ruling alone and supreme for all those years. His son Abdullah, who had
acted as regent during the later years of Feysul, succeeded to the
throne. But there was a rival in his brother Saud. Intrigues, treasons
and violence were hatching in the palace courts even before the death
of Feysul. The dagger and the coffee-cup of poisoned beverage have
always been favorite weapons in seating and unseating the rulers of
Arabia. A prolonged fight ensued between the two brothers. Saud was at
first successful but Abdullah flying to Turkey invited the aid of that
power with the result that an expedition from Bagdad ended in formally
and permanently occupying El Hassa as a Turkish province.
At the time of Saud’s death, in 1874, the conflict was renewed, but
Abdullah ultimately regained the supremacy and was ruler at Riad until
1886, when events occurred that heralded the rise of another power in
Nejd, based on political intrigue and the sword rather than on religion
and fanaticism.
When Turki the Amir was murdered by his own cousin, Meshari, and Feysul
succeeded to the throne, there was present at Riad in the army an
obscure youth from Hail, Abdullah bin Rashid. He it was who entered
the palace by stealth, stabbed Meshari, and helped to restore Feysul
to his father’s seat as ruler. His valor and loyalty were rewarded
by bestowing upon him the governorship of his own native province
Shammar; he was also granted a small army to strengthen the Wahabi
rule in that region. He soon became almost as strong as his master and
showed himself an expert in all the intrigue and skill possible to the
Arabs. He extended his personal influence on all sides, built a massive
palace at Hail and defeated all who plotted his destruction. Hired
assassins dogged him on the streets, but Abdullah escaped every danger
and his star remained in the ascendant. In 1844 he died suddenly,
leaving unaccomplished ambitions and three sons, Telal, Mitaab, and
Mohammed. Telal, the eldest son, was proclaimed ruler and was ever more
popular than his father had been, and no less successful as a ruler.
He strengthened his capital, invited merchants from Busrah and Bagdad
to reside there, and gradually but surely established his entire
independence of the Wahabi ruler at Riad. Tormented, however, by an
internal malady he shot himself in 1867. His younger brother, Mitaab,
who succeeded, ruled very briefly and was murdered by his nephews, the
sons of Telal, within a year. Meanwhile, the third son of Abdullah
bin Rashid, Mohammed, had been a refugee at the Riad capital. But
his ambitions now found their opportunity and his true character was
revealed. By permission of the Amir Abdullah bin Feysul he went back to
Hail. He commenced by stabbing his nephew Bander who had usurped the
throne; he then killed the five remaining children of his brother Telal
and became undisputed Amir at Hail in 1868. During the next eighteen
years he consolidated his authority. His rule was after the Arab
heart—with a rod of iron and lavish hospitality; continual executions
and continual feasting.
The Arabs at Bahrein tell many almost incredible tales of Mohammed bin
Rashid’s stern justice and speedy method of executing it, as well of
his cruelty to those who resisted his will. In those days the public
executioner’s sword was always wet with blood; men were tied to camels
and torn asunder; but the desert-roads were everywhere safe and robbers
met with no mercy. As an indication of his wealth and hospitality
it is related that he constructed in the courtyard of his palace a
stone-cistern of great size always kept filled with that best of
Bedouin dainties, clarified butter (_dihn_). A bucket and rope were at
hand and oil was dealt out as freely as water to the honored guests of
the great ruler.
In the year 1886 the long-looked for opportunity came for Mohammed
bin Rashid to complete the work of Telal. He not only aspired to be
independent of the Riad rulers but to make Riad, the Saud dynasty
and all the Wahabi state a dependency of his Nejd kingdom. In that
year Amir Abdullah bin Feysul was seized and imprisoned by two of his
nephews, one of whom usurped the throne. Mohammed, as a loyal subject,
marched to the rescue, deposed the pretender, but carried the Amir
himself to Hail, leaving a younger brother as his deputy governor. The
great empire of the Sauds was virtually ended; henceforth it was the
green and purple banner of Rashid and not the red and white standard of
the Wahabis that ruled all central Arabia.
Mohammed bin Rashid had shown supreme diplomatic ability in all his
dealings with the Turks from the day of his power until his death. He
humored their vanity by professing himself an ally of the Porte; he
paid a small annual tribute to the Sherif of Mecca in recognition of
the Sultan. But for the rest he never loved the Turk except at a good
distance. None of the Arabs of the interior have forgotten the perfidy,
treachery and more than Arab cruelty of the Egyptian Pashas in their
campaigns.
