- 35 - servant) belonging to Sheikh Mohammad bin Khalifa who had sent him to purchase palm fronds from the town of Sutra, on the Bahrain coast, opposite Zubara. The Utoub men were engaged in a short battle where many fromboth sides lost their lives. This forced Sheikh Nasser al-Zaabi, Ruler of Bahrain, to withdraw to the Bahrain Castle. The Utoub men looted and destroyed the city, then retreated to Zubara. On the third day after the attack, the Utoub men seized a Bushehr ship that Sheikh Nasser al-Matroushi of Bushehr had sent to collect the tribute from the people of Bahrain. In early October, 1782, after securing the approval of Isfahan, Sheikh Nasser made arrangements to attack Zubara through the Sheikhs of Banda Rig, Janaveh and Tangestan. However, he had to postpone carrying out those plans till 12 December, 1782, when he managed to have a fleet comprising four cargo ships and about thirteen or fourteen vessels, which carried on board 2,000 Arabian fighters from the Persian coast, under the command of his nephew, Sheikh Mohammad. The ships sailed to Bahrain and were followed a few days later by three ships from Bandar Rig commanded by the Sheikh of Bandar Rig himself.
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