Thursday, September 22, 2022
oman flag
oman flag
A plain red flag was used in Oman as early as AD 750, and from 1868 to 1871 a plain white flag, symbol of the imam (religious leader), served as the national flag.
The ruling sultan was deposed on July 23, 1970, and the new sultan, Qābūs ibn Saʿīd, began to modernize the nation: he changed its name to Sultanate of Oman and, on December 17, 1970, introduced the new national flag. White symbolizes peace and prosperity, red the battles fought against foreign invaders, and green the fertility of the land. Unofficially, white is associated with the imamate, red the sultanate, and green the mountainous interior area known as “Green Mountain”, Al-Jabal Al-Akh[dsubdot]ar. Also featured is the national coat of arms, dating from about 1940 and consisting of two crossed swords, a dagger, and a belt. On November 18, 1995, the horizontal stripes at the fly end, originally of different widths, were made equal.
oman history
oman history
Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world. By the 18th century, the Omani Empire stretched from present day Oman down the east coast of Africa. A new era began in 1970 when Sultan Qaboos bin Said changed the name of the country from the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman to simply Oman.
Oman before Islam
Archaeological evidence has suggested an industrial presence around Aybut Al Auwal dating to around 100,000 years ago. Oman is also the location of one of the world’s earliest inhabited cities at Al Wattih, which dates back 10,000 years. Until the coming of Islam in the 7th century, Oman was dominated by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians. Each sought to use Oman’s strategic location for trade with the wider world.
The Coming of Islam
As Islam expanded during the 7th century, Oman entered the faith freely, which led the Prophet Muhammad to state that, ‘God’s mercy be on the people of Al Ghubaira (the people of Oman)…They have believed in me although they had not seen me.’ Over the coming centuries rule in Oman divided amongst a variety of dynasties, imamates, and foreign powers. In 1154, the Nabhani dynasty came to power and ruled Oman until 1470.
Oman and the Portuguese
Portugal dominated the region around Muscat between 1507 and 1650, due to Oman’s strategically important position on trade routes to the east. The Ottoman Empire occupied Muscat between 1581 and 1888. Neither the Portuguese nor the Ottomans, however, controlled Oman in its entirety. By the mid-17th century, Omani tribes under the Imam’s leadership drove the Portuguese out of Muscat.
The Omani Empire
In the late 17th century, the Imam of Oman, Saif bin Sultan, began a process of expansion down the east coast of Africa. In 1749, the current Al Said dynasty came to power in Oman after driving out the Persians who invaded in 1737. In 1783, the Omani Empire expanded to Gwadar in present day Pakistan. Oman became a powerful regional trading power based on maritime trade.
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oman flag national flag consisting of horizontal stripes of white, red, and green and, at the hoist, a vertical red stripe with the national...
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oman history Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world. By the 18th century, the Omani Empire stretched from present day Oman d...
