Khor Al Adaid


Khor Al Adaid, is a settlement and inlet of the Persian Gulf in Al Wakrah Municipality in southeast Qatar, on the border with Saudi Arabia. Approximately south of the capital Doha, it is also known to local English speakers as the "Inland Sea". It formerly accommodated a small town and served as the center of a long-running territorial dispute between Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani and Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan. At the present, it is designated as a major tourist destination for Qatar.
Khor Al Adaid was officially designated as a nature reserve by the Qatari government in 2007. Qatar has proposed the site's inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, but as of, it remains on UNESCO's Tentative List.

Etymology

Khor is the Arabic term for "creek". The second constituent, adaid, derives from the Arabic root 'adad, referring to a number or multitude. In this context, the term refers to a group of households historically engaged in the craft of ship repair. Owing to this local expertise, pearl diving vessels would frequent the area to have their ships serviced.

History

Settlement and subsequent conflicts

The area of Khor Al Adaid was a point of friction between Qatar and polities in what is now Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Khor Al Adaid had served as a refuge for pirates from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi during the 19th century. Members of the Bani Yas tribe migrated and settled in the area on three separate occasions; 1835, 1849 and 1869. According to a historical overview of Khor Al Adaid written by the British government in India, "in 1836, Al-Kubaisat, a section of the Bani-Yas, under Sheikh Khadim-bin-Nahman, being desirous of avoiding the consequences of certain recent piracies, seceded from Abu Dhabi and established themselves at Odeid. In 1849, there was a fresh secession, followed by a second compulsory return; at length, in 1869, a party under Sheikh Buttye-bin-Khadim again settled at Odeid, and repudiated their allegiance to the parent State."
Among the settlers in 1835 was the pirate Jasim bin Jabir, who was joined there by his crew. The residents of eastern Qatar abetted the pirates of Khor Al Adaid in their pillaging of vessels off the coast of Abu Dhabi, resulting in a British naval force being sent to the settlement in 1836 to accost the piratical acts. The British ordered the chiefs of major Qatari towns to immediately desist from sending supplies to the pirates and instructed them to seize the pirate's boats. Additionally, the British naval force set fire to one of the pirate's vessels. As a result, Jassim bin Jabir relocated to Doha in September 1836.
After receiving approval from the British in May 1837, the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi, wishing to punish the seceders, sent his troops to sack the settlement at Khor Al Adaid; 50 of its inhabitants were killed and its houses and fortifications were dismantled during the event. The British claimed that "the leniency and moderation with which he used his victory induced the seceders to return to Abu Dhabi".
In 1851, after arriving on the Qatari coast in preparation to invade Bahrain, the Saudi ruler Faisal bin Turki notified Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Sharjah, Maktoum bin Butti bin Suhail of Dubai, and Saeed bin Mutlaq Al-Mutairi that he was going to launch a massive reconstruction effort in Khor Al Adaid.
In 1869, the Bani Yas tribe once again seceded from Abu Dhabi to resettle in Khor Al Adaid under Sheikh Buttye-bin-Khadim. According to a description of Khor Al Adaid made sometime after this migration, the colony was inhabited by approximately 200 Bani Yas tribespeople who owned a total 30 pearling ships. The area was well protected, containing a small fort with two towers in the center of the town.

Ottoman control

The Qatari Peninsula came under Ottoman control in late 1871 after Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, recognized as ruler of the peninsula, agreed to Ottoman control in exchange for protection from the Sheikhs of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi and agreed to fly the Ottoman flag at his palace. In January 1872, Qatar was formally incorporated into the Ottoman Empire as a province in Najd with Sheikh Jassim being appointed its kaymakam. According to a British memorandum written in 1879 by Adolphus Warburton Moore, "in August 1873 they were reported by the Acting Resident in the Persian Gulf to have established an influence over all the Guttur coast as far as the Odeid boundaries".
For his part, Buttye-bin-Khadim, sheikh of the Bani Yas at Khor Al Adaid, refused to submit to Abu Dhabi, and stated that his people were in their own right at Odeid, and independent of both Qatar and the Ottomans. The territorial limits of the colony were declared to extend from Ras-al-Hala, midway to Wakrah in Qatar, continuously along the southern coast through Odeid to a point abreast of the island of Sir Bani Yas. He further claimed the island of Dalma and other islets within that circuit. He asserted that this territory constituted the ancient home of the Al-Kubaisat. He then admitted he had been offered the Turkish flag by Sheikh Jassim, but had refused it, saying he was under British protection. Communications between British officials reveal that rumors persisted that Sheikh Buttye-bin-Khadim flew the Ottoman flag on Fridays. These rumors were later found to be true, with future communiques confirming the occasional hoisting of the Ottoman flag in Khor Al Adaid.
In June 1873, Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi wrote to the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf requesting permission to launch a naval invasion of Khor Al Adaid, but was rejected by the British government. He requested permission again in November 1874, but was informed that the British government could not permit such a proceeding. This was despite his claims to have recently received letters from Ottoman local officials claiming that Khor Al Adaid was under their protection.

