NOTES ON OMAN 



By Rev. S. M. Zwemer, Bahrein, on the Persian Gulf 



A MONG the most unknown regions 



/\ of the earth geographically is 

 jL A. the Arabian Peninsula, and one 

 of its least-known provinces is Oman. 

 Historically, politically, and geograph- 

 ically Oman has always been isolated 

 from the rest of Arabia. Ever since 

 the days of the caliphate, and as far as 

 outside communication with other Arabs 

 is concerned, Oman was practically an 

 island, with the sea on two sides and the 

 desert on the other. The people are, 

 therefore, even more primitive in their 

 habits than the Arabs generally, and 

 only recently have other towns than 

 Muscat, the present capital, opened their 

 eyes to the wide world. 



The coast line of Oman extends for 

 about a thousand miles, from the Strait 

 of Ormuz, southeast and southwest; 

 the province has an area of 82,000 

 square miles and a population estimated 

 at 800,000 by the Statesmen's Year 

 Book, but by Colonel Miles, who has 

 seen more of the interior than any other 

 recent traveler, at over 1,000,000. The 

 capital, Muscat, and the adjacent town 

 of Mutrah have together about 25,000 

 inhabitants. The ancient capital, Ros- 

 tak, has declined in importance since 

 Muscat was occupied by the Portuguese, 

 from 1508 to the middle of the seven- 

 teenth century. 



Ahmed bin Sa'eed, originally from 

 Yemen, captured Muscat and was elected 

 Imam of Oman in 1741. His family 

 have since been the rulers of this part of 

 Arabia, and the present Sultan came to 

 the throne on June 4, 1888. At the be- 

 ginning of the last century the power of 

 the Imams of Oman extended over a 

 large part of Arabia, the islands in the 

 Persian Gulf, a part of the Pirate Coast, 

 and a long strip of the African coast 

 south of Cape Guardafui, including So- 

 cotra and Zanzibar. At this time the 

 slave trade was flourishing, and it was 

 the Arabs of Oman who explored the 

 great interior of Africa long before the 



days of Speke and Livingstone. On the 

 death of Sultan Sa'eed in 1856 two rival 

 sons divided the government, one be- 

 coming the Sultan of Zanzibar and the 

 other of Muscat. 



The present Sultan has for many 

 years been under the protection of the 

 government of India, and Oman is prac- 

 tically a native state like other states in 

 India. A British consul and political 

 agent resides at Muscat, and although 

 the Sultan's revenue amounts to about 

 $250,000 his authority does not extend 

 far inland, and there is little security for 



OUTLINK MAP OF OMAN 



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