Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country in the southeastern Arabian Peninsula in West Asia. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, and maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan. Its coastline extends along the Arabian Sea to the southeast and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast. The exclaves of Madha and Musandam are surrounded by the United Arab Emirates on their land borders, while Musandam's coastal boundaries are formed by the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. With an area of 315,331 km2 (121,750 sq mi) and a population of approximately 5.46 million, Oman is the third-largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. Muscat is the capital and largest city, Islam is the state religion, and Arabic is the official language.
Oman has been continuously ruled by the Al Bu Said dynasty since 1744. Beginning in the 17th century, Oman emerged as a major regional power, expelling the Portuguese from its coastal possessions and establishing an empire that competed with the British and Portuguese 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 what later became Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar. In the 20th century, Oman came under the influence of the British Empire while de jure remaining sovereign. After the Dhofar rebellion and the 1970 Omani coup d'état, the state of Muscat and Oman transitioned into the modern state under Qaboos bin Said.
Oman is an absolute monarchy ruled by a sultan, who serves as both head of state and head of government. Executive authority is exercised through the Council of Ministers, while the bicameral Council of Oman consists of the appointed Council of State and the elected Consultative Assembly. Qaboos bin Said served as sultan from 1970 until his death in 2020. His nearly five-decade reign marked the beginning of a period of rapid modernization now known as the Omani Renaissance, which saw a rise in the country's living standards, the abolition of slavery, the end of the Dhofar Rebellion, and the promulgation of Oman's constitution. In 2020, Haitham bin Tariq succeeded Qaboos as the Sultan of Oman.
Oman's oil reserves are ranked as the 22nd largest globally. In 2010, the United Nations Development Programme recognised Oman as the most improved country in the world in terms of development during the preceding 40 years. A portion of Oman's economy involves tourism, and trade of fish, dates and other agricultural produce. The World Bank classifies Oman as a high-income economy. As of 2024, Oman ranks as the 42nd most peaceful country in the world in the Global Peace Index and the third-most peaceful country in the Middle East and North Africa. Oman is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Etymology
The oldest known written mention of "Oman" is found on a tomb in the Mleiha Archeological Center in the United Arab Emirates, dated to around 220 BC, where it is written as 𐩲𐩣𐩬 in Ancient South Arabian and 𐡏𐡌𐡍 in Aramaic. The name "Oman" is believed to predate Pliny the Elder's reference to "Omana" and Ptolemy's reference to "Omanon". (Ὄμανον ἐμπόριον in Greek).
Beginning in the 19th century, most writers localised Omana with Sohar. This changed, however, with the advent of archaeology.
The city or region is commonly etymologised in Arabic as deriving from ʿāmin or ʿamūn, meaning 'settled' people, in contrast to the nomadic Bedouins. While some theories propose an eponymous founder—such as Oman bin Ibrahim al-Khalil, Oman bin Siba' bin Yaghthan bin Ibrahim, and Oman bin Qahtan—others suggest that "Oman" originates from a valley in Ma'rib, Yemen. This valley is presumed to be the ancestral homeland of the Azd, an ancient Bedouin tribe mentioned in pre-Islamic inscriptions, particularly in Sabaic inscriptions from the reign of Sha'r Awtar (210–230 CE).
Oman has been known by other names. The ancient Sumerians and the Mesopotamians called it "Magan", a reference to the Magan civilisation, while the Persians called it Mazun, derived from the word "Muzn", meaning clouds and abundant flowing water, which explains the establishment and prosperity of agriculture in Oman since ancient times and the stability and civilisation that accompanied it. The name "Oman" is mentioned in Arabic sources as an independent region. Al-Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal referred to this in their sayings: "Oman is a region with independent regions with spacious people". Ibn Khaldun was more explicit in his definition of Oman. He mentioned it among the Arab regions that emerged as independent states in the Arabian Peninsula, namely Yemen, the Hijaz, Hadhramaut, Ash Shihr, and Oman. He described its system of government, saying that it was a "sole sultanic region."
History
Prehistory
Al Aybut Al Awal, 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.
As of 2011, surveys have uncovered Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites on the eastern coast. Main Palaeolithic sites include Saiwan-Ghunaim in the Barr al-Hikman. 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.
Ancient history
Magan civilisation
Sumerian tablets referred to Oman as "Magan" and in the Akkadian language "Makan", a name that links Oman's ancient copper resources. This is a clear reference to the Magan civilisation, an ancient region in what is now modern day Oman and United Arab Emirates, which was referred to in Sumerian cuneiform texts of around 2300 BC and existed until 550 BC as a source of copper and diorite for Mesopotamia. There are six periods of human settlement with distinctive behaviours in Northern Oman before Islam, which include the Hafit period from 3,200 to 2,600 BC, the Umm Al Nar culture from 2,600 to 2,000 BC, and the Wadi Suq culture from 2,000 to 1,300 BC.
