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Dhofar, the southern governorate of Oman, lies within a distinctive ecological zone due to the summer Southwest Monsoon. It is home to numerous indigenous succulent plants, the most famous of which is frankincense (Boswellia sacra). The region, tied in the past to both Oman and Yemen, has a long and distinguished archaeological past stretching back to the Lower Paleolithic ca. 1.5 my BP. Dhofar is also home to a distinctive people, the Modern South Arabian Languages speakers (MSAL) since at least the last 15,000 years. Ancient Zafar (Al-Habudi), now called Al-Baleed, and its successor Salalah was and is the province's largest city. From the seventh century onwards until the arrival of the Portuguese in 1504 AD Al-Baleed dominated the central southern Arabian coastline politically and economically. Archaeological surveys and excavations in the governorate, beginning in 1954, have brought to light Dhofar's ancient past

La vicenda degli Arabi meridionali, a differenza di quella degli Arabi settentrionali, è poco conosciuta agli Occidentali, convinti che l'entrata di questi popoli nella Grande Storia, coincida con l'avvento di Maometto e con l'affermazione di una nuova religione, l'Islam, che ebbe per conseguenza la divisione delle due sponde del mar Mediterraneo. Fu questo un evento che sconvolgendo secolari equilibri, segnò la fine del mondo antico ancor più della caduta dell'Impero Romano. La grande svolta per l'umanità fu il settimo secolo quando grazie all'affermazione dell'Islam, gli Arabi del nord uscirono dai deserti in veste di conquistatori e non più di mercanti per affacciarsi al mar Mediterraneo e all'oceano Atlantico. Analogamente gli Arabi del Sud consolidarono e ampliarono il loro impero marittimo e commerciale trasformandolo in un dominio coloniale vero e proprio, fondato sulla superiorità razziale e culturale dell'elemento semitico su quello indigeno.

This book provides an overview of the military forces of Muscat & Oman and successor State of Oman. Britain and Oman have had various treaties over several centuries brought closer with Britain’s involvement in creating the Sultan’s Armed Forces. The book covers the Muscat Armed Forces and the Sultan’s Armed Forces of Oman, Dhofar Force, plus selected paramilitary forces and the Royal Oman Police Force. The narrative includes regimental and corps histories, and selected military operations. The book also details the contribution made by British seconded and contract personnel who have shaped these forces from the 1920s to the present, through forming, leading, advising and training them.Maps of the areas concerned are provided, along with a glossary of terms and a comprehensive time chart showing the dates of formation and disbandment of units, and if they were merged or reformed into new units. Many photographs are included showing the uniforms and a selection of badges and insignia.The work has been written by Cliff Lord and Dr Athol Yates. Cliff has had published a number of books including a history of the Armed Forces of Aden and the Protectorate, which in some respects is a lead on to this history. This book is a sister companion to The Armed Forces of the Smaller Gulf States also by Cliff Lord and Athol Yates.

The British Empire employed a diverse range of strategies to establish and then maintain control over its overseas territories in the Middle East. This new interpretation of how Britain maintained order, protected its interests and carried out its defence obligations in the Gulf in the decades before its withdrawal from the region in 1971 looks at how the British government increasingly sought to achieve security with great economy of force by building up local militaries instead of deploying costly military forces from the home country. Benefitting from the extensive use of recently declassified British Government archival documents and India Office records, this highly original narrative weighs the successes and failures of Britain's use of 'indirect rule' among the small states of Eastern Arabia, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the seven Trucial States and Oman. Drawing important lessons for scholars and policymakers about the limitations of trying to outsource security to local partners, Security in the Gulf is a remarkable study of the deployment of British colonial policy in the Middle East before 1971.

This study presents recent findings on the famous city wall of Bahla in Central Oman. A previously unstudied register, housed under the title Al-Sūr al-Muḥīṭ (“The Encircling Wall”) in the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in Muscat, provides unique insight into the management and maintenance of the wall during the years 1967–1977, right on the eve of the rapid and pervasive process of state modernisation initiated under Sultan Qaboos.

This book explores how houses are created, maintained and conceptualized in southern Oman. Based on long-term research in the Dhofar region, it draws on anthropology, sociology, urban studies and architectural history. The chapters consider physical and functional aspects, including regulations governing land use, factors in siting houses, architectural styles and norms for interior and exterior decorating. The volume also reflects on cultural expectations regarding how and when rooms are used and issues such as safety, privacy, social connectedness and ease of movement. Houses and residential areas are situated within the fabric of towns, comparison is made with housing in other countries in the Arabian peninsula, and consideration is given to notions of the 'Islamic city' and the 'Islamic house'. The book is valuable reading for scholars interested in the Middle East and the built environment.

This book marks the first comprehensive examination of contemporary British influence in Oman and Bahrain, analysing Britain's legacy since the official withdrawal from the Gulf in 1971.

The war fought in northern Oman from 1954 until the mid-1960s is almost completely forgotten. Even amongst contemporary military historians, it is considered less frequently than the subsequent – and widely published – Dhofar War. Though ‘small’, it was a conflict of crucial importance for the nation on the southeastern side of the Arab Peninsula.While usually thought to have been fought – and won – exclusively by special forces, capacity building, and training of native forces, a closer look reveals an entirely different picture. The victory and lasting peace were actually secured by a conventional military campaign dominated by offensive operations, followed by an entirely separate civilian development program. The role of special forces was overemphasized – not only in regards of their relative number of operations, but also in regards of their impact – while the insurgency was suppressed by punitive means, and the capacity building remained limited during the war. It was only once offensive operations were completed that the development program contributed to the lasting peace. This peace, in turn, would have been impossible without the conventional military campaign. As such, this ‘small’ conflict proved of crucial importance for the nation on the southeastern side of the Arab Peninsula.The War in Northern Oman provides a detailed account of the political dynamics which led to the eruption of violence, but foremost examines the use of force, the wider conventional military campaign, operations by special forces, military capacity building, and the application of soft power factors for civilian capacity building. Moreover, it emphasizes the process of reconciliation and international engagement. Based on extensive research in official documentation, and including numerous personal testimonies, this volume – richly illustrated by photographs provided by veterans – provides exclusive coverage of one of very few wars in which a grassroots insurgency suffered a clear-cut military defeat.

Music; Oman; history and criticism