History of the Gulf region, with descriptions of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman 1919

Samuel Barrett Miles

Paper
24.50 ⨯ 18.50 cm
Currently unavailable via Gallerease

• About the artwork
  The countries and tribes of the Persian Gulf.
  London, Harrison and Sons, 1919[=1920]. 2 volumes. Large 8vo (24.5 x 18.5 cm). With a frontispiece portrait of the author and 8 plates with reproductions of photographs. Original publisher's grey cloth.
  
  Second printing of the first edition of a history of the Persian Gulf and its surrounding countries by the British army officer Samuel Barrett Miles (1838-1914), "a most significant contribution to the European knowledge of Oman" (New Arabian Studies). It starts with the ancient civilizations in the region, followed by chapters on the advent of Islam on the Gulf coast, the Portuguese era in eastern Arabia, and various dynasties, including the Yaareba and the Al-Bu Saeedi dynasty. Other chapters describe the commerce and economy of the Gulf, its pearl fishery and the different tribes living there, with an entry on the Al-Kowasim, "a powerful Maadic tribe occupying the sea ports on the Pirate coast" (p. 430) and the Beni Yas and "their two towns Abu Thabi and Debaye" (p. 438). The book remains an authoritative source on Omani history and provides a storehouse of knowledge for any reader interested in the Gulf states.
  The final two lines of text on the title-page have been removed by a previous owner, including the note "Reprinted 1920". Title-page of first volume browned and some occasional minor foxing in both volumes. Binding slightly rubbed along the extremities. Overall in very good condition.
  Diba, p. 45; cf. New Arabian studies II (1994), pp. 31-33.
• About the artist
  Samuel Barrett Miles (2 October 1838 – 28 August 1914) was a British Army officer who served as a diplomat in various Arabic-speaking countries, notably Oman, which he came to know better than any other European of the time. The notes that he made were published after his death as The Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf.