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It borders the United Arab Emirates in the northwest, Saudi Arabia in the west, and Yemen in the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea in the south and east, and the Gulf of Oman in the northeast. The country also has an exclave enclosed by the United Arab Emirates. HistoryThe Sultanate of Oman was once known by its Sumerian name Magan. Oman constituted one of the Satrapies of the Persian Empire. It was incorporated into that empire around 563 BC. This earlier empire was succeeded by the Sassanian Empire in the third century AD. By the beginning of the first century of the Common Era, Arab tribes began to settle in Oman. In 632, the Sassanids lost power and Arab dominance in Oman was established. In 751, Ibādī Muslims established an imāmate in Oman. Imāms exercised spiritual leadership over the country. The Ibādiyya are a branch of the Kharijites, the earliest Muslim sect which rejected both potential successors to Muħammad's leadership. This imāmate survived in Oman proper until the mid-twentieth century. Oman has been a centre for traders for centuries. In 1508, the main port, Muscat, was captured by the Portuguese, who were expelled in 1650 . Oman was then taken by the Ottomans in 1659. The Ottomans were driven out in 1741, when the present line of sultans was formed by Aħmad ibn Saˤīd. However, Oman was occupied by Persia between 1743 and 1746. In the early nineteenth century, Muscat and Oman grew to be a major power, having possessions in Baluchistan and Zanzibar, but these were gradually all lost. The final one, Gwadar, was sold to Pakistan in 1958. In 1891, Muscat and Oman became a British protectorate, which lasted until 1971. During 1970, while Oman was still a protectorate, Sultān Saˤīd ibn Taymūr was ousted by his son, Sultān Qabūs ibn Saˤīd as-Saˤīd, who has reigned since then. Sultān Qabūs has since greatly improved the economic situation of the country, remaining in peace with all other countries in the Middle East. In 1996, the sultan issued a decree promulgating a new basic law that clarifies the royal succession, provides for a bicameral advisory council with some limited legislative powers and a prime minister and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens. Military bases in Oman were used in 2001 by US forces involved in ground raids against Taliban forces in Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden. In 2003, the lower house of the advisory council was freely elected for the first time.
PoliticsChief of state and government is the hereditary sultān, Qabūs ibn Saˤīd as-Saˤīd, who appoints a cabinet to assist him. In the early 1990s, the sultān instituted an elected advisory council, the Majlis ash-Shura, though few Omanis were eligible to vote. • [List your site here Free!]
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