Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels primarily used to carry heavy items, such as fruit, fresh water, or other heavy merchandise, along the coasts of Eastern Arabia, Iran, East Africa, Yemen and coastal South Asia. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty and smaller ones typically around twelve.
Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī was an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh, inaugurating the Umayyad campaigns in India. His military exploits led to the establishment of the Islamic province of Sindh, and the takeover of the region from the Sindhi Brahman dynasty and its ruler, Raja Dahir, who was subsequently decapitated with his head sent to al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in Basra. With the capture of the then-capital of Aror by Arab forces, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim became the first Muslim to have successfully captured Indian land, which marked the beginning of Muslim rule in South Asia.
Al-Lawatia also occasionally known as Hyderabadis are a prominent merchant tribe originally from the Sindh region and now mainly based in the province of Muscat, Oman. They are known globally as Khojas but in the Gulf are more commonly referred to as Lawatis due to them being speakers of Lawati, a Sindhi based language. There are around 30,000 Luwatis in Oman.
Sohar is the capital and largest city of the Al Batinah North Governorate in Oman. An ancient capital of the country that once served as an important Islamic port town on the Gulf of Oman, Sohar has also been credited as the mythical birthplace of Sinbad the Sailor. It was historically known as Mazūn (مَزُوْن).
Uthman ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from the tribe of Banu Thaqif and the governor of Bahrayn and Oman in 636–650, during the reigns of caliphs Umar and Uthman. During his governorship he led military campaigns against the Sasanian Persians in Fars. After his dismissal, he settled with his brothers in Basra where he was granted a large estate by the caliph. He transmitted numerous hadiths to the scholar al-Hasan al-Basri and died in the city.
The Royal Navy of Oman, abbreviated RNO, is the maritime component of the Royal Armed Forces of the Sultanate of Oman. Given its long coastline and strategic location along the Indian Ocean, as well as being close to the Strait of Hormuz, the Royal Navy is one of the priorities of the government of Oman. It has a fleet of gunboats, fast missile boats and support, training, cargo and hydro-graphical survey vessels, which can be deployed to defend the territorial waters and coastline of Oman as well as protect tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Royal Navy's headquarters are in Seeb, near the Muscat International Airport. A modernization program is ongoing, with the objective of creating a first-rate fleet. Similarly, the Royal Oman Police's fleet, which operates smaller range boats and patrol crafts, is being updated due to raising tensions in the region.
The Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 was an operation by the British East India Company backed by the Royal Navy to force the Al Qasimi to cease their raids on British ships in the Persian Gulf, particularly on the Persian and Arab coasts of the Strait of Hormuz. The operation's success was limited as the Royal Navy forces, already heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars, were unable to permanently suppress the strong fleets of the Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah. The expedition did achieve its short-term goals by destroying three Al Qasimi bases and over 80 vessels, including the largest Al Qasimi ship in the region, the converted merchant ship Minerva. Although operations continued into 1810, the British were unable to destroy every Al Qasimi vessel. By 1811, attacks had resumed, although at a lower intensity than previously.
The Wajihids were an Arab dynasty that ruled in coastal Oman in the early and mid-10th century AD. Their capital was the town of Suhar, after moving there from Al-Buraimi Oasis or Tawam, where they had been in the 9th century.
The Med are an indigenous fishermen and historically seafaring community from the coastal areas of Makran in Balochistan, Pakistan.
