50 
S. B. Miles —On the route between 
[No. 1, 
both the ruins of el-Gharabeh and the city are much anterior to the time of 
the Julandaites. Another legend related to me was of the daughter of 
Julanda, whose hand became diseased and withered, while the physicians were 
unable to apply any remedy. She remained thus for a long time, and at 
last decided to try the benefit of the sea air and bathing, after experiencing 
which for a short time she entirely recovered. The above tradition, it may 
be remarked, deriving the Julandaites from the ’Amalekite Beni Karkar is 
opposed to the more generally received account, according to which they 
descend from the el-Azd of ’Oman. The ’Amaleka properly derive from 
the Ishmaelite or Nejdean stock, as does also Sohar, the brother of Tasm 
and Jadis and the Eponymus of the ancient town. The Julandaites were 
a powerful dynasty in ’Oman, and for some time previous to the second 
advent of the Persians before Islam held dominion over el-Bahrein and the 
whole of the Persian Gulf. According to Ross’ Annals of ’Oman, the 
Persians at the time of the introduction of Islam had possession of the 
sea-coast of ’Oman, while the Arabs had the interior. Mohammed sent 
messengers to the two sons of Julanda, who then ruled in ’Oman, and these 
messengers alighted at Damsetjerd near Soliar, a fortified place built by 
the Persians. Julanda’s sons, ’Abd and Jeifar, and the Arabs agreed to 
accept Islam, but the Persians, refusing, were attacked in Damsetjerd by 
Jeifar and compelled to quit ’Oman. This Damsetjerd I am inclined to 
identify with the ruins at Felej el-Suk described above, and this is indi¬ 
cated, I think, both by their position and the Arab tradition attaching to 
the spot. The extreme antiquity of Sohar as one of the principal empori¬ 
ums of ’Oman is shown by its identification with the ancient city of ’Oman, 
the capital of the country, which depends not alone on Arab tradition and 
authority, but is accepted by European writers, who see in Sohar the Omana 
or Omna of Pliny and Ptolemy. 
The exact period, however, at which the town changed its name is a 
question more difficult of solution, and regarding which history and tradi¬ 
tion afford no clue. The ancient history of Sohar is very obscure, as, 
though frequent references to it may be found in all ages, no good descrip¬ 
tion or account of it exists that I am aware of. A short notice, however, 
by Ibn Mojawir is worth quoting. He says :—“ Sohar had 12,000 houses, 
and every nakhodd dwelt in a separate house, and the people used to draw 
their drinking water from the aqueduct. Some one told me there were 192 
steel-yards for the weighing of merchandize between vendors and pur¬ 
chasers. The town was built of bricks, mortar, and teak-wood, and it be¬ 
came ruined, and the jinn haunted the castles around. Abu Bekr el-Bisri 
informed me that the country belonged first to the kings of Kerman of 
the Seljuk dynasty, then it was ruled by the el-Ghozz, and afterwards it 
became deserted and was destroyed by the Arabs.” Some cultivated spots 
