ARABIA , a See also:

• PENINSULA
• PENINSULA (Lat. paeninsula, from paene, almost, and insula, an island)

Akhdar in the east, which with a temperate See also:

• CLIMATE

F. Jomard's See also:

• MAP
• MAP (or MAPES), WALTER (d. c. 1208/9)

M. Zwemer have explored Oman in the extreme east; but the interior south of a line See also:

• DRAWN

Thence proceeding eastwards to higher altitudes where coffee plantations give way to See also:

• FIELDS, JAMES THOMAS (1817-1881)

The outburst of fanaticism which convulsed Arabia twenty years later had not then reached Yemen, and Europeans, as such, were not exposed to any See also:

• SPECIAL

See also:

• ARNAUD, HENRI (1641-1721)

In 1889 he succeeded, again under Turkish escort, in reaching Marib, where he obtained, during a stay of See also:

• THIRTY

Though he did not actually enter the main Hadramut valley, which lay to the east of his track, his journey established the existence of this populous and fertile district which had been reported to the officers of the " Palinurus " as lying between the coast range and the great desert to the north. This was at last visited in 1893 by L. Hirsch under the protection of the See also:

• SULTAN (an Arabic word meaning " victorious " or " a ruler," sultat, dominion)

Niebuhr did not go inland from See also:

• MUSCAT, MUSKAT

arrived at Jidda in 18o7, and performed the See also:

• PILGRIMAGE (Fr. pelerinage, Lat. peregrinatio)

His original intention had been after visiting Mecca to find his way across the peninsula to Oman, but the time at his disposal (as an Indian officer on leave) was insufficient for so extended a journey; and his further contributions to Arabian geography were not made until twenty-five years later, when he was deputed by the Egyptian government to examine the reported See also:

• GOLD
• GOLD [symbol Au, atomic weight 195.7(H = 1),197.2(0 =16)]

If the See also:

• POLITICAL

By training and temperament he was better qualified to appreciate and describe the social life of the people than their physical surroundings, and if the results of his great journey are disappointing to the geographer, his See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

Next summer he went on to Hail and thence back to Khaibar, where the See also:

• NEGRO (from Lat. eager, black)

The narrative of the last named forms a valuable supplement to that published by the Blunts, and together with Doughty's, furnishes as complete a picture as could be wished for of the social and political life of J. Shammar, and of the general nature of the country. Huber's See also:

• JOURNAL
• JOURNAL (through Fr. from late Lat. diurnalis, daily)

His narrative thus, while containing much of general interest on the climate and on the See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

The See also:

• REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

A short distance south of Jauf the character of the desert changes abruptly from a level See also:

• BLACK
• BLACK, ADAM (1784-1874)
• BLACK, JEREMIAH SULLIVAN (1810–1883)
• BLACK, WILLIAM (1841-1898)

In the south of the Nafud, where Huber found the prevailing wind to be from the south, the falks are turned in that direction. Though perhaps subject to slight changes in the course of years, there is no doubt that these dunes are practically permanent features; the more prominent ones serve as landmarks and have well-known distinctive names. The character of the vegetation which clothes their slopes shows that even superficial changes must be slight. The general level of the Nafud was found by Huber's observations to be about 3000 ft. above sea-level ; the highest point on the Jauf-Hail route is at Falk Alam, the rocky peaks of which rise 200 or 300 ft. above the surface of the sand. Other peaks cropping out of the Nafud are Jebel Tawil, near the wells of Shakik, and J. Abrak Rada, a long black See also:

• RIDGE (a word. common to many Teutonic languages, meaning " back," whether of a man or an animal, cf. German Rucke)
• RIDGE, WILLIAM PETT (1864- )

In winter it is See also:

• COLD (in O. Eng. cald and ceald, a word coming ultimately from a root cognate with the Lat. gelu, gelidus, and common in the Teutonic languages, which usually have two distinct forms for the substantive and the adjective, cf. Ger. Kolte, kalt, Dutch koude

Khaibar harra, runs north-eastward across the whole width of Nejd, till it is lost in the sands of the eastern Nafud, north of Aneza. The greater portion of this region is an open steppe, sandy in places and in others dotted with See also:

• LOW, SETH (1850- )
• LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )

Rumma converge in lower Kasim, and at Aneza Doughty says its bed is 3 M. wide from See also:

• BANK

Dawasir; the whole of this hilly region of eastern Nejd is, perhaps, rather a See also:

