130 
E. C. Ross —Annals of 'Oman—Book III. 
[No. 2, 
Saturday; and in the evening of Sunday, they went forth to encounter el- 
Ahif-bin Hamham el-Hinai, and those who accompanied him of the 
adherents of ‘Azzan-bin Temim. For when the latter heard of their move¬ 
ment, he sent against them el-Ahif-bin Hamham, chief of the Benu-Hinah 7 
with a force of the el-Yahmad, amongst them Fahm-bin Warith. They 
proceeded until they reached Majiz in el-Batineh, and summoned el-Salt-bin 
Nadhr, who came forth against them with horse and foot. El-Fadhl-bin 
el-Hawari and el-Hawari-bin ‘Abdullali also came up, and a battle ensued, 
in which a great number of the Madhriyeh were slain, and the remainder 
were forced to fly. This encounter took place on Monday, four days before 
the end of the month of Showwal of the above mentioned year. 
There continued to be strife amongst the people of ‘Oman, and their 
mutual animosities increased in bitterness. The Imamate became to them 
as a thing to sport with, and an object of rebellious contention and incentive 
to ambitious designs. They followed not God’s book nor the footsteps of 
their virtuous ancestors. Matters reached such, a pass that in one year they 
set up sixteen different Imams, and in each case failed to hold to the 
allegiance they had vowed. 
At length, when the fulness of the time was come, Mohammed-bin 
Abil-Kasim and Bashir-bin el-Manther of the Benu-Samah-bin Lawa-bin- 
Ghalib went forth and proceeded to el-Bahreyn, where at that time 
Mohammed-bin Nur 8 was governor on the part of el-Mo‘tadhid. 9 To him 
they complained, on arrival, of the sufferings they had endured from the 
Himyarite 10 faction, and invited him to accompany them to‘Oman, tempting 
him by holding out hopes of great advantages. The governor acquiesced, 
but advised them to visit the Khalifeh at Baghdad and state the circum¬ 
stances to him, and that their object in coming was a desire for his success. 
So Mohammed-bin Abil-Kasim went on to Baghdad, whilst Bushfr 
remained with Mohammed-bin Nur. When Mohammed was admitted to 
the Khalifeh’s presence, he related to him the whole matter, and obtained a 
commission for Mohammed-bin Nur to proceed against ‘Oman ; after which 
he returned to el-Bahreyn. On his return there, Mohammed-bin Nur 
commenced raising a force from the various tribes, but principally from the 
Nizar. He was joined also by some of the tribe Tei from el-Sham, and 
marched against ‘Oman at the head of 25,000 men, of whom 3,500 were 
horsemen equipped in armour and with their baggage. 
The report of Mohammed-bin Nur’s approach caused great commotion 
in»‘Oman, where the people were split up into rival factions, their counsels 
devoid of concert and their hearts disunited. Some there were who emigrated 
from ‘Oman with their families and property, and others found no resource 
but to resign themselves to disgrace. Suleiman-bin ‘Abd-el-Malik-bin- 
Bilal-el-Salfmf with his retainers proceeded to Hormuz, and the people of 
