170 
E. 0. Ross —Annals of ‘Oman.—Book VII. 
[No. 2, 
reaching Bahia, the people of that place seized and imprisoned them there. 
A third party, which was sent to Wadi Beni-Ghafir, was defeated and 
retired to el-Rostak. 
YaTab, on the other hand, sent a detachment with two guns against 
Izld. When they arrived before the place, they opened fire on the Fort, 
but were worsted and retired to Nezwa after losing several men. He then 
sent another force against Izld. They halted for a day on the west side of 
the town, and the following morning saw them in retreat on Nezwa without 
having struck a blow. A third force, also, was sent which occupied the 
western side of Izld, and bombarded the Fort with cannon for about ten 
days, after which Malik-bin Nasir arrived at Izld from el-Rostak, and, 
having been joined by the garrison, made a sortie on Yadab’s troops, but 
was repulsed. The Bedouins of YaTab’s army attacked and plundered Sudda 
and the quarter named el-Rahha of Izld, and burned the abode of Hirnyer- 
bin Manir outside el-Rahha. The leaders of Yadab’s force next attacked 
el-Yemen tribe, but were defeated, and one of the commanders, Moliammed- 
bin Sadd-bin Ziyad of Bahia, was killed. 
Malik-bin Nasir, having been told that the el-Nizar 6 had joined Yadab’s 
men in the attack on the el-Yemen, sent for the Sheykhs of the former clan 
and placed them in irons in the chief mosque. He then sent to the people of 
el-Sharkiyeh, and a large army of them came to his aid. The Benu-Hinah 
also came in large numbers, and the whole having united at Izki attacked 
Yadab’s force. The drums and a small body of men were sent out by the 
side of el-Manzaliyeh, and the main body marched out from the directions of 
el-‘Atab on Friday at sunset. A great battle was fought, in which the 
musketry rattled like peals of thunder, and swords flashed like lightning. 
The result was the defeat of Yadab’s army. The slaughter was great: 
from what I have heard, three hundred men fell on both sides, but God 
knows ! 
Nasir-bin Malik then marched with his followers on the town of Manh, 
and a detachment attacked Faleyj of Wadi el-Hajar, killed many of the 
inhabitants, and plundered all that they found in the place. They then 
burned down the houses of Zakit and Mahyul, after which they reached 
Manh, where they plundered the “ Hujreh” of Ma‘mad, burned the houses, 
and slew numbers of the inhabitants, who were dispersed in all directions. 
They next marched on Nezwa, and pitched their camp at the mosque of 
el-Makhass of Fark, and laid siege to Nezwa. They destroyed the cultiva¬ 
tion, and burned many sugar-cane fields of el-Heyli and el-Khadbra. They 
also burned the houses of Fark, and committed depredations everywhere. 
The people of Nezwa and YaTab’s followers sallied out against them, 
and, after an engagement in which several were slain on each side, both 
armies fell back to their former positions. After this, there was fighting 
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