Oman: Difference between revisions

| native_name = {{native name|ar|سلطنة عُمان|italics=off}} <br/> ''Salṭanat ʿUmān''

'''Oman''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Oman.ogg|oʊ|ˈ|m|ɑː|n}} {{respell|oh|MAHN}}; {{lang-ar|عُمَان|ʿUmān}}, {{IPA|ar|ʕʊˈmaːn|pron}}.}} officially the '''Sultanate of Oman''',{{efn|{{lang-ar|سلْطنة عُمانعُمانi|Salṭanat ʿUmān|links=no}}.}} is a country in [[Arabia]]. It is located on the southeastern coast of the [[Arabian Peninsula]], and overlooks the mouth of the [[Persian Gulf]]. It shares land borders with [[Saudi Arabia]], the [[United Arab Emirates]], and [[Yemen]], while sharing [[Maritime boundary|maritime borders]] with [[Iran]] and [[Pakistan]]. The capital and largest city is [[Muscat]]. Oman has a population of nearlyabout 5.28 million as of 2024 which is a 4.760% population increase from 2023. million<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oman Population (2024) |url= https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/oman-population/ |access-date=2024-0108-1522 |publisher=Worldometer |language= en |archive-date=10 June 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200610233900/https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/oman-population/ |url-status= live }}</ref> and is the [[Countries with highest population|124th123rd most-populous country]]. The coast faces the [[Arabian Sea]] on the southeast, and the [[Gulf of Oman]] on the northeast. The [[Madha]] and [[Musandam Governorate|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.

Formerly a maritime empire, Oman is the oldest continuously independent state in the [[Arab world]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14654150 |title=Oman profile – Overview |publisher=BBC News |date=11 September 2012 |access-date=18 January 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200312141232/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14654150|archive-date= 12 March 2020}}</ref><ref name=":0">[[Royal Air Force Museum London|Royal Air Force Museum]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20201119092207/https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/an-enduring-relationship-a-history/a-history-of-oman.aspx A History of Oman]. Retrieved 19 November 2020</ref> 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.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://gulfnews.com/business/economy/private-sector-gets-omanisation-targets-1.761024 |title=Private sector gets Omanisation targets |work=[[Gulf News]] |date=13 February 2011 |access-date=18 January 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191009110635/https://gulfnews.com/business/private-sector-gets-omanisation-targets-1.761024|archive-date=9 October 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://hdr.undp.org/en/mediacentre/news/announcements/title,21573,en.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131109205813/http://hdr.undp.org/en/mediacentre/news/announcements/title,21573,en.html |archive-date= 9 November 2013 |title=Five Arab states among top leaders in long-term development gains |publisher= Hdr.undp.org |date= 4 November 2010 |access-date= 29 October 2011}}</ref> A portion of its economy involves [[Tourism in Oman|tourism]] and trading fish, [[Date palm|dates]] and other agricultural produce. The [[World Bank]] categorizes Oman as a [[high-income economy]] and {{as of|2023|lc=y}} Oman ranks as the 48th most peaceful country in the world according to the [[Global Peace Index]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/GPI-2021-web-1.pdf |title= Global Peace Index: 2021 |website= visionofhumanity.org |page= 9 |publisher= [[Global Peace Index]] and [[Institute for Economics and Peace]] |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220324204830/https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/GPI-2021-web-1.pdf |url-status=live }}

The origin of Oman's name is thought to be several centuries older than the mention by [[Pliny the Elder]]'s Omana<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]]. ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'', VI.149.</ref> and [[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptolemy]]'s Omanon ({{lang|grc|Ὄμανον ἐμπόριον}} in [[Greek language|Greek]]),<ref>[[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptolemy, Claudius]]. ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]''. VI.7.36.</ref> both probably the ancient [[Sohar]].<ref name="EJoman">{{Cite book |last=Brill |first=E. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9JQ3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA976 |title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936 |publisher=BRILL |year=1987 |isbn=978-90-04-08265-6 |location=Leiden |orig-date=1913}}</ref> The city or region is typically etymologized in Arabic from {{transl|ar|ʿāmin}} or {{transl|ar|ʿamūn}} ('settled' people, as opposed to the [[Bedouin]]).<ref name="EJoman"/> Although a number of eponymous founders have been proposed (Oman bin Ibrahim al-Khalil, Oman bin Siba' bin Yaghthan bin Ibrahim, Oman bin Qahtan), others derive it from the name of a valley in Yemen at [[Ma'rib]] presumed to have been the origin of the city's founders, the [[Azd]], aan Ancient Bedouin tribe, migratingmentioned in the [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|Pre-Islamic]] inscriptions, specifically [[Sabaic]] inscriptions from Yemen[[Sha'r Awtar|Sha'r Awtar's]] reign ([[210]]-[[230]] CE).<ref name="Tarbaby">''Tarikh fi Uman'' [''Oman in History''].</ref>

[[File:World Heritage Grave Al Ayn Oman.JPG|thumb|250px|left|The [[Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn]] in [[Ad Dhahirah Governorate|Ad Dhahirah]], built in the 3rd Millennium [[BCE]], are [[UNESCO World Heritage]]]]

===ArabWestern Arabian settlement===

[[File:Ruins6.JPG|thumb|left200px|right|upright|Ruins of [[Khor Rori]], built between 100 [[Before Common Era|BCE]] and 100 [[Common Era|CE]]]]

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 [[Capture of Muscat, Oman(1507)|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]].