In 1890 a final attempt was made by the partisans of the old dynasty
to rebel against the Amir and secure the independence of Riad. It was
fruitless; and the severe defeat of the rebels proved it final. In the
year 1897 Mohammed bin Rashid died and his successor Abd-el-Aziz bin
Mitaab now rules his vast dominions. He is less stern but not less able
than his illustrious predecessor.
XX
THE RULERS OF OMAN
Before we turn to the history of the Turks in Arabia a word is
necessary regarding the rulers of Oman—that province unique in Arabia
for its isolation from all the other provinces in the matter of
politics. Prior to the appearance of the Portuguese in the Persian
Gulf (1506) Oman had been governed for nine hundred successive years
by independent rulers called Imams; elected by popular choice and not
according to family descent. From that time until 1650 the Portuguese
remained in power at Muscat. In 1741 Ahmed bin Said, a man of humble
origin, a camel-driver, rose by his bravery to be governor of Sohar,
drove the Persians who had succeeded the Portuguese, out of Muscat
and founded the dynasty that has ever since ruled Oman. As early as
1798 the East India Company made a treaty with the Sultan of Muscat
to exclude the French from Oman. This fact is important to show the
character of the recent incident at Muscat.
Seyid Said, who ruled from 1804 to 1856, had constant struggles against
the Wahabi power who threatened his territory. With England he joined
the war against the Wahabi pirates; and made treaties in 1822, 1840 and
1845 to suppress the slave-trade. On the death of Said the Sultanate of
Oman and Zanzibar was divided. Seyid Thowani reigned at Muscat while a
younger brother reigned at Zanzibar. Thowani was assassinated at Sohar
in 1866. Salim, his son, succeeded him, although he was suspected of
patricide. Then there was an interregnum under a usurper until Seyid
Turki another son of Said took the throne in 1871. Continual rebellion
marked his period of rule. But he was friendly to the English and in
return for the abolition of free traffic of slaves between Africa and
Zanzibar the English government allowed him an annual subsidy of a
little over £6,000 a year. In 1888 the Sultan died and his son, Feysul
bin Turki, succeeded him. His rule was mild, from the palace at Muscat
his influence was not far-reaching; rebellions, inter-tribal wars and
plots of one mountain-chief against another mark all the years of
his reign up to date. In February, 1895, there was a serious Bedouin
uprising in which the Arabs took the town and looted it. The Sultan
himself barely escaped and was for a time a prisoner in his fort while
the town was in the hands of the enemy. The cause of the trouble was a
difference as to the amount of yearly tribute a certain Sheikh Saleh
of Samed should pay the Muscat ruler. From November, 1894, the rebels
collected arms and strengthened their numbers until on February 12th of
the following year they were ready to strike the desired blow. As this
episode was characteristic of all Arab warfare we quote a brief account
of it sent at the time by a resident at Muscat to the Bombay press:
“On February 12th Abdullah, the leader of his father’s (Sheikh
Saleh’s) troops, with a retinue of perhaps 200 armed Bedouins arrived
at Muscat in a scattered and peaceable manner, and obtained an
audience with the Sultan. A musket salute was fired, and no attack
was thought of. The Sultan presented the leader with a purse of $400
and a liberal allowance of rice, dates, coffee, and the famous Muscat
“halwa” for the men. The Bedouins although armed were allowed to go
and come as they choose and no attack was feared. Sheikh Abdullah
himself sat for a time in the bazaar and received the salaams of the
people who kissed his hand in respect. When evening came the Sultan
requested the men to encamp outside of the gates, the only means of
entrance and exit through the old Portuguese walls. Although failing
to comply with the request the Bedouins claimed none but peaceful
intentions. At 8 P. M. when according to custom the gates were closed,
perhaps one-half of the Bedouins were within the walls. This was
their Trojan horse. Shortly after midnight the gates were attacked,
the few customary guards being easily overcome, and thrown open to the
large numbers of Bedouins who up to this time had been hiding in a
neighboring mosque. Both the small gate leading to the bazaar and the
larger one to the west of the town were easily taken, and the Bedouins
then advanced to the Sultan’s palace, effected an entrance and rudely
awoke the Sultan and his family from their sleep. Seyyidi Esel after
a courageous struggle of a few minutes, (in which he shot two of the
attacking party,) escaped by a small door opening to the sea and fled
to one of the two forts which command the city as well as the harbor.
