دراسات في تاريخ عمان

shadow Al-Ahsa'. Apart from political reasons، the development of al- Ahsa' was due to other factors such as fertile soil and abundant water. There is no settlement by the name of al-Ahsa' today، but it is used for the western coast of the Gulf lying within the boundaries of Saudi Arabia.

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II

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If we move to Oman during the early Islamic period، the important strate- gic and commercial situation which Oman had at the meeting place of the Gulf within the Arabian Sea explains the attempts of the new Islamic state to annex this province in the very early days of Islam. The Arab geographer al-Bakri 13 well described Oman when he said that 'along the coast there are plains and sand، whereas at a distance we find rugged and hard ground and mountains'. Hence most of the urban centres in Oman were located on the coast، from commercial and navigational considerations، since most of these centres were either ports or market places. Others، however، were agricultural centres because of their situa- tion on fertile productive plains; but there were also some other urban cen- tres scattered in the interior region of Oman، where there were some fertile areas or market places.

The most important urban centres in Oman during the early Islamic period

were:

(1) Suhar، which was the most important town in Oman، a fact which ex- plains the abundant historical information on it in the sources. al-Istakhri describes it as the qasaba of Oman and the most populous and wealthy city in the province." Historical traditions Historical traditions 15 mention that it was a very old

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city. Before Islam، a market was held in Suhar on 1 Rajab every year; the town was also famous for its textile industry. Suhar's political and admin-

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