Oman
Country in West Asia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oman,[lower-alpha 2] officially the Sultanate of Oman,[lower-alpha 3] is a country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It overlooks the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The capital and largest city is Muscat. Oman has a population of about 5.28 million as of 2024, which is a 4.60% population increase from 2023.[11] and is the 123rd most-populous country. The coast faces the Arabian Sea on the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by United Arab Emirates on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz (which it shares with Iran) and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.
Sultanate of Oman | |
|---|---|
| Anthem: نشيد السلام السلطاني "as-Salām as-Sultānī" "Sultanic Salutation" | |
_(orthographic_projection).svg) Location of Oman (dark green) | |
| Capital and largest city | Muscat 23°35′20″N 58°24′30″E |
| Official languages | Arabic[1] |
| Religion (2024) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Omani |
| Government | Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy |
• Sultan | Haitham bin Tariq |
| Theyazin bin Haitham | |
| Legislature | Council of Oman |
| Council of State (Majlis al-Dawla) | |
| Consultative Assembly (Majlis al-Shura) | |
| Establishment | |
• Azd tribe migration | 130 |
• Al-Julanda | 629 |
| 751 | |
| 1154 | |
| 1507–1656 | |
| 1624 | |
| 1744 | |
| 8 January 1856 | |
• Sultanate of Oman | 9 August 1970 |
| 6 November 1996 (established); 2011 (amended); 2021 (amended)[4] | |
| Area | |
• Total | 309,500 km2 (119,500 sq mi) (70th) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 4,520,471[5][6] (125th) |
• 2010 census | 2,773,479[7] |
• Density | 15/km2 (38.8/sq mi) (177th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $200.295 billion[8] (78th) |
• Per capita | $39,336[8] (71st) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $108.282 billion[8] (66th) |
• Per capita | $21,265[8] (55th) |
| Gini (2018) | 30.75[9] medium inequality |
| HDI (2022) | 0.819[10] very high (59th) |
| Currency | Omani rial (OMR) |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (GST) |
| DST is not observed. | |
| Date format | dd.mm.yyyy |
| Drives on | right |
| Calling code | +968 |
| ISO 3166 code | OM |
| Internet TLD | .om, عمان. |
Website www.oman.om | |
From the 17th century, the Omani Sultanate was an empire, vying with the Portuguese and British empires for influence in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence and control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar.[12] In the 20th century, the sultanate came under the influence of the United Kingdom. For over 300 years, the relations built between the two empires were based on mutual benefit. The UK recognized Oman's geographical importance as a trading hub that secured British trading-lanes in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean and protected London's interests in the Indian sub-continent. Oman is an absolute monarchy led by a sultan, with power passed down through the male line. Qaboos bin Said was the Sultan from 1970 until his death on 10 January 2020.[13] Qaboos, who died childless, had named his cousin, Haitham bin Tariq, as his successor in a letter, and the ruling family confirmed him as the new Sultan of Oman.[14]
Formerly a maritime empire, Oman is the oldest continuously independent state in the Arab world.[15][16] It is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It has oil reserves ranked 22nd globally.[15][17] In 2010, the United Nations Development Programme ranked Oman as the most-improved country in the world in terms of development during the preceding 40 years.[18] A portion of its economy involves tourism and trading fish, dates and other agricultural produce. The World Bank categorizes Oman as a high-income economy and as of 2023[update] Oman ranks as the 48th most peaceful country in the world according to the Global Peace Index.[19]
The oldest known written mention of "Oman" is on a tomb in the Mleiha Archeological Center in the United Arab Emirates.[20] The name "Oman" is thought to be several centuries older than Pliny the Elder’s reference to "Omana"[21] or Ptolemy's reference to "Omanon". (Ὄμανον ἐμπόριον in Greek),[22] Both of those references are probably to the ancient Sohar.[23] The city or region is typically etymologized in Arabic as deriving from ʿāmin or ʿamūn ('settled' people, as opposed to the nomadic Bedouin).[23] Although some have proposed one or another eponymous founder (Oman bin Ibrahim al-Khalil, Oman bin Siba' bin Yaghthan bin Ibrahim, Oman bin Qahtan), others have suggested that "Oman" derives from the name of a valley in Yemen at Ma'rib, presumed to be the original home of the city's founders, the Azd, an ancient Bedouin tribe mentioned in the pre-Islamic inscriptions — specifically, Sabaic inscriptions from Sha'r Awtar's reign (210–230 CE).[24]
