behind bars
system, operating
Rahmah ibn Jabir ibn Adhbi al-Jalhami (Arabic: رحمة بن جابر بن عذبي الجلهمي; c. 1760–1826) was an Arab ruler in the Persian Gulf region and was described by his contemporary, the English traveler and author, James Silk Buckingham, as 'the most successful and the most generally tolerated pirate, perhaps, that ever infested any sea.'
As a pirate, he had a reputation for being ruthless and fearless. He wore an eyepatch after losing an eye in battle, which makes him the earliest documented pirate to have worn an eyepatch. He was described by the British statesman Charles Belgrave as 'one of the most vivid characters the Persian Gulf has produced, a daring freebooter without fear or mercy' (ironically, his first name means 'mercy' in Arabic).
He began life as a horse dealer, and he used the money he saved to buy his first ship and with ten companions began a career of buccaneering. He was so successful that he soon acquired a new craft: a 300-ton boat, manned by 350 men. He would later have as many as 2000 followers, many of them black slaves. At one point his flagship was the 'Al-Manowar' (derived from English).