The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman (Makran ) is a gulf that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It borders Iran and Pakistan on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. Located in a strategically important position at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the country shares land borders with the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest, and shares marine borders with Iran and Pakistan. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.
Oman is the site of pre-historic human habitation, stretching back over 100,000 years. The region was impacted by powerful invaders, including other Arab tribes, Portugal and Britain. Oman once possessed the island of Zanzibar, on the east coast of Africa as a colony.
Muscat is the capital and largest city of Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate reached 1.4 million as of September 2018. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayat. Known since the early 1st century CE as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire, the Iberian Union and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat's influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign tradesmen and settlers such as the Persians and the Balochis. Since the ascension of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. Muscat is termed as a Global City.
Qaboos bin Said was the Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said, he was the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world at the time of his death.
The Ibadi movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya, also known as the Ibadis, is a school of Islam dominant in Oman. It is also found in parts of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and East Africa. The movement is said to have been founded around the year 650 CE or about 20 years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, predating both the Sunni and Shia denominations. Modern historians trace back the origins of the denomination to a moderate current of the Khawarij movement; contemporary Ibāḍīs strongly object to being classified as Kharijites, although they recognize that their movement originated with the Kharijite secession of 657 CE.
The Oman national football team represents Oman in men's international football and is controlled by the Oman Football Association. Although the team was officially founded in 1978, the squad was formed long before, and a proper football association was formed only in December 2005, The team represents both FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF) — Arabic: القوات المسلحة لسلطان عمان, transliterated:al-Quwāt ul-Musallaḥatu lis-Sulṭān ‘Umān) are the Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman, Sultan's Special Forces and other defense forces of the Sultanate of Oman. Since their formal establishment in the early 1950s, with British assistance SAF has twice overcome insurgencies which have threatened the integrity or social structure of the state, and more recently have contributed contingents or facilities to coalitions formed to protect the Persian Gulf states.
Oman Air is the national airline of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Seeb, Muscat; it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights. Oman Air is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.
The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman was a thalassocratic nation that encompassed the present-day Sultanate of Oman and parts of present-day United Arab Emirates and Gwadar, Pakistan. The country is not to be confused with the Trucial States, which were sheikhdoms under British protection since 1820. Muscat courts' verdicts were based on Ibadi Islamic sharia law and appeals were raised to the Sultan of Muscat, who exercised supreme ruling.
The Battle of Bicocca or La Bicocca was fought on 27 April 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, was decisively defeated by an Imperial–Spanish and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. Lautrec then withdrew from Lombardy, leaving the Duchy of Milan in Imperial hands.
The Battle of Ceresole took place on 11 April 1544, during the Italian War of 1542–46, outside the village of Ceresole d'Alba in the Piedmont region of Italy. A French army, commanded by François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien, defeated the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, commanded by Alfonso d'Avalos d'Aquino, Marquis del Vasto. Despite having inflicted substantial casualties on the Imperial troops, the French subsequently failed to exploit their victory by taking Milan.
The Oman national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Oman and is governed by the Oman Cricket Board, which became an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2000, and gained Associate status in 2014. The national side has played matches at Twenty20 International level. On 24 April 2019, Oman achieved One-Day International status for the first time until 2022, after they beat tournament hosts Namibia by four wickets in 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two.
The Dhofar Rebellion, also known as the War in Dhofar or the Omani Civil War, was waged from 1962 to 1976 in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The war began with the formation of the Dhofar Liberation Front, a group which aimed to create an independent state in Dhofar, free from the rule of the Omani Sultan Said bin Taimur. The rebels also held the broader goals of Arab nationalism which included the ending British influence in the Gulf region.
Oman – United States relations are bilateral relations between Oman and the United States. The U.S. relationship with Oman dates back 200 years, with American merchant ships making port calls in Oman as early as 1790. Oman was the first Arab nation to recognize the United States, sending an envoy in 1841.
Women in Oman were historically excluded from the forums of everyday life. But with the dispersal of Omanis in the early 1900s and their return in the early 1970s, a more contemporary population of Omanis that were influenced by the British colonial values during their time abroad have slowly challenged many traditions of gender segregation. Women now pursue careers and professional training, slowly moving from their previous household confinement to the public sphere. In Oman, 17 October is celebrated every year as the Omani Women's Day with various pro-female events.
The Jebel Akhdar War or the Oman War, also known as Jebel Akhdar rebellion broke out in 1954 and again in 1957 in Oman, as an effort by the local Omanis in the interior of Oman led by their elected Imam, Ghalib Alhinai, to protect the Imamate of Oman from the occupation plans of sultan Said bin Taimur, backed by the British government, who were eager to gain access to the oil wells in the interior lands of Oman. Sultan Said received direct financing to raise an armed force to occupy the Imamate of Oman from Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), a consortium of oil companies that was majorly owned by what-is-known-today as Royal Dutch Shell, Total, ExxonMobil and British Petroleum (BP); the latter was majority-owned by the British government. The Imamate was eventually supported by Arab states. The war lasted until 1959, when the British armed forces decided to take on direct interventions using air and ground attacks on the Imamate, which won the Sultanate the war. The declarations signed by the sultans of Muscat to consult the British government on all important matters, the unequal trade treaties signed by the two sides favoring British interests, the cessation of the Omani Kuria Muria islands to the British, and the vast control over the Sultanate's government ministries, including defense and foreign affairs, exerted by the British rendered the Sultanate a de facto British colony. The UN General Assembly adopted the 'Question of Oman' resolution in 1965, 1966 and again in 1967 that called upon the British government to cease all repressive action against the locals, end British control over Oman and reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Omani people to self-determination and independence.
The 2013-14 Oman Professional League is the 38th edition of the top football league in Oman. The Oman Football League got the seal of approval of a professional league on 1 September 2013 and will henceforth be called the Omantel Professional League (OPL). The season began on 13 September 2013, and concluded on 16 May 2014. Al-Suwaiq Club were the defending champions, having won their third title in the previous 2012–13 Elite League season. On Sunday, 28 April 2014, Al-Nahda Club were crowned the champions of the inaugural Oman Professional League with one game remaining after Al-Suwaiq Club edged out ten-man Fanja SC 5-3. Fanja SC needed a draw or a win on Sunday to prolong the fight for the OPL title, after Al-Nahda Club defeated Saham SC 4-3 to take their tally to 51 points, but its defeat dashed any hopes for the eight-time winners to match the record of nine titles, held by Dhofar S.C.S.C. in the 37-year-old history of Oman's top flight competition.
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have reached Oman on 24 February 2020 when two citizens tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Iran. As of 1 May, the total number of cases registered in the sultanate is 2,483, of which 750 cases have recovered and 12 have died.
