دراسات في تاريخ عمان

CONCLUSION

Although the Persian control of the Arab Gulf region during the late Sa- sanid period was nominal and limited to certain coastal ports and plains، it is important to observe that one of the greatest appeals of Islam to the Ar- abs of the Gulf was the fact that they saw in it a power capable of throw- ing off the hated Persian yoke. This was beyond mere political freedom; it represented an opportunity to regain rich land and extend their settlements، as well as providing access to maritime trade with the outside world، and direct contact with their Arab brothers who had settled in large numbers on the eastern coast of the Arab Gulf many centuries before Islam، as his- torical sources indicate.35 The advent of Islam was indeed to re-establish Arab sovereignty over both sides of the Gulf at least during the first three centuries of Islam، thereby fixing the Arab identity of the Gulf. It was as early as 15 A.H./ 636 A.D. that al-Ala' b. al-Hadrami، the governor of al- Bahrayn، started his abortive attempt to conquer the eastern coast of the Gulf.36 The second attempt was made in 16 A.H./ 637 A.D. when caliph Umar b. al-Khattab ordered the governor of al-Bahrayn، 'Uthman- b. Abi al-As to conquer the eastern coast. Three thousand Arabs from Azd، Ra- sib، Najiya and ©Abd al-Qays crossed the Gulf from Jurfar and captured Kawan island. The Persian governor of Kirman met them at Qishm island and a new battle ensued in which the Arabs were victorious. This battle put an end to Persian Sasanid sovereignty over the Gulf. Islamic central authority over the Arab Gulf region during the early decades of Islam، however، had to face trouble coming from the Kharijite movement which spread through the region establishing a somewhat revolutionary extremist republic in al-Bahrayn and a moderate imamate in Uman، a matter which lies outside the scope of this chapter.

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