• ROLLING

East of Nejd a strip of sandy desert 50 m. in width extends almost continuously from the great Nafud to the Dahna. East of this again a succession of stony ridges running parallel to the coast Elms& has to be crossed before El Hasa is reached. This province, which skirts the Persian Gulf from the mouth of the Euphrates to the frontiers of Oman, is low and hot; its shores are flat, and with the exception of Kuwet at the north-west corner of the gulf, it possesses no deep water port. North of Katif it is desert and only inhabited by nomads; at Katif, however, and throughout the district to the south bordering on the Gulf of Bahrein there are ample supplies of underground water, welling up in abundant springs often at a high temperature, and bringing fertility to an extensive district of which El Hofuf, a town of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, is the most important centre. South-western Arabia, from the twenty-first parallel down to the Gulf of Aden, including the Taif district of Hejaz, Asir and Yemen, South- forms one province geographically. Throughout its length western it consists of three zones, a narrow coastal strip, rarely Arabia. exceeding 20 m. in width, a central mountainous tract, embracing the great See also:

• CHAIN (through the O. Fr. citable, chcene, &c., from Lat. catena)

Deep valleys winding through the barren foothills See also:

• LEAD
• LEAD (pronounced iced)

Bana and W. Zubed, running respectively east and south and west. The first named is a dry watercourse ultimately joining the basin of the W. Hadramut; the two others run for a long distance through fertile valleys and, like many of the wadis on the seaward side of the range, have perennial streams down to within a few miles of the sea. Sana, the capital of Yemen, lies in a broad valley 7300 ft.above sea-level, sloping northwards to the W. Kharid which, with the Ghail Hirran, the sources of which are on the eastern slopes of J. Hadur, run north-eastward to the Jauf depression. The Arhab district, through which these two great wadis run, was formerly the centre of the Himyar kingdom; cultivation is now only to be found in the lower parts on the borders of the watercourses, all above being naked rock from which every particle of soil has been denuded. In the higher parts there are See also:

• FINE

Farther north, in Asir, the plateau is more mountainous and contains many fertile valleys. Of these may be mentioned Khamis Mishet and the Wadi Shahran rising among the high Asir. summits of the maritime chain, and the principal affluents of the Wadi Besha; the latter is a broad well-watered valley, with numerous scattered hamlets, four days' journey (perhaps 8o m.) from the crest of the range. Still farther north is the Wadi Taraba and its branches running down from the highland district of Zahran. The lower valleys produce dates in abundance, and at higher elevations wheat, barley, millets and excellent See also:

• FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

A low maritime plain, similar to the Tehama of the western coast, extends for some 200 m. east of the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, backed by mountains rising to 7000 ft. or more; farther east the elevation of the highland decreases steadily, and in the Hadramut, north of Mukalla, does not much exceed Hadramut. 4000 ft. The mountain chain, too, is less distinctly marked, and becomes little more than the seaward escarpment of the plateau which intervenes between the coast and the Hadramut valley. This valley runs nearly east and west for a distance of 500 M. from the eastern slopes of the Yemen highlands to its mouth on the Mahra coast near Sihut. The greater part of it is desert, but a short stretch lying between the 48th and 50th meridians is well watered and exceptionally fertile. This begins a little to the east of Shabwa, the ancient capital, now half buried in the advancing sand, and for a distance of over 70 M. a succession of villages and towns surrounded by fields and date groves extends along the main valley and into the tributaries which join it from the south. Shibam, Saiyun and Tarim are towns of 6000 or more inhabitants, and Hajren and Haura in the W. Duwan are among the larger villages. Himyaritic remains have been found here and in the W. Mefat which enters the Gulf of Aden near Balhaf. A few small fishing villages or ports are scattered along the coast, but except Mukalla and Shihr none is of any importance. The Gara coast was visited by the Bents, who went inland from Dhafar, one of the centres of the old See also:

• FRANKINCENSE

The narrow coastal strip seems to be moderately fertile, and the hills which in places come down to the seashore are covered with trees, among which the frankincense and other See also:

• GUM (Fr. gomme, Lat. gommi, Gr. Kµµ1, possibly a Coptic word; distinguish " gum," the fleshy covering of the base of a tooth, in O. Eng. gbma, palate, cf. Ger. Gaumen, roof of the mouth; the ultimate origin is probably the root gha, to open wide, seen in

