| Siege of Sohar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Omani–Portuguese conflicts | |||||||
 Portuguese fortress of Sohar | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Portuguese Empire |  Omani Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Nasir bin Murshid Hafidh bin Saif Rashid bin 'Abad † | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown killed 37 captured | Heavy | ||||||
In 1633, the Omanis attacked the fortress at Sohar. The Omanis besieged the fortress in 1633 and after a long siege the fort fell in 1643.
In 1633, after the capture of Julfar and Dibba, Imam Nasir bin Murshid was encouraged by these victories and decided to launch an attack on the fortress of Sohar, which was considered one of the strongest Portuguese fortresses. Imam Nasir's plan was the following: attack the Arabs loyal to the Portuguese; second, construct a fortress close to Sohar so that they can attack and skirmish with the Portuguese garrison. Nasir dispatched his governor of Liwa, Hafidh bin Saif; Haifdh called the Arab tribes of Banu Khlaid, Banu Lam, and 'Amour; they came in a large number of men, alongside support from the people of Sohar. The Omanis arrived in Sohar on August 8, 1633. The Portuguese were alarmed by this attack and began exchanging fire with the Omanis. The Omanis fiercely attacked the walls however they were met by heavy artilley fire which forced the Omanis to retreat little back one of the commanders, Rashid bin 'Abad was killed in the assault, nevertheless, the Omanis succeeded in building their fortress, Hafidh bin Said then ordered the Omanis to take their positions in the fort and the Omanis kept an eye on the Portuguese fort who was blockaded from land, however the Omanis didn't have enough force to besiege them from sea allowing supplies to flow in the fort, thus putting the siege into a stalemate, [1] [2] [3] [4] the situation changed on November 7, 1643, when Imam Nasir had arrived to Sohar after a failed siege of Muscat, the Omanis assaulted the fort and captured it, killing its guards and capturing 37 prisoners. [5]
Al Jalali Fort, or Ash Sharqiya Fort, is a fort in the harbor of Old Muscat, Oman. The fort was built by the Portuguese under Philip I of Portugal in the 1580s on an earlier Omani fortress to protect the harbor after Muscat had twice been sacked by Ottoman forces. It fell to Omani forces in 1650. During the civil wars between 1718 and 1747, the fort was twice captured by Persians who had been invited to assist one of the rival Imams. The fort was extensively rebuilt later.
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Bal'arab bin Himyar was an Omani Imam, a member of Yaruba dynasty. He was elected Imam in 1728, holding power in the interior of Oman while his cousin, Saif bin Sultan II, held power on the coast. In 1737, he renounced his claim after being defeated by Saif's Persian allies. He was again elected Imam in 1743 during another Persian invasion, and again held power in the interior while Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi was recognized as ruler by the coastal people. He died in battle against Ahmad bin Said in 1749, who shortly after became the undisputed ruler of the country.
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