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The article traces the multifaceted path of the Sultanate of Oman: it analyzes the evolution of the Sultanate's role: from a British possession focused on domestic politics and the resolution of internecine wars to an influential player in the region and a mediator in resolving conflicts on an international scale. The article shows how Oman combines a traditional but unique foreign policy with active participation in solving global problems, and neutral, as a peacemaker and mediator in terms of escalating conflicts.

Discover this 2026 paper in Journal of Babylon Center for Humanities Studies by ماجد مزهر حسين focusing on: NETHERLANDS; OMAN; MARITIME shipping; INTERNATIONAL alliances; COMMERCIAL markets; INTERNATIONAL economic relations; MARITIME history Abstract: Trade played a major role in the development of trade relations between the Netherlands and Oman, principally when the Netherlands was considered as one of the major maritime countries in the world in that time. So, it was in deep need to this commercial markets to sell its trade and Oman was considered as the most remarkable country in the Arabian Gulf region at that time. Also, it had significant control over the seas and rivers in the Arabian region . Oman’s control extended to many areas in East Africa. Therefore, the Netherlands found in Oman a strong ally and with this ally it can enter into an alliance, and the Omani markets would become the most important markets for selling Dutch products. Oman welcomed this alliance, through which it found an important way to stand up to the European countries and Persia . The Netherlands used trade as a means to gain a foothold in Oman, both to unload its goods and to secure access to the seas and rivers bordering Oman. The Dutch believed Omani markets were important for selling their merchandise, particularly from their Asian colonies. However, Omani markets were not as large as the Dutch had imagined, as they were not significant enough to purchase Dutch goods.

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This paper presents the integrated study of a distinctive bleach-decorated (bleached or etched) carnelian bead (S3074) discovered at the South Arabian port of Sumhuram (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman), a Hadrami trading outpost active within regional and transoceanic trade networks between 100 BCE and 400 CE. Originating from a technology developed in the Greater Indus Valley during the 3rd millennium BCE, bleached carnelian beads remained markers of long-distance trade in the Early Historic and Medieval periods. Stylistic comparisons and SEM-based drilling diagnostics revealed that the Sumhuram specimen, the first securely identified example of this bead type in South-western Arabia, is consistent with production in north-western India. Its discovery in an urban context rather than a funerary assemblage raises interpretive questions about its circulation and meaning. While it may reflect structured trade flows linking Gujarat with South-eastern Arabia, the possibility that it was the personal possession of a South Asian individual temporarily residing in Sumhuram is equally plausible. This case ultimately exemplifies the entanglement of material culture, mobility, and identity in a cosmopolitan port city. Beyond economic exchange, the bead provides insight into personal histories and cross-cultural interactions across the Western Indian Ocean during the Late Iron Age.

The site of Halban, located 35 km to the west of the capital city Muscat (Sultanate of Oman), was first mentioned in 1998. The site comprises 33 well-preserved monumental stone funerary structures situated on a limestone terrace between the Al-Batinah coastal plain and the Al-Hajar Al-Gharbi mountains. Most of these tombs date back to the 3rd millennium BCE and are characterized by their substantial diameter, considerable remaining height, and noticeable variability in construction techniques and external polishing. This contribu- tion presents the preliminary results of the excavations carried out in 2023 and 2024, which reveal a complex palimpsest of continuity and reuse at a strategic location. This position enabled the connection of inland oases with coastal communities and allowed for the interception of major short- and long-distance trade routes during the 3rd millennium BCE.

Soils in Oman are still out of the optics within geoheritage disciplines, absent from national conservation programs despite their significant yet intangible ecosystem services, including cultural, aesthetic, religious, and historical values important to Arab nations. While Oman’s geological assets are recognized, particularly among petroleum geologists, this paper addresses this lacuna by highlighting: a) the unique pedodiversity across Omani regions; b) historical use of soils and sediments (as components of e.g. mortar or plaster) in traditional structural, geotechnical, and domestic engineering during pre-industrial epochs; c) the rapidly growing international tourism and local recreational sectors attracted by ancient monuments and technologies, integrating Omani landscapes and geographical peculiarities (ophiolite outcrops, wadis, terraced orchards in arid/hyperarid climates); and d) educational dimensions of pedoheritage, including a pioneering survey assessing local perceptions of soils beyond agronomic value. Five northern Omani sites—Wadi Bani Kharus falaj (Al-Awabi), Misfat Al-Abrien village (Al-Hamra), Harat Al-Yemen (Izki), Nizwa Fort, and Bahla’s porcelain factory - were studied through satellite-photographic imaging and physicochemical characterization of geomaterials (soil, gravel, cobbles, boulders). These components form traditional structures and artifacts (falaj liners, adobe-sarooj walls, mud-bricks, pottery). Laboratory analyses indicated distinct material properties linked to each site's topography, geomorphology, pedology, and hydrology. This research emphasizes preservation, enhances touristic value, and underscores valuable lessons for modern engineering: rediscovering ancestral building techniques for sustainable, zero-electricity thermal insulation, erosion-resistant construction, and efficient water storage-distribution systems - practices essential in addressing environmental challenges posed by strong winds and sporadic flash floods.