Piracy incidents

Shortly after the peninsula came under Ottoman control, the British government reprimanded the Ottomans on numerous occasions for failing to prevent piratical acts from being carried out off Khor Al Adaid's coast. Adolphus Warburton Moore's memo states, "During the summer of 1876 there was a marked increase of piratical acts along the Guttur coast." Select instances are given:
  • "In the month of August a rumour reached the Officiating Resident, to the effect that another party of the Beni Hajir had seized a boat belonging to the Oman pearl divers at Odeid."
  • "In the same month the Chief of Aboothabee complained that two of his boats, which had anchored in the Bay of Odeid, had been attacked from the shore, one man being wounded, and one killed."
  • "Again in August a section of the Beni Hajir, residing at Odeid, under the rule of Sheikh Salim bin Shafee, embarked from that port, and made an attack upon a boat belonging to Guttur, from which property to the value of $400 was plundered."
The British memo also mentions the 1869 defection of the Bani Yas tribe from the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi and subsequent resettlement of Khor Al Adaid. Discussing the Sheikh's response to their defection, the memo states:
In addition to hoisting the Ottoman flag, it was found that the Sheikh of Khor Al Adaid had been paying an annual tribute of 40 to 50 dollars to the Ottomans through Sheikh Jassim around 1877. Although Khor Al Adaid had likely been under Ottoman protection for two to three years by that point, aside from the small contingent of Ottoman officials who came to settle terms, there was no Ottoman presence in the village to speak of. This absence was mainly attributed to the area's limited potable water availability.

British response to piracy

The British, after conducting an investigation into these so-called piratical acts, concluded that the culprits were not the Bani Hajer, but the Al Murrah tribe; and that the Sheikh of Khor Al Adaid had not been implicated, but that "he was too weak to prevent his ports being made use of". Colonel Prideaux, who was the acting Persian Gulf Resident in Edward Charles Ross' absence, suggested that the British should facilitate a reconciliation between the Bani Yas in Khor Al Adaid and the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi so that the area, including its territorial waters, would fall under the umbrella of British protection. He claimed that, should this prove unsuccessful, the British government would do well to provide assistance to the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi in exercising his authority over the land, by force if necessary. He predicted that the Ottomans would not intervene.
After much deliberation, the British Government concurred with Colonel Prideaux's view and empowered the Resident to use his best endeavors to promote a reunion between the colonists at Khor Al Adaid and the main body of the Bani Yas tribe of Abu Dhabi, and further authorized him "to afford assistance, if necessary, to the Trucial Chief of Abuthabi in coercing the seceders." The British Government established the following facts regarding the piracy:
  • That the acts of piracy complained of were committed by members of the Al Murrah tribe, a tribe nominally dependent on the Ottoman Government.
  • That the pirates proceeded on their expedition from ports belonging to the Chief of Khor Al Adaid.
  • That the Chief of Khor Al Adaid in no way countenanced or assisted the use of his ports as a starting place for piratical expeditions.
  • That the reason why the Chief of Khor Al Adaid was too weak to prevent the piracy was due to his and his follower's secession from the Bani Yas tribe inhabiting Abu Dhabi.
  • That the reason why the Chief of Abu Dhabi has not yet invaded Khor Al Adaid is, that he has been prevented from so doing by the British Government.
Accompanying these findings were two directives issued by the British Government:
  • That endeavours be made to induce the Ottoman Government to take measures to restrain the piratical proceedings of the Al Murrah tribe; and
  • That measures be taken by the Royal Navy to prevent the ports of Khor Al Adaid from being used as a rendezvous for pirates.
The British Government also instructed their liaison to the Ottomans, the British Ambassador in Constantinople Austen Henry Layard, to relay to the Ottoman Government the need to send forces to the weaker Sheikhs in Qatar so that they could subvert piracy in their ports, but the liaison was advised not to make any reference to Khor Al Adaid, "because it was doubtful whether the Turkish Government exercised any substantial authority over the Chief of that place, and it was inexpedient to provoke a discussion on the point." In June 1877, yet another act of piracy was committed by ships belonging to Khor Al Adaid upon sailors from Al Wakrah, several of whom were captured. Following the incident, Colonel Prideaux wrote to Sheikh Buttye-bin-Khadim of Khor Al Adaid warning him to accept reunification with the Bani Yas of Abu Dhabi, otherwise "other steps will be taken", while also writing to Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi to reassure him of British support for his efforts to preside over the settlement at Khor Al Adaid.
In the aftermath of the piracy in June, Sheikh Buttye-bin-Khadim, while admitting his men forcibly captured sailors from Al Wakrah, did not comply with British demands to release the prisoners. Thus, in October 1877, Colonel Prideaux recommended sending warships to Khor Al Adaid as punishment for violating the Perpetual Maritime Truce, unless its inhabitants submit to the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi's rule. Edward Charles Ross informed the British Government in December that attempts at reconciliation between Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Buttye-bin-Khadim were met without success.