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Archaeological campaigns conducted during 2016 and 2017 at the site of Inqitat (Al Hamr al-Sharqiya), in the area of Khor Rori (Dhofar), produced an interesting assemblage of jewellery of various materials. The characteristics of the site are exceptional because they show traces of occupation from (prehistoric times)/ Prehistory right up to the Islamic period. Its geographical position(location), near Sumhuram, and its socio-political situation explain why bead assemblage here is so important. The use of particular stones indicates the presence of links with the area of the Persian Gulf and the Eastern part of the Indian Ocean. Furthermore, the discovery of some tools used for the production of the beads demonstrates a local production of some of these. The long life of the site could help to identify typical materials of each period thus allowing for a more complete comprehension of Dhofar and of the international connections of the area.

Medieval times as Zafar. Placed in a strategic position for its geographical location, climate, availability of water and abundance of fodder, its long history dates back to the Bronze Age. The settlement reached its peak in Mediaeval times when it was a (a hub?) of international trade along the Indian Ocean. Many commodities were exported from the region or passed through the port. Among them a number of regional products such as: myrrh, dragon’s blood, aloe and madder, the most important being, however, frankincense and Arabian horses. Frankincense trade in Mediaeval times is barely studied despite its importance and great incomes generated by this trade during the period. The paper will present a general overview of the site of Al Baleed and its importance in the trade of frankincense, mainly in relation with the Far-eastern market with an overview of the coveted treasures from the region of Dhofar.

Stone Town’s busy streets in the 1950s became a set for photographer Ranchhod Oza, proprietor of Capital Art Studio (1930–83). I was aesthetically drawn to the numerous bicycles portrayed in these Zanzibari images, just as Oza had been at an earlier time and place. I am less interested in reading the subject of bicycles as simply a sign of Zanzibari modernity, an accoutrement that projects a fantasy of advancement via technological things. Instead, I focus on their ability to reflect various material aspects of daily life in Stone Town. Some bicycles carry people, others transport things, while still others appear as stage props, leaning up against walls while waiting (im)patiently for their owners to return. Yet in all these Oza images, they are moving still, ready to reach another chosen destination. What does the content of bicycles say about Oza’s photographic style? Can these bicycles potentially speak to Zanzibar’s placeness as a cosmopolitan Indian Ocean port city?

This article explores the problem of reading architecture as archive, with specific reference to the built environment on the island of Zanzibar. The architecture of Stone Town – Zanzibar's urban centre – is often marshalled by scholars as clear evidence of the island's complex and layered histories. This reading, however, tends to lament an erstwhile Indian Ocean cosmopolitanism at odds with both the Zanzibari past and present. In this article, I trace the contours of the island's divergent political and architectural histories and demonstrate how an archival view of architecture can obscure the very past it seeks to recover. I illustrate this tension through one particular case study: the Khoja Jamatkhana in the heart of Stone Town. I then consider the possible futures of archival readings by exploring the limits of both formal analysis and historical context through the work of contemporary artist Zarina Bhimji. If the Jamatkhana points to the restrictive capacity of archival readings of architecture, Bhimji's work opens up the archive itself as a site of abstraction, bringing into sharp relief the intricate relationship between space and history.

In 1852, Centaur, a British ship laden with indigo from Bengal, wrecked at Al Khobar off the coast of Muscat in the Persian Gulf. The essay offers the micro-history of the shipwreck to understand the working of law in the Persian Gulf. The many different experiences of individuals impacted by the same mishap but located in different geographical, social and political contexts offers a thick connectedness of things on scales both small and large. The essay brings this more textured optic of micro-history in conversation with the embracive and flexible frame of analysis of Indian Ocean studies to understand the Gulf’s flexible legal terrain and its political implications.

The gradual armed takeover of Yemen, beginning with the capture of Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi rebels and supporters of ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh overthrew the internationally recognized government of President Hadi. On March 26, 2015 a Saudi-led coalition, including several regional countries, intervened militarily in “Operation Decisive Storm” to thwart the Iranian-backed Houthi expansion and restore Hadi to power. The coalition included all GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states except Oman, which stayed out of the conflict for both domestic and foreign policy reasons, calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Qatar took part in the coalition until it was excluded following the eruption of a diplomatic dispute with its immediate neighbors on June 5, 2017. Qatar joined Oman in seeking a peaceful settlement of the Yemeni dispute while extending diplomatic and humanitarian assistance, which was perceived by the Saudi-led coalition as interference in the conflict.

This article aims to study whether the increase of agricultural settlements in the Sultanate of Oman during the Late Islamic period (c. 1500-1950) was related to pre-oil globalization, as attested in the wider Gulf region. This is done by analysing the archaeological dataset of the agricultural village of Sahlat, with a focus on the ceramic material, located in the Suhar region. The assemblages collected by the Wadi al-Jizzi Archaeological Project, point to its occupation from c. 1750 to 1930. During this time period, the coastal towns of southeastern Arabia were heavily influenced by globalization processes, but the effects and reach of trade on rural communities remains poorly known. In this paper, Sahlat is compared to two contemporary sites connected to the same falaj system, and two other sites in the Gulf region. The results indicate that pre-oil globalization did not only impact coastal towns, but that rural settlements such as Sahlat experienced similar transformations. It is suggested that pre-oil globalization was not only linked to the pearling trade, but that the export of dates should also be taken into consideration when studying this topic.

This chapter analyses ivory consumption and trade in the context of shifting political power in nineteenth-century East Africa. It firstly describes how increased demand for ivory and ivory products in the wider Indian Ocean World, Europe, and North America contributed to a decline in ivory’s ownership, usage, and display in East Africa. It then examines the nature and construction of Omani and coastal East African communities in East Africa’s interior to show how political power became increasingly tied to access and control the ivory trade. In nineteenth-century East Africa, ivory was transformed from a product with significant symbolic capital to one whose history was increasingly shaped by capitalistic forces.

The article deals with the two legends from the main traditional work on the history of Oman (18 c.). The first of the two legends relates the story of appearance of idolatry among human beings, while the second one is dedicated to the adoption of Islam by the people of Oman. The first legend is strongly bound to the written tradition, while the second one is obviously related to the Omanian folklore. The textual fragments that contain the legends are combined by passages belonging to different genres. Among them are to be noticed the remarks made by the Author of the work, which is the evidence of the transformation of the essential tradition, carried out by the Author.