Investigated by: Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi
The Persian forces, led by Muhammad bin Nasser bin Jaifar bin Malik, embarked on a mission to occupy Sohar. A strategic decision was made for a contingent to traverse Al Jabal Al Akhdar (the Green Mountain) from the west. The Sultan of the Persian Kurds, Zanganeh, was summoned for this task. He had previously brought the Mahrani sect, renowned for their mountain climbing skills, from Kermanshah in Persia. They settled near Abu Shahr on the Persian coast, establishing a place that still bears the name Zangana today, before setting out for the Arab coast..
The Kurdish force, led by Zangana, sailed to Dibba on the Arabian coast, where they encountered fierce resistance. Forced to change course, they headed toward the western coast of Oman, eventually reaching Sharjah. At that time, Sheikh Fahim bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, the ruler of Sharjah, was in power. Zangana then deployed his forces just few kilometres to the east of Sharjah.
Zangana established his camp near Sharjah, where a well was dug by a supply officer named Falah at a location still known as Bir Falah. To the west of the Persian camp lay the homes of the Al Ghafkah, a group that had arrived from Iraq with Sheikh Fahim bin Ahmed Al Qasimi. They settled near a well called Sweihan (Tawi Sweihan, opposite Sharjah airport), where their sheep grazed.
In a tragic turn of events, Falah, the supply officer, slaughtered several sheep belonging to the Al Ghafkah. The shepherd of the Al Ghafkah sheep witnessed this and alerted the young men of the community, who retaliated that night by killing Falah and those with him.
Fearing reprisals from the Persian army, the Al Ghafkah uprooted their tents and fled north. The following day, the Persian forces searched for them but found no trace.
As the Persian forces continued their journey toward the Al-Dhahirah region, intending to enter Oman from the west, they lost their way in an area known as Al-Kahf, located sixteen kilometers east of Sharjah. Dehydrated and desperate, they searched for water until they discovered a pond to the east of Mount Nizwa. This place was named Ghadeer Al-Maharani, in honor of Al-Maharani, the founder of the Kurdish Mahrani sect in Kermanshah, Persia—a name that remains to this day.
The Kurdish force then crossed Al Jabal Al Akhdar, reaching the outskirts of Sohar from the west, where Persian forces, under the command of Muhammad bin Nasser bin Jaifar bin Malik, had established control.
On May 22, 1623, Portuguese warships arrived off the coast of Sohar, launching an assault on the fortress from the east. Simultaneously, forces allied with the Omani princes attacked from the west. In the ensuing battle, Muhammad bin Nasser bin Jaifar bin Malik was killed, and the Portuguese forces successfully occupied Sohar.
The forces of bani Malik, stationed west of Sohar, fled under the command of Nasir al-Din bin Muhammad bin Nasir al-Din Abu Nu'air, a member of the bani Malik tribe. His father, the Sheikh of Al-Muntafiq, had been killed by Mubarak Al-Mushashaa in Iraq.
Zangana, the Sultan of the Kurds, along with the Mahrani forces, retreated with Nasir al-Din Abu Nu'air through the Green Mountain until they reached Julfar (now Ras Al-Khaimah). Sultan Zangana then oversaw the construction of Julfar, which was described by the author of the Jarun Namah manuscript as surpassing the architectural splendour of Egypt and the Levant.
On November 27, 1633, the Ya'ariba forces, led by Ali bin Ahmed, laid siege to Julfar (Ras Al-Khaimah), where Nasir al-Din bin Muhammad bin Nasir al-Din Abu Nu'air, having previously fled from Sohar with the Persians, was ruling. Ali bin Ahmed's forces stormed the castle of Julfar, forcing Zangana and his Kurdish troops to flee back to Persia. Meanwhile, Nasir al-Din bin Muhammad bin Nasir al-Din Abu Nu'air, along with his men, escaped to the island of Kuri in the Arabian Gulf. There, they constructed a castle and renamed the island Abu Nu'air Island, or Seer Abu Nu'air, in honor of Nasir al-Din Abu Nu'air—a name that the island, which belongs to the Emirate of Sharjah, still bears today.