His brother escaped to the other. Each of these forts is manned by
a force of perhaps fifty men and has several old twelve pounder
Portuguese guns.
“The forts opened fire at once upon the palace which the Bedouins now
occupied. The Bedouins took possession of the town closing the gates
and stationing armed men through the bazaar and streets in the early
hours of the 13th of February.
“A few shops containing muskets and ammunition were opened, and the
contents robbed. The Sultan’s palace was completely looted and all his
personal property either destroyed or sold at any price. On account
of the suddenness of the attack there was but a small number of the
Sultan’s soldiers in readiness. These repaired to the forts and opened
fire upon the Bedouin invaders with both the guns of the foils and
muskets. For three days we were the witnesses of the extraordinary
spectacle of a Sultan bombarding his own palace; no attempt was made
to meet the rebels on the streets. By order of the invading captain
the portion of the town inhabited by British subjects was not entered.
Until Sunday evening things remained about the same. The attack from
the forts was continued day and night. The Bedouins did not answer
the fire but remained in the palace and streets holding possessions
but making no attack on the forts. Within the town, although it
is in possession of the enemy, all was orderly and quiet. Unarmed
people were allowed to pass to and fro and guards were stationed in
the bazaar to prevent plunder. Reinforcements were expected by both
parties. On Monday morning a body of about 1,000 arrived from the
coast towns in aid of the Sultan. They encamped beneath the fort in
command of the Sultan, and at about 8 A. M. made an attack on the
invaders, which became so serious a danger to the British subjects
that the Political Agent Major J. H. Sadler ordered a cessation of
hostilities at 1 P. M. until 8 P. M. giving the British subjects an
opportunity to sojourn to the sheltered village of Makalla. More
reinforcements to the Sultan’s troops arrived at 6 P. M. and encamped
beneath the fort throwing temporary barricades across the streets
at several advantageous points. The main body of the Bedouins were
waiting to reinforce just outside Matral which village was however
still in the hands of the Sultan. At 8 A. M. on Monday H. M. S. Sphina
arrived from Bushire and at 2 P. M. the R. I. M. S. Lawrence.”
The British gunboats, contrary to the expectations and fond hopes of the
population of Muscat, did not interfere in the matter. For reasons of
diplomacy they left the Sultan to fight his own battles and when the
rebels were finally persuaded to leave saddled the poor Sultan with
a large bill for the damage incurred by British subjects during the
attack.
In 1894 a French consulate was established at Muscat; as the French
have no commerce to speak of in this part of the world the object of
the consulate was evidently political. Of the intrigues that resulted,
the alleged sale of a coaling-station to France and the British
attitude toward the matter we will speak later.
XXI
THE STORY OF THE TURKS IN ARABIA
“No one travels in Turkey with his eyes open without seeing that her
government is a curse on mankind. Fears, feuds and fightings make
miserable the councils of her rulers. They are bloodsuckers fastened
on the people throughout her dominions drawing from each and all
the last drop of blood that can be extracted. Turkey skillfully
and systematically represses what Christian nations make it their
business to nurture in all mankind as manhood. In her cities there
are magnificent palaces for her sultans and her favorites. But one
looks in vain through her realm for statues of public benefactors.
There are no halls where her citizens could gather to discuss
policies of government or mutual obligations. Their few newspapers
are emasculated by government censors. Not a book in any language
can cross her borders without permission of public officers, most of
whom are incapable of any intelligent judgment of its contents. Art
is scorned. Education is bound. Freedom is a crime. The tax gatherer
is omnipotent. Law is a farce. Turkey has prisons instead of public
halls for the education of her people. Instruments of torture are the
stimulus to their industries.”—_The Congregationalist_, April 8, 1897.
In reviewing the story of the Turks in Arabia, we will begin with
Hejaz, the most important province of Turkey in Arabia, continue with
Yemen, the most populous, and end with the Mesopotamian vilayets which
were her richest possessions.
