Omani Empire | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1696–1856 | |||||||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||||||
 Territorial evolution of the Omani Empire | |||||||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||||||
| Common languages | Official: Arabic Regional: Balochi Persian Swahili English French Malagasy | ||||||||||||
| Religion | Dominant: Ibadi Islam Minor: Sunni Islam Shia Islam Christianity | ||||||||||||
| Demonym | Omani | ||||||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||||||
| Yaruba Dynasty | |||||||||||||
• 1692–1711 | Saif bin Sultan (first) | ||||||||||||
• 1711–1718 | Sultan bin Saif II | ||||||||||||
• 1718–1719 | Saif bin Sultan II | ||||||||||||
• 1719–1720 | Muhanna bin Sultan | ||||||||||||
• 1722–1723 | Ya'arab bin Bel'arab | ||||||||||||
• 1724–1728 | Muhammad bin Nasir | ||||||||||||
• 1742–1743 | Sultan bin Murshid | ||||||||||||
• 1743–1749 | Bal'arab bin Himyar | ||||||||||||
| Al Busaid Dynasty | |||||||||||||
• 1744–1778 | Ahmad bin Said | ||||||||||||
• 1778–1783 | Said bin Ahmad | ||||||||||||
• 1783–1793 | Hamad bin Said | ||||||||||||
• 1792–1804 | Sultan bin Ahmed | ||||||||||||
• 1805–1806 | Badr bin Seif | ||||||||||||
• 1806–1856 | Said bin Sultan (last) | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
| 1696 | |||||||||||||
• Civil war in Oman | 1718 | ||||||||||||
• Persian invasion ofSohar | 1742 | ||||||||||||
• Al Busaid Dynasty took over | 1749 | ||||||||||||
| 1856 | |||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
• 1870 estimate | 367,400[1] | ||||||||||||
| Currency | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheOmani Empire (Arabic:الْإِمْبَرَاطُورِيَّة الْعُمَانِيَّة) was amaritime empire, vying withPortugal andBritain for trade and influence in thePersian Gulf andIndian Ocean. After rising as aregional power in the 18th century, the empire at its peak in the 19th century saw its influence or control extend across theStrait of Hormuz to modern-day Iran and Pakistan, and as far south asCape Delgado in what is nowMozambique. After the death ofSaid bin Sultan in 1856 the empire was divided between his sons into two sultanates, an African section (Sultanate of Zanzibar) ruled byMajid bin Said and an Asian section (Sultanate of Muscat and Oman) ruled byThuwaini bin Said.
Muscat, which is located in a strategic location on trade routes, came under the control of the Portuguese Empire between 1507 and 1650. However, the Portuguese did not succeed in controlling Oman in its entirety. In mid-17th century, the Omani tribes were able to end the Portuguese presence inMuscat.[2]
In 1696, under the reign ofSaif bin Sultan, an Omani fleet attackedMombasa, besieging the PortugueseFort Jesus, in which 2,500 civilians had taken refuge. The siege of the fort ended after 33 months when the garrison, dying of hunger, surrendered to the Omanis. By 1783, the Omani Empire had expanded eastwards toGwadar in present-day Pakistan.[2] The Omanis also continued attacking Portuguese bases in western India[3] but failed to conquer any. In the north, the Omanis moved into thePersian Gulf, takingBahrain from the Persians, holding it for several years.[4] The expansion of Omani power and influence southwards included the first large-scale settlement ofZanzibar by Omani migrants.
TheYa'rubids (1624–1719) managed to construct a powerful and well-organized state after the Portuguese had disrupted Arabian maritime trade in the region. The Portuguese encroachment which had engulfed the area in an economic crisis was challenged by the Omanis, where the latter managed to restore their traditional role as local maritime traders. Along with this, significant economic and political developments took place.[6]
The agriculture in Oman had undergone a massive improvement underSaif bin Sultan. He is known for providing water to the interior lands of Oman, while he encouraged Omani Arabs to move from the interior and settle along the coast by planting date palms in the coastalAl Batinah Region.[7] The town in the interior of Oman,Al Hamra, has its irrigation system improved by the new built largefalaj, it seems that the Ya'ruba dynasty supported major investment in settlement and agricultural works such as terracing along the Wadi Bani Awf.[8] Saif bin Sultan built new schools.[9] He made the castle ofRustaq his residence, adding the Burj al Riah wind tower.[10]
Saif bin Sultan died on 4 October 1711. He was buried in the castle of Rustaq in a luxurious tomb, later destroyed by aWahhabi general.[11] At his death he had great wealth, said to include 28 ships, 700 male slaves and one third of Oman's date trees. He was succeeded by his son.[7]Sultan bin Saif II (r. 1711–1718) established his capital at Al-Hazm on the road from Rustaq to the coast. Now just a village, there still are remains of a great fortress that he built around 1710, and which contains his tomb.[12]
Sultan bin Ahmad assumed control of the government after the death of his nephew and strengthened the already powerful fleet by adding numerous gunships and sleek cargo vessels, he also needed a strong ally to help him regain control ofMombasa from theMazrui clan, fight off the movement spreading from what is now Saudi Arabia and to keep the Qasimi tribes from the Persian city ofLengeh out of Oman. He found this able ally in Great Britain, which in the late 18th century was at war with France and knew that the French emperor,Napoleon Bonaparte, was planning to march through Persia and captureMuscat on his way to invade India. In 1798, Britain and Oman agreed on a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation.[13][14]
