the population of the Tiharria and the extreme N. and S. is pre- dominantly Shafei and is strongly opposed to him. In con- sequence there has hardly ever been any semblance of adminis- trative unity in the province. It is difficult to state the imam's territorial title as distinct from what he claims. While the Turks were in Yemen, there were districts or tribal groups (e.g. in the Yemen interior) who repudiated them, but were not unwilling to accept an imam wholly independent of them; there were others who accepted the Turks, but would have nothing to do with the imam except under pressure (e.g. the Isma'iliya, the Daudiya sect along the Hodeida-San'a road, and most of the northern Tihama tribes); and there were others again, such as the Zaranik, between the coast and hills S. of the Hodeida-San'a road, and the Beni Yam in the interior, who accepted neither Turk nor imam.
The imam Yahya Ibn Mohammed came into power in 1904. After his revolt against the Turks (see 2.270), a patched-up peace was made between them, but in 1911 his forces again beleaguered San' a. The city was eventually relieved by 'Izzet Pasha, who became military governor and succeeded, after some difficulty, in establishing an entente with the imam, " for the sake of peace among Moslems." An imperial firman, read at San'a on Sept. 22 1913, proclaimed a " mediatized status " or condomin- ium, by the terms of which the imam secured the religious and social control of all the Zeidites (roughly all the highlands from the Asir border to the Aden frontier) together with part of the central Yemen Tihama, but he received no sanction to impose taxation.
On the outbreak of the World War, the imam refused to enter into relations with Aden, and was strongly opposed to the Idrisi. In 1915, he showed his leaning towards the Turks, by writing a letter to Enver, " praying for the success of the Otto- man armies." He refused to be drawn into any alliance with the sherif of Mecca. Details of the actual happenings in Yemen during hostilities are somewhat obscure, but the imam's chief activity lay in attempts to tamper with the loyalty of the tribes of the Aden protectorate and Hadhramaut, in which he met with partial success. Later, he sought a closer understanding with the King of the Hejaz and, at one time, an alliance seemed possible, but did not materialize. The Turkish garrisons were withdrawn from Yemen at the end of 1918 and a small British-Indian force occupied Hodeida; but there was evidence that Turkish influence did not wholly disappear at the same time. In Aug. 1919, a British mission, sent from Hodeida in the hope of negotiating with the imam at San'a, was captured by Quhra tribesmen at Bajil about 25 m. inland, and was detained until Dec., when it returned to the coast without having accomplished its purpose. In March 1920, the garrison of Hodeida was temporarily increased owing to the uncertainty of the attitude of the imam and some of the Tihama tribes. In Jan. 1921, the forces of the imam, com- manded by Mahmud Nedim Bey, the former vali of Yemen, were reported to be attacking the Tihama regions the conquest of which appeared to be his main objective and were threaten- ing Hodeida. In Feb., the occupation of Hodeida by Idrisi troops was reported.
Persian Gulf Stales. The sultanates and sheikhdoms, which extend along the Arabian shores of the Persian Gulf, have all come under British influence, in one form or another. Their rulers are controlled in matters of external relations, and main- tain their authority internally by grace of their alliance with Great Britain. None rule effectively over territory more than about a day's march from the coast. The states are as follow:
Oman. The Sultan of Muscat (see 20.99 and 1943), claims overlordship of all territory extending from Hadhramaut to the entrance of the Persian Gulf (including' Dhofar) and, inland, to the Great Desert. In reality his direct rule is restricted to the town of Muscat and a stretch of coast N.W. and S.E. of it. The tribes of the interior are practically independent and have set up an Ibadhi imamate, and if not fighting among themselves are a constant menace to the sultanate. The sheikhs of Rostaq are among the most powerful of these independents. In 1912, under the insistence of the British Government, a warehouse was established at Muscat to control the traffic in arms and ammunition through Oman ports to the interior, which had been greatly abused. A rising of the Ibadhis
against the Sultan, for which this control was made part pretext, took a serious form in 1913-4 and necessitated the bombard- ment of the ports of Quryat and Barka, and an Indian force occupied Beit el Felej near Muscat. The rebels attacked in strength in Jan. 1915, but met with defeat, which relieved the situation. The disaffected tribes continue to dominate the interior, and the author- ity of the imam, rather than of the Sultan, is recognized by most.