It is not generally understood how highly the Sultan values his Arabian
provinces. It is on them and on them alone that he can base his claim
to the title of caliph. The possession of the Holy Cities in the hands
of the Sultan makes him the chief Mohammedan ruler; there his name is
blessed daily in the great mosques; in the eyes of all the pilgrims
from every part of the Moslem world Turkey is the guardian of the
Kaaba. How many thousands of Mohammedans daily in the mosques of India
and Java call for blessings on the head of Abd-ul-Hamid the Caliph who
would never pray for Abd-ul-Hamid the Sultan.
Mecca, and Hejaz generally, was governed by the early Caliphs until 980
A. D., when it passed under the rule of the first Sherif, Jaafar.[70]
Under Suleiman the magnificent (1520-1566) the Ottoman Empire reached
the zenith of its power and greatness; at that time Arabia too was
reckoned a Turkish possession, and the entire peninsula was included on
the maps of Turkish Asia. But, as we have seen, at the beginning of the
present century the Wahabis and not the Turks were the real rulers of
Arabia. The Arabs have never taken kindly to the rule of the Turk, but
the province of Hejaz, once snatched from the hand of the Wahabis, has
ever since been held by the Sublime Porte. Plots of rebellion have been
thick and Sherifs have succeeded Sherifs but the fort that frowns over
Mecca has always a strong Turkish garrison and the Pashas eat the fat
of the land at the expense of the people.
Actual Turkish rule was declared over the whole of Hejaz in 1840. At
that time Abd-el-Mutalib was made Great Sherif of Mecca, but there was
continual trouble between the Sherif and the Pasha. The religious head
of the holy city would not bow to the political head; the anti-slave
trade regulations although only very slightly enforced caused riots.
The Sherif was deposed and Mohammed bin ’Aun declared ruler in his
place. On June 15th, 1858, the murder of certain Christians at Jiddah
brought England into collision with the rulers of Hejaz. Jiddah was
bombarded and the gate to the holy city was held by the Christian
powers until the required indemnity was paid and the murderers
punished. The next Sherif appointed was Abdullah. During his time the
opening of the Suez Canal brought Turkey much nearer to Mecca and
inspired the religious zealots with the fear that now the Christian
fleets would attack the whole coast of Hejaz! For had not the vizier of
Haroun el Rashid dissuaded that monarch from his plan to dig the canal
lest the gateway to the Holy Cities would then be too accessible to the
infidels?
The Ottoman government introduced other horrors into the quiet
seclusion of the ancient city of Mecca; Jiddah was connected with the
Red Sea cable; a wire carried the world to Mecca and put the Pasha in
daily touch with the Sublime Porte; afterward it was extended to Taif,
and the Turks were masters of their own army corps, so that the Sherifs
could not act in secret. It was even attempted to raise a Meccan
regiment for the Russian war.
In 1869 the whole complicated bureaucratic system was introduced at
Medina, Jiddah, Mecca and Taif. Abdullah was a great favorite as
Sherif, both to the Arabs and the Turks; he was mild and given to all
sorts of compromise so that he managed to please both parties which
are always at war in Mecca. His brother Husein succeeded as Sherif but
was murdered in 1880. In the same year the aged Abd-el-Mutalib for the
third time became Sherif and although at first very popular he soon
won the hatred of the conservative Meccans by his cruelty and of the
Turks by his double-dealing. On request of the people of Mecca for his
deposition, Othman Pasha came to Hejaz and although he did not depose
the aged Sherif, managed to outwit him in governing the city. In 1882
Aun-er-Rafik, a brother of Husein, became Sherif. Troubles between the
dual powers of government became thick and the Bedouin tribes took the
occasion for a general uprising. Rafik fled to Medina and could not
return until Othman Pasha was deposed. Since then the old struggle
continues.
The Arabs in Hejaz have no love for the Turks or for any Turkish
ruler; the Bedouin tribes hate the very sight of a red fez and the
town-dweller is ground down with taxation. Aside from militarism there
have been no public improvements in either of the Holy Cities since the
Star and Crescent waved from their forts. The “pantaloon-wearing” Turks
are considered little better than “Christian dogs” by the pious folk of
Mecca. Have they not introduced the abomination of quarantine instead
of the old time simple trust in Allah? Have they not acquiesced to the
residence of Christian consuls at Jiddah? And what is worse, have they
not interfered with the free importation of slaves and the manufacture
of eunuchs for the residents of Mecca?
