Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Sultanate of Oman

Starting point is 00:00:00 Located in the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula is the Sultanate of Oman. Oman isn't one of the better known countries in the Middle East, which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it has an incredibly rich history and was once the center of a training empire that extended into Africa. Learn more about the sultanate of Oman and its history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to understand, uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night.

Starting point is 00:00:49 And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the Thuline podcast from NPR. I'm guessing for most of you, if you're familiar with the country of Oman, it's because you've heard the name or you've seen it on a map. Compared to other nations along the Persian Gulf, there are very few news stories about Oman. It isn't as sexy and modern as Dubai. It doesn't have the money of Qatar or Abu Dhabi. It doesn't have the oil resources of Saudi Arabia. And there haven't been conflicts fought there in recent memory as with Yemen or Kuwait. Yet for myself and other people I know who have visited, Oman is

Starting point is 00:01:32 actually my favorite country in the region. So for those of you who aren't familiar with Oman, let me briefly describe where it is. The majority of Oman is in the southeastern corner of the Peninsula. By sea, it borders the Gulf of Oman, which sits between Oman and Iran, as well as the Arabian Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean. In the southwest, it borders Yemen, and in the northwest, it borders the United Arab Emirates. Its interior borders Saudi Arabia in the vast desert and dune fields of the empty quarter. That describes most of Oman, but there is another part of which is an exclave that is separated from the rest of the country. Judding into the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entrance to the Persian Gulf is the Musendam Peninsula. The Musandam Peninsula has a very

Starting point is 00:02:19 low population, but its northernmost tip does have one of the craziest geological formations you're going to see anywhere on Earth. If you look at it on a map, it looks like a fractal pattern that you would see generated by a computer. It also is another very odd exclave known as Mata that's totally surrounded by the United Arab Emirates. That in and of itself isn't that strange, but within that exclave is an exclave of the United Arab Emirates, making it an exclave with an enclave. It's something that only geography nerds will probably get excited over. The history of Oman goes back much further than most countries can claim. Given the proximity of Oman to Africa, the earliest evidence of humans in the region goes back over 100,000 years. During

Starting point is 00:03:05 the last ice age, the lower sea levels would have allowed people to walk or easily cross the Straits of Bob Elmandab, where today Yemen is only about 20 kilometers from the African nation of Djibouti. While it was never in the heart of any ancient civilization, it was on the periphery of several of them. Its location gave it access to many of the great civilizations of antiquity. It was part of the Persian Achaemenid and Sassanid empires. It regularly traded with Nubia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, Phoenicia, Greece, and Rome. The product for which it was most famous and for which there was great demand was frankincense. Frankencence is an aromatic tree resin that is used in perfumes and incense.

Starting point is 00:03:46 Today, the land of frankincense UNESCO World Heritage Site in Oman honors the frankincense trade that emanated from Oman for centuries. About 2,000 years ago, nomadic Arab Bedouins began to settle in the lush region along the coast. This was a process that took centuries, and some came from what is today Yemen, and others came from the north along the coast of the Persian Gulf. The origin of the word Oman isn't known for sure. It could be a reference to an ancient Arabic word for settled, as opposed to the Bedouins who were nomadic.

Starting point is 00:04:16 It could also refer to the founder of a city in the area, or it may have Persian origins. Given its location on the Arabian Peninsula, it should come as no surprise that it was one of the first places in the world to have converted to Islam. The process of converting to Islam began during the life of the Prophet Muhammad as early as the year 630. The predominant branch of Islam, which developed there and is still the majority in the country today, is known as Ibadi Islam. Abadiism is sometimes considered a third branch of Islam alongside Sunni and Shia Islam. A Shia religious group known as the Carmatians controlled Amman from 931 to 967, when it then became part of the Iranian Biyadh dynasty. The Biyadhs controlled Amman for a century until 1053 when the Seljuk Turks conquered it and became part of the Seljic Empire.

Starting point is 00:05:04 The Seljuks controlled Oman until 1154 when the native Nabhani dynasty overthrew the Seljuks. The Nubhani dynasty lasted for over 300 years until 1470. But then a major shift in the rule of Oman took place in 515 when the Portuguese conquered the major port city of Muscat. After Vasco da Gama had rounded Africa, the Portuguese began using this route to establish trade with India in the Far East. In doing so, they established a network of ports along the way to service ships that were in-root from Portugal to Asia. The ports and defensive fortifications they built also allowed them

Starting point is 00:05:40 to protect their shipping lanes from pirates and rival powers. Their control of Muscat also allowed them to control access into and out of the Persian Gulf. It was during the Portuguese occupation that the Battle of Hormuz took place in 1625. It was the largest naval battle that has ever taken place in the Persian Gulf, and it pitted the Portuguese against the combined forces of the Dutch East India Company and the English East India Company. While the battle on the sea was a draw, it ultimately resulted in a loss of power for Portugal and the region. Portugal held Muscat until 150, when the Yaruba dynasty seized Oman. The Aruba was an indigenous Ibadi dynasty founded by the Imam Nasir bin Mersheed al-Yaharubi. It was the rise of the Aruba dynasty that began