Prehistory and ancient history
At Aybut Al Auwal, in the Dhofar Governorate of Oman, a site was discovered in 2011 containing more than 100 surface scatters of stone tools, belonging to a regionally specific African lithic industry—the late Nubian Complex—known previously only from the northeast and Horn of Africa. Two optically stimulated luminescence age estimates place the Arabian Nubian Complex at 106,000 years old. This supports the proposition that early human populations moved from Africa into Arabia during the Late Pleistocene.[25]
In recent years surveys have uncovered Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites on the eastern coast. Main Palaeolithic sites include Saiwan-Ghunaim in the Barr al-Hikman.[26] Archaeological remains are particularly numerous for the Bronze Age Umm an-Nar and Wadi Suq periods. At the archaeological sites of Bat, Al-Janah, and Al-Ayn wheel-turned pottery, hand-made stone vessels, metals industry artifacts, and monumental architecture have been preserved.[27]
There is considerable agreement in sources that frankincense was used by traders in 1500 BCE. The Land of Frankincense, a UNESCO World Heritage site, dramatically illustrates that the incense constituted testimony to South Arabian civilizations.
During the 8th century BCE, it is believed that the Yaarub, the descendant of Qahtan, ruled the entire region of Yemen, including Oman. Wathil bin Himyar bin Abd-Shams (Saba) bin Yashjub (Yaman) bin Yarub bin Qahtan later ruled Oman.[28] It is thus believed that the Yaarubah were the first settlers in Oman from Yemen.[29]
In the 1970s and 1980s, scholars like John C. Wilkinson[30] believed by virtue of oral history that in the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenids exerted control over the Omani peninsula, most likely ruling from a coastal centre such as Suhar.[31] Central Oman has its own indigenous Samad Late Iron Age cultural assemblage named eponymously from Samad al-Shan. In the northern part of the Oman Peninsula the Recent Pre-Islamic Period begins in the 3rd century BCE and extends into the 3rd century CE. Whether or not Persians brought south-eastern Arabia under their control is a moot point, since the lack of Persian archeological finds speak against this belief. Armand-Pierre Caussin de Perceval suggests that Shammir bin Wathil bin Himyar recognized the authority of Cyrus the Great over Oman in 536 BCE.[28]
Sumerian tablets referred to Oman as "Magan"[32][33] and in the Akkadian language "Makan",[34][35] a name that links Oman's ancient copper resources.[36]
Western Arabian settlement
Over centuries tribes from western Arabia settled in Oman, making a living by fishing, farming, herding or stock breeding, and many present day Omani families trace their ancestral roots to other parts of Arabia. Arab migration to Oman started from northern-western and south-western Arabia and those who chose to settle had to compete with the indigenous population for the best arable land. When Arab tribes started to migrate to Oman, there were two distinct groups. One group, a segment of the Azd tribe migrated from Yemen in 120[37]/200 CE following the collapse of Marib Dam, while the other group migrated a few centuries before the birth of Islam from Nejd (present-day Saudi Arabia), named Nizari. Other historians believe that the Yaarubah from Qahtan, which belong to an older branch, were the first settlers of Oman from Yemen, and then came the Azd.[29]
The Azd settlers in Oman are descendants of Nasr bin Azd and were later known as "the Al-Azd of Oman".[37] Seventy years after the first Azd migration, another branch of Alazdi under Malik bin Fahm, the founder of Kingdom of Tanukhites on the west of Euphrates, is believed to have settled in Oman.[37] According to Al-Kalbi, Malik bin Fahm was the first settler of Alazd.[38] He is said to have first settled in Qalhat. By this account, Malik, with an armed force of more than 6000 men and horses, fought against the Marzban, who served an ambiguously named Persian king in the battle of Salut in Oman and eventually defeated the Persian forces.[29][39][40][41] This account is, however, semi-legendary and seems to condense multiple centuries of migration and conflict as well as an amalgamation of various traditions from not only the Arab tribes but also the region's original inhabitants.[39][42][43]