The Aksumite–Persian wars took place in the 6th century, when the Kingdom of Aksum and the Sasanian Empire fought for control over South Arabia. In the 520s, the Aksumite invasion of South Arabia had led to the annexation of the Himyarite Kingdom and the deposition of Dhu Nuwas, who was persecuting the Christian community of Najran. By 570, the subjugated Himyarite king Saif ibn Dhi Yazan sought to end Aksum's hegemony in the region and, after being rejected by the Byzantine Empire, turned to the Persians for military aid. The Persian king Khosrow I agreed upon the stipulation that Himyarite territory would be annexed by the Sasanian Empire in the event of an Aksumite defeat. Subsequently, the Persian army entered South Arabia and secured decisive victories in the Battle of Hadhramaut and then in the Siege of Sanaa, following which the Aksumites were largely expelled from the Arabian Peninsula, excluding Najran. With the establishment of Sasanian Yemen, Yazan was appointed to govern the region. However, four years into his reign, he was murdered by his Aksumite servants. Facing the return of Aksum to South Arabia, the Sasanian Empire mounted a second invasion and re-conquered Yemen by 578, indefinitely ending Aksumite rule outside of Ethiopia. The Persian army general Wahrez was appointed as Yemen's governor, ensuring the suppression of regional pro-Byzantine influence amidst the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591.
The Yarubid dynasty were rulers of Oman between 1624 and 1742, holding the title of Imam. They expelled the Portuguese from coastal strongholds in Muscat and united the country. They improved agriculture, expanded trade and built up Oman into a major maritime power. Their forces expelled the Portuguese from East Africa and established long-lasting settlements on Zanzibar, Mombasa and other parts of the coast. The dynasty lost power during a succession struggle that started in 1712 and fell after a prolonged period of civil war.
The Battle of Basra was a major engagement of the Zanj Rebellion, fought on September 7–10, 871. Zanj rebels and allied Arab tribesmen, led by Yahya ibn Muhammad al-Azraq and 'Ali ibn Aban al-Muhallabi, launched a coordinated attack against the city of Basra. The city’s defenders, consisting of a small contingent of Abbasid regular troops and local Basran militia, were quickly overwhelmed, and the Zanj were able to enter the city, after which they massacred its inhabitants and engaged in a several-day period of looting.
Piracy in the Persian Gulf describes the naval warfare that was prevalent until the 19th century and occurred between seafaring Arabs in Eastern Arabia and the British Empire in the Persian Gulf. It was perceived as one of the primary threats to global maritime trade routes, particularly those with significance to British India and Iraq. Many of the most notable historical instances of these raids were conducted by the Al Qasimi tribe. This led to the British mounting the Persian Gulf campaign of 1809, a major maritime action launched by the Royal Navy to bombard Ras Al Khaimah, Lingeh and other Al Qasimi ports. The current ruler of Sharjah, Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi argues in his book The Myth of Piracy in the Gulf that the allegations of piracy were exaggerated by the East India Company to cut off untaxed trade routes between the Middle East and India.
Pre-Islamic Arab trade refers to the land- and sea-trade networks used by pre-Islamic Arab nations and traders. Some regions are also known as the incense trade route. Trade has been documented as early as the beginning of the second millennium BCE.
Sulaymān ibn ʿAlī al-Hāshimī was an early Abbasid prince. He served as governor of Basra from 750 to 755.
Al-Julanda bin Masud was an Ibadi religious leader who was elected the first Ibadi imam of Oman, ruling from 749 until his death defending against an Abbasid invasion in 751 CE.
A Shu’ai, Shu’i or Shuw'i is a small or medium-sized dhow, a traditional Arabic sailing vessel. This type of dhow is built low with a high quarterdeck and has one or two masts with lateen sails. A general purpose coastal boat, the shu’ai is one of the smaller-size dhow of Persian Gulf.
The Arab Empire maintained and expanded a wide trade network across parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. This helped establish the Arab Empire as the world's leading economic power throughout the 8th–13th centuries according to the political scientist John M. Hobson. It is commonly believed that Mu‘awiya Ibn Abi Sufyan was the first planner and establisher of the Islamic navy.
Zuṭṭ is an Arabicised form of Jat. Originally inhabitants of lower Indus Valley, Jats were present in Mesopotamia from the 5th century AD since the times of the Sasanian Empire, although their main migration occurred after the establishment of Umayyad Caliphate. They were one of the prominent ethnic groups in lower Iraq during the Islamic Golden Age, supplying mercenary soldiers to the Muslim states. Their mention fades from Arab chronicles after the 11th century.