In the north-west the Dhahira district sloping towards the Jewasimi coast is more steppe-like in character; but there two oases of great fertility are found, of which Birema, visited by both Miles and Zwemer, supports a population of 15,000. West of Abu Dhabi a low flat steppe with no settled inhabitants extends up to the Katr peninsula, merging on the north into the saline marshes which border the Persian Gulf, and on the south into the desert. The great desert known as the Dahna or the Rub'a el Khali (" the empty quarter ") is believed to cover all the interior of southern The Arabia from the borders of Yemen in the west to those southern of Oman in the east. Halevy in Nejran, Von Wrede in desert. Hadramut, and Wellsted in Oman reached its edge, though none of them actually entered it, and the guides accompanying them all concurred in describing it as uninhabitable and uncrossed by any track. Its northern fringe is no doubt frequented by the Bedouin tribes of southern Nejd after the rains, when its sands, like those of the northern desert, produce herbage; but towards the east, according to Burckhardt's information, it is quite without vegetation even in the winter and spring. The farthest habitable spot to the south of Nejd is the Wadi Yabrin, which L. Pelly heard of from the Ahl Murra Bedouins as once a fertile district, and which still produces dates, though, owing to See also:

• MALARIA

Upon the sandstone rest a few scattered outliers of See also:

• LIME
• LIME (O. Eng. lim, Lat. limes, mud, from linere, to smear)

The Red Sea itself is a great trough bounded by faults along each side.] Climate.—Owing to its low See also:

• LATITUDE (Lat. latitudo, latus, broad)

The autumn rains fell that year abundantly in the Nafud towards Jauf, but very little in the basin of the W. Hamd (on the western slope). Doughty adds that the Nejd highlands between Kasim and Mecca are watered yearly by seasonable rains, which at Taif are expected about the end of August and last commonly from four to six weeks. This appears to be about the northern limit reached by the south-west monsoon, which from June to See also:

• SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

Akhdar in Oman, but is very rarely known on the Yemen mountains, probably because the precipitation during the winter months is so slight. The prevailing winds in northern Arabia as far as is known are from the west; along the southern coast they are from the east; at Sana there is generally a light See also:

• BREEZE

Dawasir. Among See also:

• GAME

Nolde gives an instance from his own experience of a camel rider covering 62 m. in seven hours. The pure-bred riding camel is only found in perfection in inner Arabia; for some unexplained reason when taken out of their own country or north of the 30th degree they rapidly degenerate. The horse does not occupy the important position in the Bedouin See also:

• ECONOMY

A few of the latter are collected by dealers in the nomad camps and exported chiefly from Kuwet. The amir Mahommed Ibn Rashid used to send down about one See also:

• HUNDRED

See also:

• SCHWEINFURTH, GEORG AUGUST (1836– )

In the broad sandy wadi beds the tamarisk (athl) is everywhere found; its See also:

• WOOD, ANTHONY A2 (1632-1695)
• WOOD, JOHN GEORGE (1827—1889)
• WOOD, MRS HENRY [ELLEN] (1814—1887)
• WOOD, SEARLES VALENTINE (1798—188o)

Sabur, and in the Yafa district north-east of Aden. It is planted in terraces on the mountain slopes; shady trees, such as tamarind and fig, are planted in the border as a protection from the See also:

• SUN
• SUN (0. Eng. sonne, Ger. sonne. Fr. soleil, Lat. sol, Gr. ijXior, from which comes helio- in various English compounds)

Longitudinal slits are made in the bark, and the gum is caught in cups fixed beneath. The See also:

• BALSAM (from Gr. f &X raµov, through Lat. balsamum, contracted by popular use to O. Fr. basme, mod. Fr. bdme; Eng. balm)

See also:

• MURDER

Another See also:

• FOREIGN

The Egyptian pilgrim route from Cairo, across the Sinai peninsula and down the Midian coast to El Wijh, joins the Syrian route at Badr Hunen. It also was formerly provided with stations and reservoirs, but owing to the greater facilities of the sea journey from Suez to Jidda it is now little used. Another important route is that taken by the Persian or Shia pilgrims from Bagdad and Kerbela across the desert, by the wells of Lina, to Bureda in Kasim; thence across the steppes of western Nejd till it crosses the Hejaz border at the Ria Mecca, 50 M. north-east of the city. It lies almost entirely in the territory of the amir Ibn Rashid of J. Shammar, who derives a considerable See also:

• REVENUE
• REVENUE (0. Fr. revenu, from revenir, to return)

But the principal means of commercial communication for a country like Arabia must always be by sea. Bahrein, Kuwet and Muscat are in See also:

• STEAM
• STEAM (0. Eng. steam, vapour, smoke, cf. Du. steam; the origin is unknown)

A. W.) ANTIQUITIES Arabia cannot be said to be " destitute of antiquities," but the material for the study of these is still very incomplete. The difficulties in the way of travelling in Arabia with a view to scientific investigation are such that little or nothing is being done, and the systematic work which has given such good results in Egypt, Palestine and Babylonia-See also:

• ASSYRIA

Doughty (Arabia Deserta, vol. ii.), travelling in north-west Arabia, saw stones of granite in a See also:

• ROW, JOHN (c. 1525—1580)

Journal of the See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

Their importance was afterwards emphasized by Glaser's publication of two long inscriptions concerning their restoration in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. (" Zwei Inschriften uber den Dammbruch von M5.rib," in the Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft, See also:

• BERLIN
• BERLIN, CONGRESS AND TREATY OF
• BERLIN, ISAIAH (1725–1799)

109 ff.). The languages employed have been the subject of much study (cf. F. Hommel's Siid-arabische Chrestomathie, See also:

• MUNICH (Ger. Munchen)

Some bear figures of the conventionalized sacred tree with worshippers, similar to Babylonian designs. Besides these there are gravestones, stelae with human heads, fragments of limestone, architectural designs as well as bronze castings of camels, horses, mice, serpents, &c. (cf. D. H. See also:

• MILLER, HUGH (1802–1856)
• MILLER, JOAQUIN (CINCINNATUS HEINE) (1841- )
• MILLER, JOE (JosEPH or JosIAS( (1684-1738)
• MILLER, SAMUEL FREEMAN (1816-1890)
• MILLER, WILLIAM (1782-1849)
• MILLER, WILLIAM (1795-1861)
• MILLER, WILLIAM (1796–1882)
• MILLER, WILLIAM HALLOWES (18o1–188o)

Schlumberger in See also:

• CONSTANTINOPLE
• CONSTANTINOPLE, COUNCILS OF

W. T.) HISTORY Introduction.—Arabia is a land of Semites, and is supposed by some scholars to have been the original See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

Of all these stories current at the time of Mahomet, the only ones of any value are the accounts of the " days of the Arabs," i.e. accounts of some famous inter-tribal battles in Arabia. Authorities.—Until recently the Arab traditions were practically the only source for the pre-Islamic history of Arabia. The Old Testament references to Arabs were obscure. The classical accounts of the invasion of Aelius Gallus in 26 B.C. threw little light on the state of Arabia at the time, still less on its past history. The Greek writers from See also:

• THEOPHRASTUS

Of the two latter little is known. That of Hadramut had See also:

• KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

The Sabaean rule is generally divided into periods indicated by the titles given to their rulers. In the first of these ruled the Makarib, who seem to have been See also:

• PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

The connexion of Saba with the north, where the See also:

• NABATAEANS

M. Lidzbarski's Ephemeris, vol. i. pp. 109 seq., See also:

• GIESSEN

The struggle between them and the Abyssinians now became one of Judaism against See also:

• CHRISTIANITY

The kingdom of Hira (Hira) was established in the boundary land between the Euphrates and the Arabian desert, a district renowned for its good air and extraordinary fertility. The chief town was Hira, a few miles south of the site Hira. of the later town of See also:

• KUFA

Although so many of their subjects were Christian, the Lakhmids remained See also:

• HEATHEN

They ruled over the tribe of Ghassan in the extreme north-west of Arabia, east of the See also:

• JORDAN (the down-comer; Arab. esh-Sheri'a, the watering-place)
• JORDAN, CAMILLE (1771—1821)
• JORDAN, DOROTHEA (1762—1816)
• JORDAN, THOMAS (1612 ?–1685)
• JORDAN, WILHELM (1819–1904)

Arabian tradition tells of their prince Jabala ibn Aiham who accepted Islam, after fighting against it, but finding it too democratic, returned to Christianity and exile in the Roman empire. As Islam advanced, some of the Ghassanids retreated to See also:

• CAPPADOCIA

In Oman the Arabs, who were chiefly engaged in fishing and seafaring, were Azdites mixed with Persians. The ruling dynasty of Julanda in their capital Suhar lasted on till the Abbasid period. No Persian officials are mentioned in this country; whether Persians exercised authority over it is doubtful. On the west coast of Arabia the influence of the kingdom of Yemen was felt in varying degree according to the strength of the rulers of that land. Apart from this influence the Hejaz was simply a collection of cities each with its own government, while outside the cities the various tribes governed themselves and fought continual battles with one another. Time of Mahomet.—Thus at the time of Mahomet's See also:

• ADVENT (Lat. Adventus, sc. Redemptoris, " the coming of the Saviour ")

His idea of Arabia for the Arabians could only be realized by summoning the great kings of the surrounding nations to recognize Islam; otherwise Abyssinia, Persia and Rome (Byzantium) would continue their former endeavours to influence and control the affairs of the peninsula. Tradition tells that a few years before his death he did actually send letters to the See also:

• EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

The tribes were a seething mass of restlessness, their old feuds ready to break out again. But they had realized that they had common interests. The power of the foreigner in Arabia was broken. Islam promised rich See also:

• BOOTY (apparently influenced by " boot," O. Eng. bot, ad-vantage or profit, through an adaptation from an earlier form cognate with Ger. Beute and Fr. butin)

founded (635). In the same year Damascus fell into the hands of the Arabs under Abu `Ubaida. In 636 Jerusalem fell and received a visit from the caliph. Three years later the fateful step was taken of appointing Moawiya (Mu'awlyya) governor of Syria. In 64o `Amr-ibn-el-See also:

• ASS (O.E. assa; Lat. asinus)
• ASS, FEAST OF THE

During these early years the Arabs had not only made See also:

• CON

The first task of Abu Bekr had been to reduce those rebels who threatened to destroy that unity even before it was fully established. This he did by the aid of the great general Khalid. First he swept down on the Bani Hanifa in Yemama, who with their rival prophet Mosailama (Mosailima) and 40,000 men were in arms. The battle of Yemama (633) was fierce and decisive. Mosailama was slain. The Bani Hanifa returned to Islam. Bahrein was influenced by this battle, and the See also:

• REBELLION

The new national feeling demanded that all Arabs should be free men, so the caliph ordained that all Arab slaves should be freed on easy terms. The solidarity of Arabia survived the first foreign conquests. It was not intended that Arabs should See also:

• SETTLE
• SETTLE, ELKANAH (1648–1724)

Yet so long as the caliphs lived in Medina, the capital of Arabia was the capital of the expanding Arabian empire. To it was brought a largeshare of the booty. The caliphs were chosen there, and there the rules for the administration were framed. Thence went out the governors to their provinces. Omar was the great organizer of Arabian affairs. He compiled the Koran, instituted the See also:

• CIVIL

But the quarrels which led to the murder of Othman were fomented not so much in Arabia as in Kufa and Basra and Fostat. In these cities the rival parties were composed of the most energetic fighting men, who were brought into the most intimate contact with one another, and who kept up their quarrels from the home land. In Kula a number of the Koreish had settled, and their arrogance became insupportable. The governors of all these towns were of Othman's own family. After some years of growing dissatisfaction deputies from these places came to Medina, and the result was the murder of the caliph. Syria alone remained loyal to the house of Omayya, and Othman had been advised to take See also:

• REFUGE

Ayesha, Talha and Zobair, who were strong in Mecca, succeeded in obtaining possession of Basra, but were defeated in 656 at the battle of the Camel (see ALI). In the south of Arabia `Ali succeeded in establishing his own governor in Yemen, though the government treasure was carried off to Mecca. But the centre of strife was not to be Arabia. When `Ali left Medina to secure Basra, he abandoned it as the capital of the Arabian empire. With the success of Moawiya Damascus became the capital of the caliphate (658) and Arabia became a mere province, though always of importance because of its possession, of the two sacred cities Mecca and Medina. Both these cities were secured by Moawiya in 66o, and at the same time Yemen was punished for its adherence to `Ali. The final See also:

• BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

On the See also:

• ACCESSION (from Lat. accedere, to go to, to approach)

It was merely a province. The 'Abbdsids.—The accession of Abul `Abbas (of the house df Hashim) and the transference of the capital of the caliphate from Damascus to Kufa, then See also:

• ANBAR

In 845-846 the lawless raids of Bedouin tribes compelled the caliph Wathiq to send his Turkish general Bogha, who was more successful in the north than in the centre and south of Arabia in restoring peace. The See also:

• CARMATHIANS (QARMATHIANS, KARMATHIANS)

The Fatimite caliph 'Obaidallah (see See also:

• FATIMITES
• FATIMITES, or FATIMIDES

Here the presence of the sacred cities led writers to record their See also:

• ANNALS (Annales, from annus, a year)

H. C. See also:

• KAY, JOHN (1742-1826)
• KAY, JOSEPH (1821-1878)