Background: Hyperlipidemia (HL) constitutes a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. This lipid disorder has become a primary focus for researchers because of its high prevalence worldwide, prompting increased efforts to discover new treatment options originating from natural alternatives to synthetic medications that can have serious adverse effects. Ethnopharmacological and ethnobotanical approaches have played a key role in documenting and identifying medicinal and aromatic plants. This survey aims to document Algerian medicinal plants (MPs) reported by local populations in the Ghardaïa region (Southern Algeria) as effective for the management of HL.

"The Routledge Handbook of Social Cohesion in Africa explores the meaning of social cohesion in an African context, comparing and historicizing empirical findings from across the continent as well as prioritizing African knowledges in interrogating institutional actors and policy environments. Social cohesion is closely associated with processes of peacebuilding and development, and many scholars and international institutions consider it a precondition, or necessary component, for the building of resilient collectives or institutions. However, the term remains vague and difficult to pin down, and it has been criticized as serving a pacifying and even anti-political function in certain contexts. There is an empirical gap when it comes to studying how the concept is approached in and for the African continent. Drawing on cutting-edge original research, this handbook addresses the empirical, intellectual, and pragmatic complexities and limitations, as well as affordances, of social cohesion and related concepts. Key theoretical contributions and case studies from across the continent are used to problematize a Western-centric approach to social cohesion and to bring in kindred African concepts, such as asabiyyah (North Africa), Gadaa (Ethiopia), and ubuntu (Southern Africa). The book considers how different institutional actors are measuring social cohesion in Africa and investigates selected state and non-state policies on social cohesion. Based on critical, post-colonial thinking throughout, this book will be an important resource not only for policy-makers but also for researchers and academics working in African studies; sociology; politics; global development; queer and gender studies; and conflict, peace, and security studies"--

This article examines the East African experience of the 1875–1876 Egyptian invasion of part of the Sultanate of Zanzibar and its interpretation as preserved in written sources. The key part of this article's argument addresses important questions posed by global history, namely: what was the image of the modernizing world from its peripheries? How was the information upon which it was built spread, hierarchized, and interpreted?, The author analyzes the traces of the invasion left in Zanzibar's later historical memory, which he compares with the known facts concerning the course and reception of the Egyptian actions. The article strives to embed the conclusions thus reached in its diachronic analysis. It also uses explanatory models (referred to as conspiracy theories) to understand the population's political mood and its access to information about the international situation. The initial premise for creating conspiracy theories, the author argues, was the contradiction between the image of Egypt as a strong Muslim state and a potential anti-imperial ally, rooted in the minds of the Sultan of Zanzibar's Muslim subjects and in the practices of the occupying forces.

At the dawn of the modern era, the Islamic world faced an overwhelming wave of colonial expansion, as European powers sought to dominate vital maritime routes and commercial hubs across the East, aiming to control global trade and natural resources. The western Indian Ocean—comprising the coasts of the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Peninsula, western India, and eastern Africa—became a major theatre of this imperial contest, as vast areas fell under Portuguese domination for more than a century. Yet, divine providence granted this region enlightened leadership embodied in the Imams of Oman from the Yaʿrubi dynasty, who confronted the colonial advance with a comprehensive liberation project that reshaped the geopolitical balance in the western Indian Ocean and inaugurated a new era of regional stability, prosperity, and sovereignty. This study examines Oman’s foreign policy during the reign of Imam Saif bin Sultan al-Yaʿrubi (1692–1711 CE) as a distinguished model of Islamic leadership that successfully employed naval and diplomatic power to achieve regional peace and security while consolidating Oman’s independence in the face of European expansionism. The research adopts a descriptive-analytical methodology, drawing upon historical documents, maps, and primary and secondary sources to uncover the intellectual and strategic foundations of Omani foreign policy during this pivotal period and to assess its political, military, and economic outcomes across the broader Indian Ocean region. The first section explores Imam Saif bin Sultan’s policy of consolidating security and promoting peace throughout the western Indian Ocean through a comprehensive strategic vision grounded in the unification of the Omani interior and the enhancement of the state’s maritime and commercial capabilities. The second section analyzes the outcomes of this policy, which combined firmness and pragmatism in confronting colonial powers, as the Imam pursued a systematic offensive strategy aimed at liberating Portuguese strongholds and securing international navigation and free trade. The study concludes that the era of Imam Saif bin Sultan marked a strategic turning point in Omani foreign policy, transforming the state from a defensive actor into a proactive regional power. His leadership institutionalized the principles of maritime sovereignty, preventive diplomacy, and regional balance in an era marked by intense global competition. Furthermore, this Omani experience provides valuable insights into the enduring concept of peace through strength and exemplifies an early form of ethical realism in Arab-Islamic political thought and practice. Keywords: Imam Saif bin Sultan al-Yaʿrubi, foreign policy, the Portuguese, western Indian Ocean, Omani naval power.

