Free The Holy Sail by Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud Page B

messenger’s answer. The messenger had linked the fate of Hormuz to that of the Jabrid sultanate, a shrewd political move to be sure. The sultan picked up his fan again and started waving it in front of his face. When the servants saw this, they brought a bowl filled with cold water and a folded cloth. The sultan wet it and wiped his face to cool it, and invited the messenger to do the same. It was very hot and humid now.
    â€˜Where is Attar now?’
    â€˜He’s serving as Vays’s vizier. The new king needs him to rule the kingdom temporarily. He has been the de facto ruler since the father died but not after Vays ascended the throne. Vays does not let him do as he pleases, and has started pulling the rug from under his feet. Now, he summons him to the palace only when it’s absolutely necessary.
Khawaja
Attar feels he is no longer in control of the kingdom, which has become the plaything of King Vays and his courtiers. They will destroy everything that our forefathers built.’
    The sultan understood now that the real struggle was not between Salghur and his brothers, but between Attar and the current king. Still, the sultan thought, this was an opportunity that he should use to his advantage as much as possible.
    â€˜Where do the rulers of Oman’s ports stand on this? Do you not fear they might secede?’
    The messenger answered in a quiet voice, as he wiped his face with the soaked cloth. ‘That’s not a big problem, Your Grace. Some of the rulers of the ports are loyal to
Khawaja
Attar. Some are semi-independent to begin with, such as Suleiman al-Nabahani. They know we can discipline them after we regain our strength. If your forces in the Omani hinterland make even a small move, you will see how those rulers will come submissively to us asking for our protection. This is the law of life: the people of the coast have been weakened by luxury, but the people of the desert and the mountains are cut from tougher cloth.’
    The sultan came from a strong Bedouin clan, and the messenger’s response pleased him. ‘Very well. You can go and rest now. I shall give you my response in a few days.’
    Bin Rahhal, still fiddling with the Indian merchant’s ring, was shocked by what he had heard. He had not expected the kingdom of Hormuz to ask the sultan of the Jabrids for assistance. After all, this was the kingdom that controlled vast swathes of the western coast of the Gulf, and the kingdom whose fleet controlled the entrance to the Gulf and all the trade routes there.
    Sultan Muqrin stood up and walked towards a shaded stream nearby, carried away by his thoughts. He was Sultan Muqrin bin Zamel al-Jabri, leader of the Jabrid tribe, which controlled all the areas between Basra and Oman, and between the Gulf coast and the edges of Najd. The sultan had a formidable military force under his command that could strike terror in the hearts of his enemies; his powerful navy was rivalled only by the fleet of the kingdom of Hormuz. The sultan paid an annual tribute to the kingdom to avoid antagonising it, lest it stop his merchant shipsfrom sailing in and out of the Gulf. For the past few years, the sultan had tried his best to avoid tension with Hormuz. With all this in mind, it was surprising that the kingdom had now come to ask for his help. How should he act? How could he turn the situation to his advantage? And what if he failed in restoring Salghur to the throne?
    The sultan was aware that he had many enemies: the tribes rebelling against him in Najd; Rashid bin Mughamis, emir of Basra, who was waiting for any opportunity to pounce on the Jabrid sultanate; the emirs of the Omani coast, who were loyal to the king of Hormuz, but who did not want the Jabrid army to be too close to them. These emirs were his enemies, and an obstacle to his ambition to establish trading posts on the Omani coast.
    The servants brought dates on plates made from palm leaves, which they placed in front of