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This dissertation is a history of the Omani Empire focused primarily on the first half of the nineteenth century. I use the reign of Oman’s longest serving ruler, Saʿid bin Sultan (1804/6-1856), as a lens for highlighting the formative role the Omani Empire played in uniting the Atlantic and Indian Oceans into a shared oceanic marketplace, a crucial step in the emergence of modern global capitalism. It is based on archival research and published primary sources from throughout Oman, Zanzibar, India, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This work reveals the Omani Empire as a new, mostly overlooked space for seeing how entrepreneurs and statesmen combined imperial agendas, slave labor, and the singular pursuit of profit in uniting disparate markets into global circuits of exchange. Across six chapters, I unravel the process by which Zanzibar, the empire’s capital, became a monied metropolis bursting with entrepreneurs from throughout the world, trading in the most coveted consumer goods of the time. By using an oceanic framework, I bring into focus an entire history of empire and capitalism that has been largely overlooked by many Middle East and Islamic world historians because of a conventional adherence to terrestrial units of analysis. Most broadly, I aim to show how the makings of the modern world lie as much in places like East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as in places like England or New England. Accordingly, I use the Omani Empire as a platform for arguing that the formation of global capitalism resulted from relatively new maritime markets throughout the Atlantic Ocean being incorporated into the longer standing Indian Ocean world.

Manuscripts produced and used by Ibadi Muslim communities have been on the move in the Maghrib and beyond for over a millennium. Yet most Ibadi texts, including most extant copies of pre-modern texts, were copied from the 18th century onward. This means that any study of these manuscripts must address their early modern and modern histories, including their encounter with colonialism, their role in shaping post-independence nationalist historiographies, and contemporary efforts at manuscript documentation in the region. In this presentation, I follow the history of manuscript migration connected to Ibadi communities in the Jebel Nafusa through four intersecting themes. The first relates to the objects themselves, pausing to consider the history of their production, based on a survey of manuscript catalogs and data from recent digitization and documentation projects in the region. This dimension has migration at its core, since many “Nafusi” manuscripts were produced outside the Jebel Nafusa in other centers of Ibadi learning in Northern Africa. Continuing to follow the manuscripts as they moved through space allows us to trace the trajectories of their copyists and owners. Using exemplary private libraries today located in Djerba, Tunisia, I present a migrant manuscript trajectories that connect the Jebel Nafusa, Cairo, the Mzab Valley in Algeria, and the island of Djerba. I then turn my attention to an important but often neglected aspect of Maghribi manuscript histories; namely, their colonial legacies. Finally, I highlight the work done by local Ibadi organizations in the past two decades to document and to preserve individually and collectively owned manuscript collections.

Ghardaïa, situated in the centre of Saharan Algeria, is renowned for its well-preserved medieval architecture tracing back to its establishment by the puritanical Ibāḍiyyah sect in the 11th century CE. The city has been home to a Jewish community for centuries, although its exact origins remain debated. Evidence suggests migrations from Djerba, Marrakesh, and Tafilalt shaping a unique Jewish dialect that reflects ties to both Tunisia and Morocco. This paper presents a preliminary linguistic analysis of the Jewish dialect of Ghardaïa, shedding light on its historical layers and socio-linguistic dynamics. Through comparative analysis with neighbouring Muslim dialects, Jewish Djerba, and Jewish Marrakesh, it unravels the complexities of this distinct linguistic heritage, providing insights into its origins and evolution. Additionally, it delves into the nuanced variations between male and female lects within the Jewish community of Ghardaïa, elucidating socio-phonetic features that contribute to the rich diversity of the dialect.

يهدف هذا البحث إلى دراسة حياة وآراء الشيخ أبي بكر الكندي، أحد أبرز علماء الإباضية في القرن السادس الهجري، وذلك من خلال تتبع مسيرته الشخصية والعلمية، وتحليل مؤلفاته، واستعراض آرائه الكلامية. اعتمد البحث المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، حيث قام الباحث بجمع المعلومات من مصادرها الأصلية، ككتب التراجم والمؤلفات الخاصة بالكندي، وقام بتحليلها واستخلاص أهم النتائج. توصل البحث إلى أن الكندي كان عالمًا موسوعيًا، له إسهامات كبيرة في مختلف العلوم، مثل الفقه والميراث والنحو والمنطق والفلسفة وعلم الكلام. كما تميز الكندي بآرائه المتميزة في بعض المسائل الكلامية، وقدرته على استخدام المنطق والعقل في إثبات وجهات نظره، مع الحفاظ على التوافق مع المنهج الإباضي العام. خلص البحث إلى أهمية إجراء المزيد من الدراسات حول تراث الكندي العلمي، وتحقيق بقية مؤلفاته التي لم تُنشر بعد، وتنظيم ندوة علمية لتسليط الضوء على شخصيته وتراثه العلمي.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, the Mzab region in the north of the Algerian Sahara, then under French rule, was shaken by controversies over the consumption and lawfulness of European goods. Historians typically analyze these debates as a form of cultural resistance to colonization or as a sign of the allegedly difficult adaptation of “Islam” to “modernity.” They single out two types of reaction: that of self-proclaimed “reformist” scholars and that of “conservatives,” caricatured as shoring up a barren tradition. Based on the case of the Mzab and on a wide range of Islamic legal documents, this article opens up a new perspective on the relations between Islam, modernity, and colonialism, demonstrating that other logics were also at work. For the Islamic scholars involved, the most important issue at stake was the purity of their community and its preservation in a context of cultural and political uncertainty. Using the tools of Islamic law, both advocates and detractors of these “innovations” shaped a particular vision of their community and its boundaries. By bringing together colonial and Islamic sources, and drawing on both colonial and Islamic studies, this article challenges a reading of the modern history of Islam based on notions such as modernity and reform, which were essentially instrumental in these debates. It also moves away from a historiography that is blind to the internal complexity of these societies, drawing attention to the multiple rationales at work in colonized North Africa., Des années 1930 aux années 1950, le Mzab, région du Nord du Sahara algérien alors sous domination française, fut secoué par des polémiques autour de la consommation de produits européens : étaient-ils ou non licites ? Ces questions ont jusqu’à présent été envisagées comme une forme de résistance culturelle à la colonisation, ou comme le signe de la difficile adaptation de l’« islam » à la « modernité ». Des lettrés qui se voulaient « réformistes » auraient été les fers de lance de cette adaptation, par opposition à des « conservateurs » caricaturés comme arc-boutés à une tradition stérile. À partir du cas du Mzab et de sources liées à la normativité islamique, cet article, qui explore d’une façon inédite le rapport entre islam, modernité et colonisation, démontre que d’autres logiques étaient à l’œuvre : pour les acteurs, l’enjeu portait avant tout sur la pureté de leur communauté et les moyens de la préserver, dans un moment d’incertitude culturelle et politique. À l’aide des outils de la normativité islamique, partisans et adversaires de ces innovations façonnaient des images différentes de leur communauté et lui assignaient des limites distinctes. Faisant dialoguer sources coloniales et islamiques, historiographie des sociétés coloniales et islamologie, la démonstration remet en cause une lecture de l’histoire contemporaine de l’islam centrée sur les notions de modernité et de réforme, qui étaient essentiellement instrumentales dans ces débats. Elle fait aussi entendre la pluralité des rationalités à l’œuvre dans les sociétés colonisées du Maghreb, tranchant avec une historiographie d’ordinaire aveugle à leur complexité interne.

Aflaj are the most important engineering technology in Oman for the abstraction of water under the ground. Aflaj’s water is used for domestic and agricultural purposes in this country. Therefore, the quality of Aflaj’s water is crucial for both domestic users and farmers for agricultural and irrigation purposes. Water decision-makers consistently recognize the need for a reliable model that can predict quality. This study employs four distinct models to achieve this objective. Artificial neural network, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), K-nearest neighbor, and support vector machine are the engaged models. They have been used for the forecasting of electrical conductivity (EC) as a quality parameter in falaj Al-Hamra, Oman. To this end, five reasonable scenarios are defined (S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5). Input data such as precipitation, flowrate of falaj, temperature of water, and EC values with lag time is the only difference among these scenarios. The data collection spans from 1982 to 2021. We implement these models using the MATLAB programming software. We also use four evaluation criteria, namely, mean absolute error, root-mean-square error, Nash–Sutcliff error, and R, to assess the performance. Results showed that, among all the models, ANFIS has the highest accuracy in all stages, including training, testing, and validation. All evaluation criteria indicate this. Also, findings were presented that S4 is closer to the real condition of falaj Al-Hamra, as the errors achieved from this scenario are less than the others. It means that there is a relationship between the contributing parameters in scenario #4 and the quality of water in falaj Al-Hamra. The funding also revealed that changes in flowrate have a greater impact on the water's EC than precipitation. This study assists water decision-makers in developing a well-functioning model for quality forecasting, which can then be enforced in falaj Al-Hamra.

The emergence of the Spatial Agency approach marks a significant shift from traditional architectural paradigms, emphasizing the interconnectedness of social and technological networks involving diverse stakeholders. This approach aims to reframe conceptual frameworks and establish a resilient built environment. In contrast, the M'Zab architecture in Ghardaïa, Algeria, is adapted to the harsh desert landscape, reflecting socio-cultural identity and meeting the needs of local communities. The ksar of Tafilelt in Ghardaïa exemplifies strategies for preserving M'Zab architecture and urban identity while promoting sustainability and empowering marginalized communities through intricate socio-technical networks. This study examines how architectural interventions in Tafilelt's new ksar, as a system of agency, contribute to social and ecological resilience, health, well-being, and the continuation of Mozabite architectural identity, particularly focusing on its Eco-Parc. The research methodology utilizes the Mapping Controversies technique and Bruno Latour's Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a conceptual framework. Spatial agency is presented as an innovative strategy fostering socio-ecological networks of resilience in the new ksar of Tafilelt. It views architecture as an ecosystem that balances human agency and non-human local devices, empowering communities in decisionmaking and management. This approach promotes ecological balance, social equity, economic resilience, and health enhancement. The findings and framework can guide local architects in understanding and navigating the complexities of architectural practice, especially in marginalized communities. Future research could explore the application of these concepts in other Algerian regions and compare them with traditional government project approaches to understand their benefits and drawbacks.

How and why does Oman maintain an independent foreign policy that is neither allied, neutral, nor dependent? Previous arguments have emphasized the importance of Oman’s location and culture or the personality of Sultan Qaboos (reigned 1970‐2020). However, relying on geographical factors overlooks the Sultanate’s dependence on the United Kingdom under Sultan Sa‘id (r. 1932‐70), while focusing on the personality of the late Qaboos underassesses continuities in policy under his successor, Haitham (r. 2020‐). In this article I argue that Qaboos’s promotion and preservation of international partnerships in suppressing the Dhofar Rebellion in the 1970s shaped – and have sustained – Oman’s statecraft.