ibn battuta commented on his visit to this "roadstead of a large village on the seashore." in the 16th century, it was under portuguese rule but was liberated by the omani imam nasir ibn murshid and underwent an economic revival, as a trade centre with india and east africa. this continued until the mid-19th century, when the british outlawed the slave trade. the city was further ruined by the opening of the suez canal, which saw it lose trade with india.