1874.] 
E. C. Eoss —Annals of ‘ Oman—Book II. 
125 
and others. It was told to the Musalmans that the brother of el-Sakr 
• • 
was with the rebels; but el-Sakr denied it and gave out that his brother 
was lying sick in his house. When, however, God caused the rebels to be 
put to flight, it was ascertained that el-Sakr’s brother was with them. El- 
Sakr was, therefore, suspected of treachery in concealing the conduct of his 
brother. So the Imam sent a party to Semail where he was residing. 
The Wall of Semail was Abul-Wadhdhah el-Sakr-bin Mohammed, who 
accompanied the Imam’s messengers to el-Sakr, fearing on his ac¬ 
count lest they should fall on him. The Imam had in the meantime sent 
a second party after him, and with them Musa-bin ‘All. They met at 
Nejd-el-Sahamat. Whilst they were proceeding on their way, certain 
persons of their troop attacked el-Sakr, and killed him, Abul-Wadlidhah 
and Musa-bin ‘All being unable to prevent them. The latter, it is indeed 
said, was alarmed for his own safety ; and had he opened his lips, he would 
have been slain with el-Sakr. It has been recorded that the Imam Ghassan 
• • 
showed displeasure against those who slew el-Sakr. 
Those were the days when the kingdom was in its prime and in the 
fulness of its power, and learning at its height. Such was the manner of 
el-Sakr’s death, but God knows the truth. Among the executive measures 
of the Imam Ghassan, the following may be mentioned. 
There was at Semed of Nezwa a house belonging to the Benu-Julanda, 
the site of which was probably in the plantation named el-‘Akudlyeh 
[arches]. One of the arches of this building spanned the high road, and above 
the arch were windows. Now the archway was dark, and was frequented 
by licentious and disreputable persons. It was said that a woman who 
happened to pass through the archway was molested by one of these bad 
characters, and the affair came to the knowledge of the Imam Ghassan, who 
ordered the owners of the house either to pull down the arch or to light it 
up by night, so that the persons passing should see who was there. The 
owners of the house, thereupon, opened out a new road for the public 
through their plantation, and it was used by people passing until the house 
was pulled down, after which the proprietors built a house across the new 
road, and the former highway was re-opened to the public. The remains of 
the arch may be seen in the southern wall of the mosque at Semed of 
Nezwa. 
Ghassan continued to govern justly and uprightly, until he fell ill on 
Wednesday, the 22nd of Thul-Ka‘deh in the year of the Hijreli 207, and 
died of his illness [A. E. 822]. His Imamate had lasted fifteen years, seven 
months, and seven days. 19 He was succeeded by 
The Ima'm ‘Abdul- Ma'lik-bin Hami'd, who derived from the stock 
of Sudah-bin ‘All-bin ‘Amr-bin ‘Amir, surnamed Ma-el-Sema, the Azdite. 
This Prince governed righteously and justly, and followed in the footsteps 