In the 7th century CE, Omanis came in contact with and accepted Islam.[44][45] The conversion of Omanis to Islam is ascribed to Amr ibn al-As, who was sent by the prophet Muhammad during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha (Hisma). Amer was dispatched to meet with Jaifer and Abd, the sons of Julanda who ruled Oman. They appear to have readily embraced Islam.[46]
Imamate of Oman
Omani Azd used to travel to Basra for trade, which was a centre of Islam, during the Umayyad empire. Omani Azd were granted a section of Basra, where they could settle and attend to their needs. Many of the Omani Azd who settled in Basra became wealthy merchants and, under their leader Muhallab bin Abi Sufrah, started to expand their influence of power eastwards towards Khorasan. Ibadhi Islam originated in Basra through its founder, Abdullah ibn Ibadh, around the year 650 CE; the Omani Azd in Iraq would subsequently adopt this as their predominant faith. Later, Al-hajjaj, the governor of Iraq, came into conflict with the Ibadhis, which forced them back to Oman. Among those who returned was the scholar Jaber bin Zaid. His return (and the return of many other scholars) greatly enhanced the Ibadhi movement in Oman.[47] Alhajjaj also made an attempt to subjugate Oman, then ruled by Suleiman and Said (the sons of Abbad bin Julanda). Alhajjaj dispatched Mujjaah bin Shiwah, who was confronted by Said bin Abbad. This confrontation devastated Said's army, after which he and his forces retreated to the Jebel Akhdar (mountains). Mujjaah and his forces went after Said, successfully flushing them out from hiding in Wadi Mastall. Mujjaah later moved towards the coast, where he confronted Suleiman bin Abbad. The battle was won by Suleiman's forces. Alhajjaj, however, sent another force (under Abdulrahman bin Suleiman); he eventually won the war, taking over the governance of Oman.[48][49][50]
The first elective Imamate of Oman is believed to have been established shortly after the fall of the Umayyad Dynasty in 750/755 CE, when Janaħ bin ʕibadah Alħinnawi was elected.[47][51] Other scholars claim that Janaħ bin Ibadah served as a Wāli (governor) under the Umayyad dynasty (and later ratified the Imamate), and that Julanda bin Masud was the first elected Imam of Oman, in 751 CE.[52][53] The first Imamate reached its peak power in the ninth century CE.[47] The Imamate established a maritime empire whose fleet controlled the Gulf, during the time when trade with the Abbasid Dynasty, the Far East, and Africa flourished.[54] The authority of the Imams started to decline due to power struggles, the constant interventions of Abbasid, and the rise of the Seljuk Empire.[55][52]
Nabhani dynasty
During the 11th and 12th centuries, the Omani coast was in the sphere of influence of the Seljuk Empire. They were expelled in 1154, when the Nabhani dynasty came to power.[55] The Nabhanis ruled as muluk, or kings, while the Imams were reduced to largely symbolic significance. The capital of the dynasty was Bahla.[56] The Banu Nabhan controlled the trade in frankincense on the overland route via Sohar to the Yabrin oasis, and then north to Bahrain, Baghdad and Damascus.[57] The mango-tree was introduced to Oman during the time of Nabhani dynasty, by ElFellah bin Muhsin.[29][58] The Nabhani dynasty started to deteriorate in 1507 when Portuguese colonisers captured the coastal city of Muscat, and gradually extended their control along the coast up to Sohar in the north and down to Sur in the southeast.[59] Other historians argue that the Nabhani dynasty ended earlier in 1435 CE when conflicts between the dynasty and Alhinawis arose, which led to the restoration of the elective Imamate.[29]
Portuguese era
A decade after Vasco da Gama succeeded in his voyage around the Cape of Good Hope and to India in 1497–1498, the Portuguese arrived in Oman and occupied Muscat for a 143-year period, from 1507 to 1650. In need of an outpost to protect their sea lanes, the Portuguese built up and fortified the city. Remnants of Portuguese architectural style still exist. Later, several more Omani cities were colonized in the early 16th century by the Portuguese, to control the entrances of the Persian Gulf and trade in the region as part of a web of fortresses in the region, from Basra to Hormuz Island.