Starting point is 00:06:27 the Omani Empire. The Omani Empire isn't the best-known empire in world history. It didn't have an impressive amount of land under its rule like the British or the Mongols. The origin of the empire is usually set in 1692 with the reign of Saif bin Sultan. They conquered Mombasa in what is today Kenya and later Zanzibar in modern Tanzania. They established a trading empire which was based around the Indian Ocean. In addition to ports in East Africa, they also held small amounts of territory along the coast of Persia and modern-day Pakistan. The Omani Empire served as one of the primary conduits for trade from Africa, and from their base in Zanzibar, they became the center of the East African slave and ivory trade. By the end of the 18th century, Sultan bin Ahmad needed an

Starting point is 00:07:11 ally to counter the threats from Arabia, African tribes threatening Mombasa, and a possible incursion by Napoleon Bonaparte and the French, who he feared would conquer Muscat on the way to India. They found an ally in the British. The alliance gave the British access to Omani ports and gave the Omani's assistance against their enemies. In 1833, Oman signed a treaty of friendship and trade with the United States. This was notable because it was only the second Islamic country that the United States had signed a treaty with after Morocco, which was actually the first country to recognize the United States. In 1840, a trading vessel from Oman, the Al-Sutana arrived in New York, becoming the first Arab ship ever to dock in the new world.

Starting point is 00:07:54 In 1856, a secession crisis resulted in a split between the sultanate of Muscat and Oman and that of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, effectively ending the Omani Empire. With the loss of Zanzibar, the sultanate of Oman became even more reliant on the British, and the British began to exert ever more control over Oman. For most of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Oman was technically independent, but was in many ways a de facto British colony. The British supported the rule of the sultans in exchange for access to ports and the exclusion

Starting point is 00:08:28 of other European powers. In the late 19th century, there was also a split within the country itself. The interior of the country, centered in Nizwa, was ruled by an Abadi Imam, whereas the Sultan ruled Muscat and the coastal areas. This division of the country was codified by the Treaty of Sieb in 1920, which was brokered by the British, who, at that time at least, had no interest in the country's interior. If you ever look at maps from the early 20th century, the country will usually be called Muscat and Oman to reflect this division. Modern Oman can said to begin with the rule of

Starting point is 00:09:03 Sultan Saeed bin Tymour who came to rule in 1932. While his rule may have marked the start of modern Oman, it can hardly be said that Saeed bin Timur was himself modern. He was an isolationist and sold off oil rights to the British, although they were. were initially unable to find any oil deposits. The late 1950s saw many significant changes. In 1954, the Treaty of Sieb was broken by the Sultan when oil was finally discovered in the interior, which at that time was under the control of the Imam. In 1958, the port city of Guadar was sold to Pakistan, and Britain finally recognized Oman as an independent country. In 1964, the Dauphar province, the southernmost province in Oman, began a Marxist and nationalistic

Starting point is 00:09:47 revolt against the Sultanate. The country underwent a major change in 1970 when the Sultan's son, Kaboos bin Saeed, led a coup against his father and took control of the country. Saeed bin Taimur died in exile in London in 1972 at the age of 62. Kaboos bin Saeed faced ruling a country that was not yet in the modern world. It suffered from disease, illiteracy, and poverty. He managed to quash the DeFour rebellion through a combination of strengthening Oman's armed forces and offering amnesty to the rebels. Amman created a national constitution and created a council of ministers representing various tribal groups in the country.

Starting point is 00:10:25 Oil and gas production dramatically improved the economy of Oman, but they don't have anywhere near the production of their neighbors. They're currently only the 25th largest oil producer in the world. Kaboos bin Saeed died in January 2020 at the age of 79, having ruled the country for 50 years. His successor as Sultan was his cousin, Heatham Bid Tarik El-Said. On a personal note, Oman is one of my favorite countries in the Middle East, and certainly my favorite amongst the Gulf States. I can remember my first time in Oman vividly. I arrived on January 17, 2009, a date I can remember because that evening, Oman won the Gulf Cup over the perennial favorite Saudi Arabia.

Starting point is 00:11:06 The entire country was celebrating going nuts. I visited the city of Nizwa about 115 kilometers inland from Muscat, and I later visited the Musendam Peninsula. When I went to Kasab, the largest city on the Musandam Peninsula, I traveled on what was reported to be at the time the world's fastest car ferry. It was indeed very fast, but in the excitement of having the world's fastest car ferry, they forgot to build a way for cars to actually board the ferry. A problem I have been told was later corrected. Oman is no longer a poor country. but it's also a far cry from the extravagant displays of wealth that you're going to see in neighboring Dubai.

Starting point is 00:11:45 It has become a relatively quiet, stable country in a chaotic region, and it's done so by establishing diplomatic ties with its neighbors while remaining relatively neutral on the geopolitical affairs of the region. When people ask me for advice for what to do when they visit Dubai, I usually tell them to just go and visit Oman. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel, The associate producers are Peter Bennett and Cameron Kiefer. Today's review comes from listener Packers 123 Cheese emoji over on Apple Podcasts in the United States.

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Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Sultanate of Oman

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