Iron Age to pre-Islamic period
During the 8th century BC, 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. It is thus believed that the Yaarubah were the first settlers in Oman from Yemen.
Persian period
In the 1970s and 1980s, scholars like John C. Wilkinson believed by virtue of oral history that in the 6th century BC, the Achaemenids exerted control over the Omani peninsula, most likely ruling from a coastal centre such as Suhar. The northern half of Oman was presumably part of the Maka satrapy of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. By the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the satrapy may have existed in some form.
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 began in the 3rd century BC and extends into the 3rd century AD. Whether or not Persians brought south-eastern Arabia under their control is a moot point, since the lack of Persian archaeological finds speak against this belief. Armand-Pierre Caussin de Perceval suggests that Shammir bin Wathil bin Himyar recognised the authority of Cyrus the Great over Oman in 536 BC.
The Omani Kingdom was subdued by the Sasanian Empire's forces under Vahrez during the Aksumite–Persian wars. The 4,000-strong Sasanian garrison was headquartered at Jamsetjerd/Jamshedgird (modern Jebel Gharabeh, also known as Felej al-Sook)
Azd tribal migration
Over centuries, from the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC, waves of Semitic speaking peoples migrated from central and western Arabia to the east. The most important of these migrating tribes are known as Azd. they made a living by fishing, farming, herding or stock breeding. Further, 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 120/200 AD 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.
The Azd settlers in Oman are descendants of Nasr bin Azd and were later known as "the Al-Azd of Oman". 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. According to Al-Kalbi, Malik bin Fahm was the first settler of Alazd. 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. 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.
Islam
During the 7th century AD, Omanis came in contact with and accepted Islam, with consolidation taking place in the Ridda Wars in 632. The conversion of Omanis to Islam is ascribed to Amr ibn al-As, who was sent by the Islamic prophet Muhammad during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha (Hisma). Amr was dispatched to meet with Jaifer and Abd, the sons of Julanda who ruled Oman. They appear to have readily embraced Islam.
Battle of Dibba
Following the death of the prophet Muhammad in 632, a series of campaigns were launched by the Rashidun Caliphate against tribes that had renounced their allegiance to Medina. In Oman, the rebellion was led by Laqit ibn Malik al-Azdi, known as Dhu al-Taj ("The Crowned One"), who seized control of much of the country. In response, the caliph Abu Bakr dispatched forces under Hudhayfa ibn Mihsan and Arfaja ibn Harthama, joined by the Omani rulers Jaifar and Abd. The opposing armies met at the Battle of Dibba (now Dibba Al-Hisn, United Arab Emirates) where the rebels were decisively defeated. The victory restored Rashidun authority over Oman and secured the region's incorporation into the expanding Islamic state.
Imamate of Oman
Omani Azd used to travel to Basra for trade, which was a centre of Islam, during the Umayyad Caliphate. 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 al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra, started to expand their influence of power eastwards towards Khorasan.
Ibadism originated in Basra through its founder, Abd Allah ibn Ibad, as a moderate branch of the Kharijites, an Islamic sect that split from the Muhakkima. These groups initially supported Imam Ali during the First Fitna but turned away after rejecting arbitration at the Battle of Siffin in AD 657. around the year 650; 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 Ibadis, 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. 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.
The first elective Imamate of Oman is believed to have been established shortly after the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate in 750/755 AD, when Janaḥ ibn ʿIbāda ibn Qays ibn ʿAmr al-Hināʾī was elected. Other scholars claim that Janaḥ ibn ʿIbāda served as a Wāli (governor) under the Umayyad dynasty (and later ratified the Imamate), and that Julanda ibn Masud was the first elected Imam of Oman, in 751 AD. The first Imamate reached its peak power in the ninth century AD. The Imamate established a maritime empire whose fleet controlled the Gulf, during the time when trade with the Abbasid Caliphate, the Far East, and Africa flourished. The authority of the Imams started to decline due to power struggles, the constant interventions of Abbasid, and the rise of the Seljuk Empire.
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. The Nabhanis ruled as muluk, or kings, while the Imams were reduced to largely symbolic significance. The capital of the dynasty was Bahla. 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. The mango-tree was introduced to Oman during the time of Nabhani dynasty, by al-Falah bin Muhsin. 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. Other historians argue that the Nabhani dynasty ended earlier in 1435 CE when conflicts between the dynasty and Hinawis arose, which led to the restoration of the elective Imamate.