However, in 1552 an Ottoman fleet briefly captured the fort in Muscat, during their fight for control of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, but soon departed after destroying the surroundings of the fortress.[60]
Later in the 17th century, using its bases in Oman, Portugal engaged in the largest naval battle ever fought in the Persian Gulf. The Portuguese force fought against a combined armada of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and English East India Company supported by the Safavid empire. The result of the battle was a draw but it resulted in the loss of Portuguese influence in the Gulf.[61]
Yaruba dynasty (1624–1744)
The Ottoman Empire temporarily captured Muscat from the Portuguese again in 1581 and held it until 1588. During the 17th century, the Omanis were reunited by the Yaruba Imams. Nasir bin Murshid became the first Yaarubah Imam in 1624, when he was elected in Rustaq.[63] Imam Nasir and his successor succeeded in the 1650s in expelling the Portuguese from their coastal domains in Oman.[47] The Omanis over time established a maritime empire that pursued the Portuguese and expelled them from all their possessions in East Africa, which were then incorporated into the Omani domains. To capture Zanzibar Saif bin Sultan, the Imam of Oman, pressed down the Swahili Coast. A major obstacle to his progress was Fort Jesus, housing the garrison of a Portuguese settlement at Mombasa. After a two-year siege, the fort fell to Imam Saif bin Sultan in 1698. Saif bin Sultan occupied Bahrain in 1700. The rivalry within the house of Yaruba over power after the death of Imam Sultan in 1718 weakened the dynasty. With the power of the Yaruba Dynasty dwindling, Imam Saif bin Sultan II eventually asked for help against his rivals from Nader Shah of Persia. A Persian force arrived in March 1737 to aid Saif. From their base at Julfar, the Persian forces eventually rebelled against the Yaruba in 1743. The Persian empire then tried to take possession of the coast of Oman until 1747.[47][64]
18th and 19th centuries
After the Omanis expelled the Persians, Ahmed bin Sa'id Albusaidi became the elected Imam of Oman in 1749, with Rustaq serving as the capital. Since the revival of the Imamate with the Yaruba dynasty, the Omanis continued with the elective system but, provided that the person is deemed qualified, gave preference to a member of the ruling family.[65] Following Imam Ahmed's death in 1783, his son, Said bin Ahmed became the elected Imam. His son, Seyyid Hamed bin Said, overthrew the representative of his father the Imam in Muscat and obtained the possession of Muscat fortress. Hamed ruled as "Seyyid". Afterwards, Seyyid Sultan bin Ahmed, the uncle of Seyyid Hamed, took over power. Seyyid Said bin Sultan succeeded Sultan bin Ahmed.[66][67] During the entire 19th century, in addition to Imam Said bin Ahmed who retained the title until he died in 1803, Azzan bin Qais was the only elected Imam of Oman. His rule started in 1868. However, the British refused to accept Imam Azzan as a ruler, as he was viewed as inimical to their interests. This view played an instrumental role in supporting the deposition of Imam Azzan in 1871 by his cousin, Sayyid Turki, a son of the late Sayyid Said bin Sultan, and brother of Sultan Barghash of Zanzibar, who Britain deemed to be more acceptable.[68]
Oman's Imam Sultan, defeated ruler of Muscat, was granted sovereignty over Gwadar, an area of modern-day Pakistan.[note 1][69]
British de facto colonisation
The British empire was keen to dominate southeast Arabia to stifle the growing power of other European states and to curb the Omani maritime power that grew during the 17th century.[70][54] The British empire over time, starting from the late 18th century, began to establish a series of treaties with the sultans with the objective of advancing British political and economic interest in Muscat, while granting the sultans military protection.[54][70] In 1798, the first treaty between the British East India Company and the Albusaidi dynasty was signed by Sayyid Sultan bin Ahmed. The treaty aimed to block commercial competition of the French and the Dutch as well as obtain a concession to build a British factory at Bandar Abbas.[71][47][72] A second treaty was signed in 1800, which stipulated that a British representative shall reside at the port of Muscat and manage all external affairs with other states.[72] As the Omani Empire weakened, the British influence over Muscat grew throughout the nineteenth century.[62]