Oman

 

 

The history of the country of peace.

 

 



                                   

 

Oman  officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on

 the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It has a strategically important position

 at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to

the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest and also shares

a marine border with Iran. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast

 and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are

surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of

 Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.

 

 

From the 17th century, Oman had its own empire, and vied with Portugal and Britain

for influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century,

Omani influence or control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, and modern

day Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar. As its power declined in the 20th

century, the sultanate came under heavy influence from the United Kingdom, though

 Oman was never formally part of the British Empire, or a British protectorate. Oman

has long-standing military and political ties with the United Kingdom and the United

 States, although it maintains an independent foreign policy.