Emirate of Arabistan

The east bank of the Shatt al-Arab (known as 'the Arab River') had been peopled by Arabs for many centuries, being ruled by successive Arab dynasties, and the area was known as 'Arabistan'. This area became an Emirate in 1690, under Emir Ali Bin Nasir al-Kabi and, during the so called Kabide Period, which lasted over 200 years, Arabistan expanded to encompass the towns of Hindian in the east, Ahwaz in the north and the Shatt al-Arab in the west. By skill and cunning, successive Emirs were able to play the Ottoman Empire off against the Persians to their own advantage, thus avoiding being drawn into a forced alliance with either. As de facto 'Guardians of the Shatt al-Arab', they developed a formidable navy that dominated the northern part of the Gulf, and enabled them to collect tolls from all ships visiting Basra. Both the Ottomans and the Persians launched periodic forays against Arabistan which managed tenuously to remain independent. For many years the Arabistan Emirate occupier an extremely important position, being the main route and trade link between the two rival empires. It was also the half-way port between India and the East African coast. The British East India Company was soon on the scene, challenging the Kabide trade monopoly in the area, and British warships became involved in frequent clashes with those of Arabistan.
Geography
The majority of Arabistan, with the exception of the Bakhtiari lands, fell within the geographical range of Mesopotamia while bordering the Zagros mountains to the East.
History
Arabistan, a tract isolated by mountains, rivers and marsh from Turkey and Persia, had always maintained a semi-independent position, free from any but sporadic interference from either power. The Safavid Dynasty had named the region Arabistan, recognizing the ethnic origin of the majority of its inhabitants. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Arabistan was claimed as much by Persia as by the Ottoman Empire. By the 18th Century, the local authority was in the hands of two Bedouin tribes, first the Ka'b and then the Muhaisin who, in 1812, founded the emirate and town of Mohammerah. Caught between the two powerful empires, the emirs of Mohammerah succeeded nevertheless, through careful politics, in keeping their autonomy. Until the early seventeenth century, the area east of the Shatt Al-Arab was an Arab emirate ruled by Sheikh Mubarak bin Abdul Muttalib. He ruled his emirate independently of both the Persian and Ottoman Empires. A later ruler, Sheikh Mansour, resisted Shah Abbas's attempts to interfere in his affairs. He also rejected the Shah’ s call to join the Persian forces besieging Baghdad in 1623.===
By the eighteenth century, the Bani Ka'b had constructed one of the gulf's largest seagoing fleets. Different accounts indicate that during this period of transition, the Ka’b recognized Ottoman sovereignty, and that it was only after their post 1720 expansion into Arabistan that the question of their allegiance came to the fore. This was when Nadir Shah (1732-47 ) dispatched Muhammad Husayn Qajar to besiege Quban and the Ka'b sued for peace thereby accepting Persian suzerainty for the first time. conducting their “ piratical fleet into the Gulph.” Thanks to a favorable location and the activities of this fleet, the economy on both sides of the Shatt flourished, and Ka‘b rulers were able to incorporate the Persian lands along the Karun as well as the nominally Ottoman districts of Muhammarah, Haffar, and Tamar, while retaining a degree of autonomy from both the Ottomans and the Persians. The Emirate's strategic and commercial location in the Shatt al Arab accentuated Persian Turkish rivalry for control over it. Muhammarah subsequently became a hostage to the two states, until the 1847 Erzurum Treaty allotted it to Persia.
In 1890, British consulate established at Muhammarah.
Relationship with central government
At the turn of the twentieth century, Arabistan was still a frontier zone that enjoyed considerable autonomy, and two prominent British observers of the time commented on its sense of separateness. In the words of journalist Valentine Chirol, “The Turk and the Persian are both aliens in the land, equally hated by the Arab population, and both have proved equally unworthy and incompetent stewards of a splendid estate.
In 1908, William Knox D'Arcy discovered oil near Masjed Soleiman by contract with its local ruler Ali-Qoli Khan Bakhtiari.
Strategic importance of Mohammerah<ref name":7" /> ====
Starting with Colonel Chesney’ s expeditions (1835-37 ) to prove the navigability of the Tigris and Euphrates, which concluded that Muhammarah should be the center of communications between India and Europe, the East India Company tried to establish a foothold in the region. As Gamazof notes, the scramble over Muhammarah was understandable, for it had many desirable features. These included its anchorage in the deep and broad Haffar Canal; its good weather, safe harbor, and sweet water; the possibility of constructing stores and a wharf, or even a complete port; its strategic command of the Karun and the Shatt and the great rivers forming it; and its proximity to the trade of Baghdad, Basra, and the many local tribes that carried on commerce independently.
The same conditions also protected them from intrusive Iranian interference, while acceptance of the suzerainty of Iran ’ s rulers further ensured independence from Ottoman interference. Yet acceptance of suzerainty did not necessarily mean recognition of sovereignty, and the multiple claims of suzerainty over them, which continued through the second half of the nineteenth century, gave them even more room to maneuver.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu