Muscat rebellion

{{Short description|Uprising in 1913 in Muscat and Oman}}

{{Infobox military conflict

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| partof = the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I

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| date = May 1913 - 25 September 1920

| place = Muscat and Oman

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| result = Stalemate, Treaty of Seeb

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| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Muscat.svg}} Muscat and Oman
{{flag|British Empire}}

| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of The Imamate of Oman.svg}} Imamate of Oman
Supported by:
{{flag|German Empire}} (1915-1918)

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| commander1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Muscat.svg}} Faisal bin Turki (Until Oct 1913)
{{flagicon image|Flag of Muscat.svg}} Taimur bin Feisal (From Oct 1913)

| commander2 = Sālim bin Rāshid al-Kharūṣī{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510026.0x000008|title='The Rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat, May 1913 - July 1916.' [4r] (7/14)|date=October 2014}}
Shaikh Isa ibn Salih
Shaikh Hamyar ibn Nasir

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| strength1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Muscat.svg}} 1,000 troops (1913)
{{flagicon|British Empire}} 256 troops (1913)

| strength2 = Unknown

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The Muscat rebellion{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100037233961.0x00000b|title=File 4684/1913 'Pt 1 Muscat rebellion' [1r] (10/332)|date=2016-06-08|website=Qatar Digital Library|language=en|access-date=2019-11-25}} was an uprising in 1913 led by Sālim bin Rāshid al-Kharūṣī against the authority of the Sultans of Muscat and Oman.{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x000140|title=File 4684/1913 'Pt 1 Muscat rebellion'|date=2016-06-08|website=Qatar Digital Library|language=en|access-date=2019-11-25}} The rebels established their own state, the Ibāḍī imamate. Its causes lay in a deep-rooted rivalry between northern and southern tribes of Muscat and Oman.{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510026.0x000002|title='The Rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat, May 1913 - July 1916.' [1r] (1/14)|date=2014-10-01|website=Qatar Digital Library|language=en|access-date=2019-11-25}} It began in May 1913 in Tanuf.{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510026.0x000004|title='The Rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat, May 1913 - July 1916.' [2r] (3/14)|date=2014-10-01|website=Qatar Digital Library|language=en|access-date=2019-11-25}} On 5 June, the rebels captured Nizwa,{{Cite web|url=http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Peterson_Revival_of_Ibadi_Imamate_in_Oman_1976.pdf|title=The Revival of the Ibadi Imamate in Oman and the Threat to Muscat, 1913-20|last=Peterson|first=J.|date=1976|website=jepeterson.net}} and on 20 June they captured Izki. By this time, the rebels had also surrounded Samail. On 24 June, the rebels captured al-`Awabi. By July, the situation had gotten so dire that the British government sent a small garrison to Natrah to aid the sultan of Muscat, to no avail.{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510026.0x000006|title='The Rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat, May 1913 - July 1916.' [3r] (5/14)|date=2014-10-01|website=Qatar Digital Library|language=en|access-date=2019-11-25}} In August, the rebels captured Samail.{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510026.0x000006|title='The Rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat, May 1913 - July 1916.' [3r] (5/14)|date=2014-10-01|website=Qatar Digital Library|language=en|access-date=2019-11-25}} Also in August, the rebels launched an offensive towards the coastal side of al-Jabal al-Akhda, and Nakhl was besieged on the 4th. Nakhl ultimately fell at the beginning of April 1914, after the desertion of several of the imam's reinforcement contingents. In April 1914 British cruisers bombarded Barkah and Qaryat to dislodge rebels from those settlements.

In January 1915 the rebels began a long-anticipated attack on Muscat city. On the 7th the Imam had gathered with 400 men at Bidbid. Al-Watayyah was raided on the 8th, and on the 9th firing was heard in the nearby hills. The rebels advanced to the village of Bawshar and gathered at the village of al-Khuwayr. The two forces merged and advanced to al-Watayyah by the 10th. They were opposed by 750 British Indian Army troops, consisting of detachments of the 102nd Prince of Wales's Own Grenadiers (led by Colonel S. M. Edwardes and stationed at Bayt al-Falaj) and the 95th Russell's Infantry (commanded by Colonel F. F. Major and stationed at Ruwi village). A small detachment of Arab retainers was to protect Dar Sayt, but actually fled when fighting began.

On 11 January, the British Indian Army launched a large-scale counterattack, and the 750 troops succeeded at driving back around 3,000 rebels troops, causing 350 casualties with the rebel chief Isa bin Salih being wounded and his brother killed. By April 1915, German agents had arrived in the Ibāḍī imamate. The general perception of the rebels at that time was that Germans had more or less emerged victorious in the war in Europe, that Wilhelm II and his followers had converted to Islam, and that it was prudent to continue fighting the British and the sultan until they would be driven out of Arabia. Thus, they rejected all attempts by Britain to broker a peace settlement, which the British government desired due to a need for British troops elsewhere.{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510026.0x00000a|title = 'The Rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat, May 1913 - July 1916.' [5r] (9/14)|date = October 2014}} In July the forts of Rushtaq and Hazam surrendered to the Rebels.{{Cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023510026.0x00000e|title = 'The Rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat, May 1913 - July 1916.' [7r] (13/14)|date = October 2014}} However, the Sultan also recaptured some settlements in late July, such as the port of Daghmar and headquarters of Hayl al-Gha.

In June 1916, the Imam's forces attacked Bahi and al-Rustaq. While the former assault succeeded, the latter assault failed and the rebels opted to besiege it instead. al-Rushtaq finally fell in August 1917. Stalemate ensued for the following years. The final battle took place in April 1920 in al-Hazm, where a rebel assault was once again repelled. The rebels sued for peace in September 1920, ending the war.