Trucial Oman, formerly known as the Pirate Coast, extends for over 300 m. from El Qatar almost to Ras Musandam, and receives its name from the truce established in 1853 between the five recog- nized ruling sheikhs of the districts of Abu Dhabi, Dibai, Sharja, 'Ajman and Umm el Qaiwan. The position of the respective sheikhs is regulated by an agreement which, in 1892, placed all external rela- tions under British control and made Great Britain responsible for their protection from aggression. The sheikhdoms are very unequal in importance those of Sharja and Abu Dhabi are the most con- siderable territorially. The sheikh of Sharja claims to be paramount over all Trucial Oman, but this is repudiated by the other sheikhs and not recognized by Great Britain. An Arab political agent resides at Sharja.
El Qatar. The sheikhdom of El Qatar comprises the peninsula of that name on the Arabian coast E. of Bahrein, of which latter it was formerly regarded as a dependency. Turkish control in El Qatar ceased in 1913, when the emir of Nejd drove the Turks from El Hasa, and the sheikh 'Abdalla ibn Jasim came into power in the same year. He maintained friendly relations with Britain and kept on good terms with the emir of Nejd.
Bahrein (see 3.212) consists of an archipelago, of which Bahrein is the most important island. The rule of the sheikh is effective only over that part of Bahrein I. adjacent to the port of Manama and over Muharraq I.: his authority over the remaining islands is little more than nominal. He agreed by treaty, in return for a sub- sidy, not to alienate any part of his territory except to Britain and to conform to British policy. A political agent, under the resident at Bushire, is stationed at Manama. Throughout the crisis in the pearl industry in 1913, and during the World War, the sheikh showed much goodwill to Britain.
Kuwait. The Sultan of Kuwait (see 15.956), Salim, son of Mubar- ak, who succeeded his brother Jabir in 1917, claimed jurisdiction over 200 m. of territory from El Hasa almost to the head of the Persian Gulf, and ruled nominally westward to the wells of Hafar, where his district met that of the emir of J. Shammar on the N.E., and that of Nejd on the S.W. The late Sultan Mubarak formally repudiated all relations with the Turks at the outbreak of hostilities and his attitude towards the emir of Nejd was friendly, but towards the emir of Shammar intermittently hostile. In 1920, a serious attack on the independence of Kuwait arising out of the activities of the Akhwan sect of Nejd was threatened. Sultan Salim died early in 1921 and was succeeded by Ahmad ibn Jabir.
On March i 1921, it was stated in Parliament that matters of policy and administration affecting Arab areas within the British sphere of influence and Aden were transferred to the Colonial Office; but questions regarding the Hejaz remained under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The tendency was for the British Government to rely considerably on officers of the Sudan Civil Service.
Trade. Arabia produces little for export except pearls, dates, coffee, hides and skins; imports consist almost wholly of manu- factured fabrics (cotton in particular) and food-stuffs (rice, cereals, flour, sugar and tea). Besides Aden only Muscat, Mana- ma and Kuwait carry on any considerable direct and regular trade with the outer world the first named with Europe mainly, and the others almost exclusively with India and the East; and Arabian trade in general commodities tends to focus more and more on Aden and Manama. The trade of Jidda depending largely on the pilgrimages, and seasonal in consequence though considerable, is of a more local nature and is mainly with Egypt, the near African coast and the Persian Gulf, and India at farthest. The trade of Hodeida, Jeizan, Mocha, Makalla, and the other still smaller ports is almost entirely carried on by sailing craft, though before the World War, Hodeida was also a port of call, at regular intervals, for certain smaller lines of steamers. Commer- cial enterprise at Arabian ports is mainly in the hands of Indians, especially in Oman, Kuwait, Hadhramaut and even at Aden; second to them come Italians, commercially predominant in many of the Red Sea ports (notably Hodeida), Italian Somali- land and Eritrea offering a convenient base of operations. Prior to the World War, British and Turkish interests were political rather than commercial: neither power had any strong hold on the economic activities of the country, the trade relations between Turkey and the Holy Cities excepted.
