1546.—"Trelado de contrato que ho Gouernador Dom Johão de Crastro ffeez com o Idalxaa, que d'antes se chamava Idalcão."—Tombo, in Subsidios, 39.
1563.—"And as those Governors grew weary of obeying the King of Daquem ([Deccan]), they conspired among themselves that each should appropriate his own lands ... and the great-grandfather of this Adelham who now reigns was one of those captains who revolted; he was a Turk by nation and died in the year 1535; a very powerful man he was always, but it was from him that we twice took by force of arms this city of Goa...."—Garcia, f. 35v. [And comp. Linschoten, Hak. Soc. ii. 199.] N.B.—It was the second of the dynasty who died in 1535; the original 'Adil Khān (or [Sabaio]) died in 1510, just before the attack of Goa by the Portuguese.
1594-5.—"There are three distinct States in the Dakhin. The [Nizám-ul-Mulkiya], 'Adil Khániya, and Kutbu-l-Mulkiya. The settled rule among them was, that if a foreign army entered their country, they united their forces and fought, notwithstanding the dissensions and quarrels they had among themselves. It was also the rule, that when their forces were united, Nizám-ul-Mulk commanded the centre, 'Adil Khán the right, and Kutbu-l-Mulk the left. This rule was now observed, and an immense force had been collected."—Akbar-Nāma, in Elliot, vi. 131.
IMAUM, s. Ar. Imām, 'an exemplar, a leader' (from a root signifying 'to aim at, to follow after'), a title technically applied to the Caliph (Khalīfa) or 'Vicegerent,' or Successor, who is the head of Islām. The title "is also given—in its religious import only—to the heads of the four orthodox sects ... and in a more restricted sense still, to the ordinary functionary of a mosque who leads in the daily prayers of the congregation" (Dr. Badger, Omân, App. A.). The title has been perhaps most familiar to Anglo-Indians as that of the Princes of 'Omān, or "Imaums of Muscat," as they were commonly termed. This title they derived from being the heads of a sect (Ibādhiya) holding peculiar doctrine as to the Imamate, and rejecting the Caliphate of Ali or his successors. It has not been assumed by the Princes themselves since Sa'īd bin Ahmad who died in the early part of last century, but was always applied by the English to Saiyid Sa'īd, who reigned for 52 years, dying in 1856. Since then, and since the separation of the dominions of the dynasty in Omān and in Africa, the title Imām has no longer been used.
It is a singular thing that in an article on Zanzibar in the J. R. Geog. Soc. vol. xxiii. by the late Col. Sykes, the Sultan is always called the Imaun, [of which other examples will be found below].
1673.—"At night we saw Muschat, whose vast and horrid Mountains no Shade but Heaven does hide.... The Prince of this country is called Imaum, who is guardian at Mahomet's Tomb, and on whom is devolved the right of Caliphship according to the Ottoman belief."—Fryer, 220.
[1753.—"These people are Mahommedans of a particular sect ... they are subject to an Iman, who has absolute authority over them."—Hanway, iii. 67.
[1901.—Of the Bombay Kojas, "there were only 12 Imans, the last of the number ... having disappeared without issue."—Times, April 12.]
IMAUMBARRA, s. This is a hybrid word Imām-bāṛā, in which the last part is the Hindī bāṛā, 'an enclosure,' &c. It is applied to a building maintained by Shī'a communities in India for the express purpose of celebrating the mohurrum ceremonies (see [HOBSON-JOBSON]). The sepulchre of the Founder and his family is often combined with this object. The Imāmbāṛā of the Nawāb Asaf-ud-daula at Lucknow is, or was till the siege of 1858, probably the most magnificent modern Oriental structure in India. It united with the objects already mentioned a mosque, a college, and apartments for the members of the religious establishment. The great hall is "conceived on so grand a scale," says Fergusson, "as to entitle it to rank with the buildings of an earlier age." The central part of it forms a vaulted apartment of 162 feet long by 53½ wide.
[1837.—"In the afternoon we went to see the Emaunberra."—Miss Eden, Up the Country, i. 87.]