Sultan bin Ahmad pledged himself to British interests in India, and his territories became out of bounds to the French. He allowed theBritish East India Company to establish the first trading station in the Persian Gulf, and a British consul was posted to Muscat. As well as defeating Bonaparte, the British had another motive for the treaty with Oman: they wanted to put pressure on the sultan to end slavery, which had been declared illegal in England in 1772. At this time, the trade from Africa to Oman was still buoyant, and Zanzibar's position as an important trade centre was bolstered further when the supply of ivory fromMozambique to India collapsed because of excessive Portuguese export duties. The traders simply shipped their ivory through Zanzibar instead. Omani warships were in constant skirmishes up and down the gulf, which kept Sultan preoccupied. It was in the course of one of his sorties during an incursion abroad a ship in the Persian Gulf in 1804 that Sayyid Sultan was shot in the head by a stray bullet. He was buried in Lengeh.[15]
On 21 September 1833, a historic treaty of friendship and trade was signed with theUnited States. It was the second trade treaty formulated by the US and an Arab state (Morocco being the first in 1820). The United States and Oman both stood to benefit, as the US – unlike Britain and France – had no territorial ambitions in theMiddle East and was solely interested in commerce. On 13 April 1840, the shipAl-Sultanah docked atNew York, making it the first Arab envoy to ever visit the New World. Her crew of fifty-six Arab sailors caused a flurry of excitement among the three hundred thousand residents of that thriving metropolis.Al-Sultanah carried ivory, Persian rugs, spices, coffee and dates, as well as lavish gifts for PresidentMartin Van Buren. The visit of Al-Sultanah lasted nearly four months, in which time the emissary,Ahmad bin Na'aman Al Kaabi, the firstArab emissary to visit the United States[16] (whose portrait can still be seen in the Oman and Zanzibar display of thePeabody Essex Museum inMassachusetts) and his officers were entertained by state and city dignitaries. They received resolutions passed by official bodies, were given tours of New York City and saw sections which would, a few decades later, become Arabic-speaking immigrant neighborhoods. Among Bin Na'aman's hosts was CommodoreCornelius Vanderbilt, in whose home he met GovernorWilliam H. Seward and Vice PresidentRichard Mentor Johnson. The visit of Al Kaabi to America was a happy one, and when he prepared to leave, the United States completely repairedAl-Sultanah and presented him with gifts for his Sultan.[17]
Said bin Sultan was the son ofSultan bin Ahmad, who ruled Oman from 1792 to 1804. Sultan bin Ahmad died in 1804 on an expedition toBasra. He appointed Mohammed bin Nasir bin Mohammed al-Jabry as the Regent and guardian of his two sons,Salim bin Sultan and Said bin Sultan.[18] Sultan's brotherQais bin Ahmad, ruler ofSohar, decided to attempt to seize power. Early in 1805 Qais and his brother Mohammed marched south along the coast toMuttrah, which he easily captured. Qais then started to besiege Muscat. Mohammed bin Nasir tried to bribe Qais to leave, but did not succeed.[18]
Mohammed bin Nasir called onBadr bin Saif for help.[18] After a series of engagements, Qais was forced to retire to Sohar. Badr bin Saif became the effective ruler.[19] Allied with the Wahhabis, Badr bin Saif became increasingly unpopular.[20] To get his wards out of the way, Badr bin Saif made Salim bin Sultan governor of Al Maşna‘ah, on the Batinah coast and Said bin Sultan governor ofBarka.[21]
In 1806, Said bin Sultan lured Badr bin Saif to Barka and murdered him nearby. Said was proclaimed ruler of Oman.[22] There are different accounts of what happened, but it seems clear that Said struck the first blow and his supporters finished the job. Said was acclaimed by the people as a liberator from the Wahhabis, who left the country. Qais bin Ahmad at once gave his support to Said. Nervous of the Wahhabi reaction, Said blamed Mohammed bin Nasir for the murder.[22]
Banadir - Mogadishu
The next year Britain failed to ratify Owen's Protectorate. this left the rebellious towns of East Africa alone against the Omani forces. ThusMogadishu was bombarded by Omani forces in 1828 and theBanadir Omani suzerainty was restored. After this jurisdiction over the Banadir coast was allotted to theSultan of Zanzibar, because of instability inMuscat.[23][24][25]
In 1832, Said bin Sultan transferred the capital from Oman toZanzibar. At that time, the empire's African dominion extended along theSwahili coast to 12 miles south of theRuvuma River inMozambique. Although the empire's primary governance was concentrated along the coastline, it also established control over numerous Africantributary states and designated governors for inland regions.[26]
The Omani Sultans' shared with theGeledi Sultans power over Banadir in a delicate equilibrium, thus when sultanBarghash ibn Sa'id sought to build the Fort of Garessa in Mogadishu in the year 1870, it had to be with the agreement and assistance of the SultanAhmed Yusuf of the Geledi. The Sultan of Geledi however did not dispute Zanzibari suzerainty and both were friends rather than rivals..[27][28][29]
In the southern part of the Banadir along Kismayu, the rule was more direct that when Darod reinforcements from the North arrived to increase the Darod trust in the interior into the south against the Galla's they did so with the authority and approval of the Sultan of Zanzibar. The Sultan of Zanzibar constructed a fort in Kismayo in 1869.[30][31][32][33]
The Sultan of Zanzibar later leased and then sold the infrastructure that he had built to the Italians, although not the land which is wrongfully stated by some accounts.[34] The fort served as a residence (calledGaresa) for the then Governor of Mogadishu, Suleiman bin Hamed. Eventually it was turned intoThe National Museum of Somalia.
Under the 1798 Anglo-Omani Treaty of Friendship, Britain guaranteed the sultan's rule. When a succession crisis occurred in 1856, the Omani Empire was divided between theSultanate of Oman and Muscat and theSultanate of Zanzibar. Later in 1891, the former became a British Protectorate where the sultan controlled the Muscat coast while the Imam governed the interior fromNizwa.[35]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)