The following literal translation of a placard posted everywhere in
Mecca, at the end of the year 1885, may give the best insight into the
relations that exist between the Turk and the Arab in the cradle of
Islam:
“‘And who does not rule according to the revelation of Allah he is an
infidel.’—_Koran_ v. 48.
“Be it known to you, ye people of Mecca, that this accursed Wali
intends to introduce Turkish laws into the holy city of Allah,
therefore beware of sloth and awake from sleep. Do not suffer the laws
to be executed for they are only the opening of the door to further
legislation. Our proof is that the Wali Othman Pasha proposed his plan
to divide Mecca into four quarters and to appoint three officers for
each quarter. This plan he laid before the city council and when they
declared it was impossible to do this in Mecca the accursed replied,
Is Mecca better than Constantinople? We will carry the plan through
by force. For this reason, O Meccans, an association has been formed
called the Moslem Club and whoever desires to enter it let him make
inquiries. The object of the association is to assassinate this cursed
Wali and his chief of police. He who cannot join us let him utter his
complaint before Allah in the holy house that the public safety is
endangered while the present ruler lives. And this cursed Wali also
attempts to secure the administration of the annual corn-shipment from
Egypt. And remember also how the accursed butchered the sons of the
Sherif and his slaves and exposed their heads at Mecca. What sort of
deeds are these? More atrocious than those at Zeer. So that whoever
kills this man will enter paradise without rendering an account. The
purpose of dividing the city appointing Sheikhs for each quarter is
nothing else than a pretext for new taxations as the Cursed himself
let out before the council.
“In the name of the
“JEMIAT-EL-ISLAMIYEH.”
The same people who promised paradise to the murderer of Othman Pasha
rebelled against his successor Safwet Pasha and will rebel as long as
the character of the Meccan remains what it is. Those who dream that
the Turk will make Mecca the centre of their power when Constantinople
falls, know not the condition of affairs among the proud fanatics of
Hejaz who will never allow Mecca to become anything but the city of the
Sherifs. And as for the Bedouin tribes, they blackmail every pilgrim
caravan and draw heavy subsidies from Constantinople to keep the peace.
Jiddah is in decay and the pilgrim-traffic is not as flourishing as it
was a decade ago. Even in Hejaz the days of Ottoman rule are numbered.
Between Hejaz and Yemen is the region of Asir. Its population has been
celebrated from the earliest times for personal bravery and courage.
Mountain-dwellers they love freedom; belonging to the Zaidee sect they
hate the Sunnites. And these two reasons united made them abominate the
Turks. In order to extend Ottoman power southward and reconquer Yemen
for the Sublime Porte it was necessary to pass through the territory
of the Asir Arabs. From 1824 to 1827 the Turkish troops carried six
successive campaigns against the brave highlanders but were in every
case repulsed with great loss. In 1833 and 1834 the attempt was again
made; a desperate battle was fought on August 21st of the latter
year, the Turkish troops were victorious. But the Arabs rallied, made
sorties on the garrisons, famine reigned, fever killed off many and in
September the Turks again withdrew, defeated. In 1836 a final attempt
was made to conquer Asir; this was with greater loss than ever before.
To this day the entire region between Taiz and Roda (a few miles north
of Sana) is really independent, although marked as Turkish on the maps.
The Ottoman troops are bold to fight the Yemen Arabs to the very gate
of Sana but they grow pale when they hear of an expedition against the
dare-devil Bedouins of Asir who fight with the ferocity of the American
Indian and the boldness of a Scotch Highlander.
The story of the Turks in Yemen is very modern. In 1630 they were
compelled to evacuate Yemen by the Arabs and they did not set foot in
the capital again until 1873. In 1871 the Imam of Yemen lived his life
in peace, secluded and sensual like an oriental despot in the palace
at Sana. Looked upon by the Arabs as a spiritual Sultan he was great,
but also powerless to hold in check the depredations and robberies of
the many tribes under his nominal sway. Things went from bad to worse.
Trade almost ceased on account of the attacks on the caravans that left
for the coast. The Sana merchants, quiet and respectable Arabs, saw
nothing but ruin before them, and considering solely the benefits that
would accrue to themselves by such a step invited the Turks to take the
place. They did not consult the large agricultural population or the
effect of Turkish rule on the peasantry, otherwise there would have
been an equally cordial invitation to the Turks to stay out of Yemen.