Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00940-0 - A History of Modern Jeremy Jones and Nicholas Ridout Frontmatter More information

A History of Modern Oman

An ideal introduction to the history of modern Oman from the eigh- teenth century to the present, this book combines the most recent schol- arship on Omani history with insights drawn from a close analysis of the politics and international relations of contemporary Oman. Jeremy Jones and Nicholas Ridout offer a distinctive new approach to Omani history, building on postcolonial thought and integrating the study of politics and culture. The book addresses key topics, including Oman’s historical cosmopolitanism, the distinctive role of Omani Islam in the country’s social and political life, Oman’s role in the global economy of the nineteenth century, insurrection and revolution in the twentieth century, the role of Sultan Qaboos in the era of oil and Oman’s unique regional and diplomatic perspective on contemporary issues.

Jeremy Jones has an Oxford-based consulting business and has worked on Oman since the 1980s. His fi rst book, Negotiating Change: The New Politics of the Middle East (2007), anticipated the Arab Spring. He is Senior Associate Member at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

Nicholas Ridout has worked with Jeremy Jones on research in Oman since 1989. Their fi rst book together, Oman, Culture and Diplomacy , was published in 2012. He is also Professor of Theatre at Queen Mary University of London and has published extensively on theatre and performance.

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00940-0 - A History of Modern Oman Jeremy Jones and Nicholas Ridout Frontmatter More information

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00940-0 - A History of Modern Oman Jeremy Jones and Nicholas Ridout Frontmatter More information

A History of Modern Oman

JEREMY JONES

NICHOLAS RIDOUT

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www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107402027 © Jeremy Jones and Nicholas Ridout 2015 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2015 Printed in the of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Jones, Jeremy, 1954– A history of modern Oman / Jeremy Jones, Nicholas Ridout. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-107-00940-0 (hardback) – ISBN 978-1-107-40202-7 (pbk.) 1. Oman – History – 20th century. 2. Oman – History. I. Ridout, Nicholas Peter. II. Title. DS247.O68J66 2015 953.53–dc23 2015016106 ISBN 978-1-107-00940-0 Hardback ISBN 978-1-107-40202-7 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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Contents

List of Figures page vi List of Maps vii Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

Part One Foundations

1 Oman and the Al Bu Said 23 2 Oman, and Empire 35 3 Oman in the Age of British Ascendancy and the Arab Nahda 64

Part Two Modern History

4 The Sultanate as Nation, 1932–1959 99 5 Dhofar 132 6 Oil, Government and Security, 1955–1980 161 7 Shura , Diplomacy and Economic Liberalisation, 1980–2000 195 8 Oman in the Twenty-First Century 232

Bibliography 273 Index 281

v

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Figures

1 Sultan Barghash, a carte de visite , 1865 page 83 2 Sultan Faisal with Sayyid Taimur and Sayyid Said, 1913 93 3 Sultan Taimur and his court, 1913 96 4 Sultan Said in 1957 101 5 Nizwa after its capture by Sultan Said in 1957 126 6 Imam Ghalib and Sulayman bin Himyar with President Nasser in 1959 129 7 The ruins of Sulayman bin Himyar’s house at Birkat al Mowz 130 8 Lieutenant Said Salim with Said Musalim Said al-Mahri 140 9 Jabbalis at the Salalah perimeter fence, 1968 145 10 Eid al-Adha at , 1969 (Sayyid Ahmed bin Ibrahim, Sayyid Nadir, Sayyid Sultan, Sayyid Thuwaini, Sayyid Abbas and Sayyid Malik) 148 11 Sultan Qaboos’s accession to the throne, with Sayyid Shihab offi ciating 148 12 Shaikh Buraik 149 13 Sultan Qaboos, Shaikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and Sayyid Tariq in Muscat, 1970 151 14 A Dhofari rebel commander, 1971 154 15 Sayyid Thuwaini attending Oman–UAE border demarcation work 155 16 A Dhofari dancer at Sultan Qaboos’s wedding 159 17 Sultan Qaboos with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 1994 218 18 Elections in Muscat, 1997 229 19 Protests outside Majlis ash Shura, 2011 245 20 Sultan Qaboos with President Rouhani of , 2014 253 21 Sultan Qaboos, Muscat 2013 259

vi

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Maps

1 Oman page x 2 Oman in the Gulf xi 3 Oman in the Indian Ocean xii

vii

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all the friends, citizens and offi cials in Oman who have generously given their time to conversations and discussions with the authors over the many years of their work in Oman. Thanks are also due to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. They are grateful, also, to two anonymous readers for the Press, whose advice helped refi ne and develop the book. Special thanks, for assistance with the preparation of materials for the book, to Debbie Usher at the Middle East Centre Archive, St Anthony’s College, Oxford, and to Orlagh Woods and Liz Heasman.

ix

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Hormuz

it of tra Ho IRAN P S r m e u r s z i a n G MUSANDAM QATAR u l f Doha

Sea of Oman Abu Dhabi Buraimi B H A a T I j N a A H Dank r Barka Rustaq Muscat Jebel M o Nakhl Ibri Akhdar Sait u n Hamra t a Tanuf i n Bahla Izki s DHAHIRAH Nizwa SHARQIYAH Sur Adam Fahud DAKHLIYA

SAUDI N ARABIA

A Masirah

Duqm M

O DHOFAR

Thamrayt Arabian Sea

YEMEN Salalah Taqa Mugsayl Rakhyut Mirbat Raysut 0 100 200 300 km

0 50 100 150 miles

Map 1. Oman.

x

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Tehran

Baghdad

IRAN

Basra

Kuwait Bushehr Greater and Lesser Tunb Bandar Abbas H Qishm Dammam I Abu Musa Ras J Doha Dubai al-Khaimah Medina Diriyah Riyadh A Abu Sohar Dhabi Buraimi NAJD Muscat Z Nizwa Sur N Mecca

A Duqm M O Salalah

0 500 1000 km

0 250 500 750 miles Map 2. Oman in the Gulf.

xi

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P e r si an G ul Gwadar SIND R f Sohar Karachi e Muscat GUJARAT d OMAN Sur

Diu Head S Duqm e Bay of a Salalah Bengal Arabian Sea Mysore Kannur Malabar Coast Kozhikode Kollam

Malindi Pate Mombasa Pemba Dar es INDIAN OCEAN Salaam Zanzibar Kilwa Cape Delgado

Mauritius Réunion 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 km

0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 miles

Map 3. Oman in the Indian Ocean.

xii

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