During this time the country was twice invaded by Persians. The " kings of Hormuz " claimed authority over the coast land until the beginning of the 16th century. In 1435 the people See also:

• ROSE
• ROSE (Rosa)
• ROSE, GEORGE (1744-1818)
• ROSE, HUGH JAMES (1795—1838)
• ROSE, WILLIAM STEWART (1775-1843)

W. T.) Wahhdbi Movement.—Modern Arabian history begins with that of the Wahhabi movement in the middle of the 18th century. Its originator, Mahommed Ibn Abdul Wahhab, was See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

The Wahhabi empire had now attained its See also:

• ZENITH (from the Arabic)

After destroying Huremala and massacring its inhabit-ants, he arrived before Deraiya on the 14th of April 1818. For six months the siege went on with varying See also:

• FORTUNE, ROBERT (1813-188o)

By Abdallah's See also:

• ADVICE (Fr. avis, from Lat. ad, to, and visum, viewed)

Fesal may well have watched with jealous anxiety the growing strength of his See also:

• NEIGHBOUR (O. Eng. neahgebiir, from Walt, " nigh," " near ")

Zamil's forces held a strong position between Aneza and Bureda, and for over a month desultory fighting went on; finally an attack was made against the defenders' centre, covered by 20,000 camel riders; the men of Aneza broke and the whole allied forces fled in disorder; Zamil and his eldest son were killed, as were also two of the Ibn Saud family, while the remainder were taken prisoners. Aneza and Bureda surrendered the same day, and shortly after Ras, Shakra and Riad tendered their submission. This victory placed the whole of northern and central Arabia under the supremacy of Mahommed Ibn Rashid, which he held undisputed during the rest of his life. On his death in 1897 his nephew Abdul-Aziz, son of the murdered amir Matab, succeeded; during his reign a new element has been introduced into Nejd politics by the rising importance of Kuwet and the attempts Recent (Koweit) history. of Turkey to obtain possession of its important harbour. In 19or a See also:

• QUARREL

Arrangements were accordingly made with the Wahhabis, and on the loth of April Ahmad Feizi Pasha left Lina, ostensibly with the object of protecting the pilgrim road, and joined the Medina column by the end of the month. Bureda and Aneza were occupied without opposition, the rebellious sheiks amnestied by the sultan and loaded with gifts, and formal peace was made between the rival factions. European influence was not felt in Arabia until the arrival of the Portuguese in the eastern seas, following on the discovery of the Cape route. In 15o6 Hormuz was taken by Albuquerque, and Muscat and the coast of Oman (q.v.) Europ n' were occupied by the Portuguese till 165o. In 1516 influence. their fleets appeared in the Red Sea and an unsuccessful attempt was made against Jidda; but the effective occupation of Yemen by the Turks in the next few years frustrated any designs the Portuguese may have had in S.W. Arabia. Even in Oman their hold on the country was limited to Muscat and the adjacent ports, while the interior was ruled by the old Yariba (Ya-'aruba) dynasty from their capital at Rustak. The Persian occupation, which followed that of the Portuguese, came to a.n end in the middle of the 18th century, when Ahmad Ibn Said expelled the invaders and in 1759 established the Ghafari dynasty which still reigns in Oman. He was succeeded by his son, who in 1798 made a treaty with the East India Company with the object of excluding the French from Oman, and the connexion with Great Britain was further strengthened during the long reign of his See also:

• GRANDSON (Ger. Grandsee)

The overthrow of the Wahhabis in 1817 restored Sultan Said to independence; he equipped and armed on Western models a fleet built in Indian ports, and took possession of See also:

• SOKOTRA (also spelt Socotra and formerly Socotora)

The powerful Bedouin tribes of Hejaz have always asserted their independence, and are only kept quiet by the large money payments made them by the sultan on the occasion of the annual pilgrimage to the holy cities. A large part of Asir and northern Yemen has never been visited by Turkish troops, and such revenues as are collected, mainly fromvexatious customs and transit duties, are quite insufficient to meet the salaries of the officials, while the troops, ill-fed and their pay indefinitely in arrears, live on the country as best they can. A serious revolt broke out in Yemen in 1892. A Turkish detachment collecting taxes in the Bani Merwan lands north of Hodeda was destroyed by a body of Arabs. This See also:

• REVERSE

The scale of the operations may be judged from the fact that the total number of troops mobilized up to the beginning of July 1905 amounted to 126 battalions, 8 squadrons and 15 batteries; the See also:

• REBEL, JOHANN PETER (176o-1826)