[[Said bin Taimur]] became the sultan of Muscat officially on 10 February 1932. The rule of sultan [[Said bin Taimur]], a very complex character, was backed by the British government, and has been characterised as being [[feudal]], [[reactionary]] and isolationist.<ref name=OAOI/><ref name=OQ/><ref name=GR/><ref name=BA/> The British government maintained vast administrative control over the Sultanate as the defence secretary and chief of intelligence, chief adviser to the sultan and all ministers except for two were British.<ref name=GR>Ian Cobain. [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/08/britains-secret-wars-oman The Guardian: Britain's secret wars] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930170522/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/08/britains-secret-wars-oman |date=30 September 2016 }} Britain's Secret Wars. ''The Guardian''. 8 September 2016.</ref><ref name=Halliday>Fred Halliday. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VkYhBQAAQBAJ&dq=Fred%20Halliday%20arabia&pg=PT19 Arabia by Fred Halliday] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406013854/https://books.google.com/books?id=VkYhBQAAQBAJ&dq=Fred%20Halliday%20arabia&pg=PT19 |date=6 April 2023 }} Arabia. The Arabian Peninsula. Saqi Books. University of California. published 1974.</ref> In 1937, an agreement between the sultan and [[Iraq Petroleum Company]] (IPC), a consortium of oil companies that was 23.75% British owned, was signed to grant oil concessions to IPC. After failing to discover oil in the Sultanate, IPC was intensely interested in some promising geological formations near [[Fahud]], an area located within the Imamate. IPC offered financial support to the sultan to raise an armed force against any potential resistance by the Imamate.<ref name=OmansInsurgencies>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkUhBQAAQBAJ&q=moff+oman&pg=PT59|title=Oman's Insurgencies: The Sultanate's Struggle for Supremacy|first=J. E.|last=Peterson|date=2 January 2013|publisher=Saqi|access-date=29 April 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9780863567025|archive-date=11 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211035638/https://books.google.com/books?id=wkUhBQAAQBAJ&q=moff+oman&pg=PT59|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=FTWAO>Historical Summary of Events in the Persian Gulf. {{cite web|url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023415996.0x000009|title=British National Archive: Historical Summary of Events in the Persian Gulf (208/222)|publisher=QDL|date=30 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723150646/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023415996.0x000009|archive-date=23 July 2019}} British National Archive. Page 208.</ref>

DuringUpon the outbreak of [[Second World War II]], the sultan of Oman declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939.<ref name="WWII"/> During the war, Oman had a strategic role in the defence of the United Kingdom's trade routes. Oman was never attacked during the war. In 1943, the [[Royal Air Force]] established stations on [[Masirah Island]] ([[RAF Masirah]]) and at [[Ras al Hadd]]. [[Air-sea rescue]] units were also stationed in Oman. [[No. 244 Squadron RAF]] flew [[Bristol Blenheim V]] [[light bomber]]s and [[Vickers Wellington XIII]]s out of RAF Masirah on anti-submarine duties in the Gulf of Oman and the northern [[Arabian Sea]], while [[No. 209 Squadron RAF]], [[No. 265 Squadron RAF]], and [[No. 321 Squadron RAF]] flew [[Consolidated PBY Catalina]]s out of Umm Ruşayş on Masirah Island.<ref name="RAF"/> On October 16, 1943, the German [[U-Boat]] ''[[German submarine U-533|U-533]]'' was sunk in the Gulf of Oman after being struck by [[depth charge]]s dropped by a Bristol Blenheim from No. 244 Squadron RAF. The wreck settled at a depth of 108 meters (354 feet) approximately 25 nautical miles (46 kilometres) off the [[Fujairah]] coast. 52 crew members died, with the sole survivor, ''[[Matrosengefreiter]]'' Günther Schmidt, taken aboard HMIS ''Hiravati'' near [[Khor Fakkan]] and made a [[prisoner of war]]. The wreck is now a popular recreational diving site.<ref name="UBoat"/><ref name="UBoat2"/>

On 12 January 2021, [[Dhi YazanTheyazin bin Haitham]], Sultan Haithan's oldest son became the crown prince as first in line to succeed his father under new fundamental law.

According to the CIA, besides Arabic, English, [[Balochi language|Baluchi]] (Southern Baluchi), [[Urdu]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], Bengali (spoken by Indians and Bangladeshis), Hindi, Malayalam, Tulu and various other Indian languages are the main languages spoken in Oman.<ref name="pop"/> English is widely spoken in the business community and is taught at school from an early age. Almost all signs and writings appear in both Arabic and English at tourist sites.<ref name="englishplacenames"/> Baluchi is the mother tongue of the [[Baloch people]] from [[Balochistan]] in western Pakistan, eastern [[Iran]] and southern [[Afghanistan]]. It is also used by some descendants of [[Sindhi people|Sindhi]] sailors.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Sound System of Lawatiyya|url=http://www.jourlib.org/paper/2843775|journal=Journal of Academic and Applied Studies|volume=2|issue=5|author=Salman, Amel|author2=Kharusi, Nafla S.|pages=36–44|date=May 2012|access-date=10 February 2015|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630023244/http://www.jourlib.org/paper/2843775|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bengali is widely spoken due to a large Bangladeshi expatriate population. A significant number of residents also speak Urdu, due to the influx of Pakistani migrants during the late 1980s and 1990s. Additionally, [[Swahili language|Swahili]] is widely spoken in the country due to the historical relations between Oman and [[Zanzibar]].<ref name="etn.sagepub.com"/>