6000 in number, horse and foot. 
They then arranged themselves in order before proceeding onwards to 
‘Oman, Malik placed his son Honat, 10 or as some say Ferahid, in command 
of an advanced guard consisting of 2,000 horsemen of the bravest of his 
army. When they arrived at el-Shihr, 11 Mahrah l2 -bin IHdan-bin el-Haf- 
bin Kadha‘ah-bin Malik-bin Himyar separated from Malik, and stayed be¬ 
hind at el-Shihr. Malik marched onwards until he entered ‘Oman with his 
numerous and well equipped army. He found the Persians holding ‘Oman 
for the king Dara, son of Dara, 13 son of Bahman ; and at that time they 
were the inhabitants of ‘Oman and the dwellers therein. In those days 
their leader was the Marzaban, 14 who was Lieutenant for their king. 
Malik drew aside with his followers to Kalhat 15 on the coast of ‘Oman, 
as being a more secure position against the Persians. He there left the 
families and heavy baggage with a guard to protect them against the ene¬ 
my’s force, and advanced with the remainder of his army ; his son Honat 
leading the advanced guard of 2,000 horsemen. He proceeded in this man¬ 
ner until he arrived at the district of el-Jowf, 16 where he pitched his 
camp on the plain. Thence he sent to the Persians asking them to allot 
him land in ‘Oman to settle on, with water and pasture, so that he might 
dwell amongst them. When his messengers arrived, the Marzaban and his 
subordinates held an earnest and prolonged consultation which resulted in 
their unanimously deciding to refuse the request of Malik, so they replied : 
“ we do not wish this Arab to settle amongst us, that our land should be- 
“ come straitened unto us ; we have no need of his neighbourship.” When 
their answer reached Malik, he sent a message to them, saying : “ I must 
“ positively settle in a district of ‘Oman ; if you accord me willingly a share 
“ of the water, produce, and pasture, I shall settle in the country and praise 
“ you. If, however, you refuse, I shall remain in spite of you. If you at- 
“ tack me, I shall resist you, and if I prevail against you, I shall slay you, 
“ and carry off your offspring, and shall not allow one of you to remain in 
“ ‘Oman.” They, however, refused him permission, and prepared to make 
war on him. Malik on his part remained in the district of el-Jowf until his 
people had rested, and he prepared for the struggle with the Persians. 
