Imamate of Oman
Imamate of Oman إمامة عُمَان Imāmat 'Umān | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
749–1959 | |||||||||||
Motto: theocratic absolute elective monarchy | |||||||||||
Imam | |||||||||||
• 749–751 (first) | Al-Julanda bin Masud | ||||||||||
• 1954–1959 (last) | Ghalib al-Hinai | ||||||||||
Legislature | Consultative Council | ||||||||||
Historical era | Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire/New Imperialism | ||||||||||
• Imamate declared | 749 | ||||||||||
25 September 1920 | |||||||||||
• End of the Jebel Akhdar War | 1959 | ||||||||||
Currency | Maria Theresa thaler[1] | ||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | OM | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Today part of | Oman |
The Imamate of Oman (Arabic: إِمَامَة عُمَان, romanized: Imāmat ʿUmān) was a historical state within the Oman proper (
The Imamate of Oman, similar to the Sultanate of Muscat, was ruled by the Ibadi sect. Imams exercised spiritual and temporal representation over the region.[3] The Imamate is a 1,200-year-old system of government pioneered by the Ibadi religious leaders of Oman, and was based upon the Islamic sharia. The Imamate holds that the ruler should be elected.[5] The imam is considered as the head of the community but tribalism that is part of the Omani society encouraged a decentralised form of governance that would help sustain political unity among the Omanis.[3] The Imamate set out a government system wherein the ruler should not have absolute political nor military power; rather power should be shared with local governors.[6] To prevent local or external threats to the Imamate, the imam had to gather the support of the local communities and tribes to raise a force to fight for a certain cause. The imam needed in-depth understanding of tribal politics and political acumen to maintain political stability within the Imamate when conflicts occurred.[3]
History
Omani
Since its appearance, the Imamate governed parts or the whole of present-day Oman and overseas lands for interrupted periods of time. At its peak power, the Imamate was able to expel the Portuguese colonizers out of Oman and established a sea power that extended its empire to the Persian Gulf and East Africa during the 17th century.
In the mid-18th century, Ahmed bin Sa'id Al Bu Said, who came from a small village in the interior of Oman, expelled the Persian colonizers from Oman and became the elected Imam of Oman, with
In current usage, "Oman proper" can also refer to the whole of the present-day sultanate minus the
.Phases
There are eight phases in the history of the Imamate of Oman:[16]
- The First Imamate (749–751)
- The Second Imamate (793–893)
- The Third Imamate (897–940s)
- The Fourth Imamate (1016–1164)
- The Fifth Imamate (1406–1556)
- The Sixth Imamate (1624–1792)
- The Seventh Imamate (1868–1871)
- The Eighth Imamate (1913–1959)
See also
References
- ^ El-Sohl, Raghid (1997). Oman and the South-Eastern Shore of Arabia. p. 63. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "FO 1016/313 The Imamate of Oman: report by George Rentz p.44". agda.ae. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Oman's Foreign Policy: Foundation and Practice: Foundation and Practice by Majid Alkhalili
- ^ Historical Summary of Events in the Persian Gulf Shaikhdoms and the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, 1928–1953' [97v] (199/222) QDL.
- ^ a b British National Archive: (18/316) Muscat State Affairs: Muscat– Oman Treaty
- ^ a b c Oman and the World: The Emergence of an Independent Foreign Policy (Joseph A. Kechichian)
- ^ The Oman Question: The Background to the Political Geography of South-East Arabia J. C. Wilkinson.
- ^ Geographical Review JSTOR.
- ^ The Oman Question: The Background to the Political Geography of South-East Arabia J. C. Wilkinson.
- ISBN 978-1-4053-8935-8. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ a b "A Close Relationship: Britain and Oman Since 1750". QDL. 11 December 2014.
- ^ CNN Arabic: وفاة آخر أئمة عُمان في منفاه السياسي بالسعودية
- ^ British National Archive: Muscat and Oman Internal Affairs History
- ^ J. E. Peterson, "The Revival of the Ibadi Imamate in Oman and the Threat to Muscat, 1913–20," Arabian Studies 3 (1976): 165–88.
- ^ "A Close Relationship: Britain and Oman Since 1750". QDL. 11 December 2014.
- ^ Al-Hashimy, Sa'id b. Muhammad b. Said (1994). Imam Salim b. Rashid and the Imamate revival in Oman 1331/1913 - 1338/1920 (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Leeds.