While the close relationship between the British state and Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman (reigned 1970–2020) is widely recognised in the scholarship, the present article explores an aspect of the relationship that has hitherto attracted limited attention: the British role in Qaboos’s education and development from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Using a range of largely unexamined primary sources generated by the Arabian Department of the UK Foreign Office, it reveals what a ‘British education’ consisted of and implied in the case of Qaboos bid Said. It concludes that the British state understood the potential value of exerting an influence over the only son of Sultan Said bin Taymour, and strove to capitalise on its access to Qaboos during a formative period in his life. However, it is argued that the British state’s handling of Qaboos’s education reveals a lack of power, cohesion, and sometimes of interest. The article shows that the overwhelming influence over Qaboos’s education was his father, the sultan. At crucial moments, the Foreign Office failed to cooperate smoothly with other interested institutions, including the Shell oil company. Moreover, the Foreign Office’s commitment to the project of educating Qaboos oscillated in intensity and by the time Qaboos returned to Oman in 1964, British attitudes regarding their achievements with the would-be ruler were, at best, ambivalent.

تتناول هذه الدراسة ظاهرة الفخر النرجسي في شعر سليمان بن سليمان بن مظفر النبهاني للوقوف على دوافعها وأسبابها، والكشف عن تجلياتها المختلفة، وإسهامها في توجيه إبداعه الشعري، وسعت الدراسة إلى استنطاق النصوص الشعرية وتتبع العوامل الخارجية التي أسهمت في إنتاجها، وتنبثق أهمية هذه الدراسة من كونها تتناول ظاهرة نفسية لم تسبق دراستها في شعر سليمان النبهاني بل لم تدرس. س- حسب اطلاعنا- في الشعر العماني عامة، ومما يزيد الموضوع جدة وطرافة أن هذا الشاعر أحد ملوك الدولة النبهانية التي حكمت عمان قرونا من الزمن، وخاض ملوكها صراعات كبيرة ضد خصومهم لتثبيت ملكهم. ولنا أن نتساءل عن دوافع الفخر النرجسي عند النبهاني، وعن تجلياته في نتاجه الشعري وللإجابة عن ذلك لجأت الدراسة إلى تتبع الفخر في شعره، واتكأت على تحليل النصوص الشعرية واستنطاقها، والوقوف على العوامل الخارجية المحيطة بالشاعر لحظة إبداعه الشعري، وتوسلت الدراسة المنهج النفسي مع الإفادة من نظريتي التلقي والتأويل. وقد اقتضت حيثيات الدراسة قسمتها إلى مقدمة وأربعة محاور: المحور الأول: دوافع الفخر النرجسي في شعر سليمان النبهاني المحور الثاني: نرجسية الفخر بأصالة العرق ووراثة الملك. المحور الثالث: نرجسية الفخر بتفخيم الذات واحتقار الآخر. المحور الرابع: نرجسية الفخر بادعاء التفرد. وقد خلصت الدراسة إلى أن أبرز دوافع الفخر النرجسي عند النبهاني تتمثل في اجتماع عراقة النسب ووراثة الملك، وكثرة المنازعين له في ملكه، بالإضافة إلى نشأته الملكية، وأسهمت قدراته الشعرية والسياسية والقتالية في تكريس النرجسية في شخصيته، وقد تجلى الفخر النرجسي في شعر النبهاني في مظاهر ثلاثة: أولها نرجسية الفخر بأصالة العرق ووراثة الملك، وثانيها الفخر بتفخيم الذات واحتقار الآخر، وآخرها الفخر بإدعاء التفرد.