Oman

Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman's coastline faces the Arabian Sea to the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The exclaves of Madha and Musandam are surrounded by the United Arab Emirates on their land borders, while Musandam's coastal boundaries are formed by the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. The capital and largest city is Muscat. With a population of approximately 5.46 million and an area of 309,500 km² (119,500 sq mi), Oman is the 123rd most-populous country.

Oman is the oldest continuously independent state in the Arab world and has been continously ruled by the Al Bu Said dynasty since 1744. After the 16th century, Oman was an empire competing with the Portuguese Empire and British Empire for influence in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence and control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to present-day Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar. In the 20th century, Oman had come under the influence of the British Empire while de jure remaining an independent state.

Oman's oil reserves are ranked as the 22nd largest, globally. In 2010, the United Nations Development Programme recognised Oman as the most improved country in the world in terms of development during the preceding 40 years. A portion of its economy involves tourism, as well as the trade of fish, dates and other agricultural produce. The World Bank classifies Oman as a high-income economy, and as of 2024^[update], Oman ranks as the 37th most peaceful country in the world according to the Global Peace Index.

Oman is an absolute monarchy ruled by a sultan, with power passed down through the male line. Qaboos bin Said served as Sultan from 1970 until his death in 2020. His reign saw a rise in the country's living standards, the abolition of slavery, the end of the Dhofar Rebellion, and the promulgation of Oman's constitution. Since he died childless, he had named his cousin, Haitham bin Tariq, as his successor in a letter, and the ruling family confirmed him as the new Sultan of Oman. Oman is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The oldest known written mention of "Oman" is found on a tomb in the Mleiha Archeological Center in the United Arab Emirates. The name "Oman" is believed to predate Pliny the Elder's reference to "Omana" and Ptolemy's reference to "Omanon". (Ὄμανον ἐμπόριον in Greek). Both of these references likely pertain to the ancient city of Sohar.

The city or region is commonly etymologised in Arabic as deriving from ʿāmin or ʿamūn, meaning 'settled' people, in contrast to the nomadic Bedouins. While some theories propose an eponymous founder—such as Oman bin Ibrahim al-Khalil, Oman bin Siba' bin Yaghthan bin Ibrahim, and Oman bin Qahtan—others suggest that "Oman" originates from a valley in Ma'rib, Yemen. This valley is presumed to be the ancestral homeland of the Azd, an ancient Bedouin tribe mentioned in pre-Islamic inscriptions, particularly in Sabaic inscriptions from the reign of Sha'r Awtar (210–230 CE).

Oman has been known by other names. The ancient Sumerians and the Mesopotamians called it Magan, a reference to the Magan civilisation, while the Persians called it Mazun, derived from the word "Muzn", meaning clouds and abundant flowing water, which explains the establishment and prosperity of agriculture in Oman since ancient times and the stability and civilisation that accompanied it. The name "Oman" is mentioned in Arabic sources as an independent region. Al-Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal referred to this in their sayings: "Oman is a region with independent regions with spacious people." Ibn Khaldun was more explicit in his definition of Oman. He mentioned it among the Arab regions that emerged as independent states in the Arabian Peninsula, namely Yemen, the Hijaz, Hadhramaut, Ash Shihr, and Oman. He described its system of government, saying that it was a "sole sultanic region."

At Aybut Al Auwal, in the Dhofar Governorate of Oman, a site was discovered in 2011 containing more than 100 surface scatters of stone tools, belonging to a regionally specific African lithic industry—the late Nubian Complex—known previously only from the northeast and Horn of Africa. Two optically stimulated luminescence age estimates place the Arabian Nubian Complex at 106,000 years old. This supports the proposition that early human populations moved from Africa into Arabia during the Late Pleistocene.