Neighboring Iran (Persia), Saudi Ariabia, and India/Pakistan, Oman is strategically situated at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The Omani's have plied these waters for centuries and were once a powerful trading nation. Even today, one can find simple Omani's fluent in Farsi, Hindi, and Swahili. However, since the arrival of the British in the 1600's, Oman's history became one of foreign influence and domination. Only 5% of the country is arable, confined to the coastal zones in the north (Muscat) and the south (Salalah). The oceans are the historical source of Omani wealth, with the wooden dhows ranging from Persia to India to southeast Asia since the 7th Century.
1498: Vasco de Gama (Portuguese) rounds the Cape of Good Hope and lands in Oman, on his way to India.
1507: Portuguese return to sack Muscat.
1646: British East India Company signs a treaty with Oman granting a trading monopoly through the port city of Sohar.
1649: Imam Sultan bin Saif defeats the Portuguese in Muscat and chases them all the way to Goa, India. He captures many Portuguese ships that are far superior in terms of firepower, and builds the foundation for a proper Omani Navy. He then proceeds to establish a colonial empire that included Zanzibar and Pemba on the East African coast, and Gwadar, on the coast of present-day Pakistan. This ushered in a period of wealth, prosperity, and political stability.
1679: the Imam Sultan dies. The Imam had come to power via a 900-year old tradition of elections, however, his dying decree was to hand power to his son. Thus began Omans history of hereditary succession which is characterized by intrigue and greed. The next next half-century is marked by civil unrest and strife that tore the country apart.
1737: The Persians invade and occupy Oman.
1744: Ahmad bin Said defeats the Persians and is elected Imam. However, the years of fighting had left the country in a desperate state. Upon his death, the hereditary succession continues (as it does today) and power is handed to his son. Over the next century, Oman cycles between periods of prosperity brought on by trade and periods of civil strife resulting from the intrigue and greed of the ruling class.
1798: Treaty of 1798 (with Britain) forbids any French or Dutch vessel entry into Omani ports or trade of any kind.
1800: Treaty which granted a permanent presence in Oman of a Resident British Political Agent, who would keep a close eye on British interests in Oman.
1803: Wahaibi's (Saudi Arabia) invade and occupy central Oman.
1820: Sayyid Said bin Sultan drives the Wahaibi's from Oman and unifies the country. He contracts several ships from the British to rebuild his Navy, financed by the merchants and traders of Muscat. With his new Navy, Sayyid Said embarked upon a strengthening of his colonial empire. Slavery was still the mainstay of the Omani settler's economy, with Zanzibar being the place where African slaves were taken from the mainland to be dispersed around the Arabian peninsula. But the fertile lands of the east African coast were to allow Sayyid Said to consolidate his rule. Years earlier, sailors had returned from present-day Indonesia with cloves, an unknown spice at the time. The clove, along with other spices, thrived in the east African colonies, eventually producing 1/3 of the state's revenues back in Muscat. Sayyid Said spent longer periods of time in Zanzibar, effectively ruling Oman from the island. Although he was directly responsible for spreading Islamic and Arabic influence throughout east Africa, his absence from Oman brought conflict to the country that it would not recover from until the discovery of oil in 1967. The negative aspects were twofold: rather than invest in the Omani infrastructure, such as the ancient falaj irrigation system, the money earned in Zanzibar was spent on palatial homes and other material consumption. As a direct result, agriculture in Oman went into decline, leading the country into a state of poverty. Those that could, departed Oman for the better life in Zanzibar and east Africa, furthering Oman's decline.
1853: Sayyid Said officially transfers his court to Zanzibar, making it the capitol of Oman.
1845: Sultan Sayyid Said, governing from his palace in Zanzibar, signed a treaty with the British effectively ending the slave trade to the Arab world. The economic decline prompted the departure of yet more Omanis to Zanzibar, some being the most talented and enterprising.
1856: Sayyid Said dies in Zanzibar. In an attempt to prevent family intrigue, he ordered upon his death a system of joint rule between two of his chosen sons: Thuwainy in Oman, and Majid in Zanzibar.
1860: With Muscat's fortunes declining, Thuwainy prepared to seize Zanzibar by force. The British dispatched Lord Canning from India to arbitrate and the Canning Award was established in 1861. From that time onwards Oman and Zanzibar would be recognized as separate states and each ruler would be a Sultan in his own right. To compensate Thuwainy for the loss of slave-trade income, Zanzibar was to pay Oman 40,000 Maria Teresa (of the old Austrian-Hungarian Empire) silver dollars. After falling in arrears, London took over payment of the coins in 1871 and it continued until 1956.
1885: Sultan Faisal courts the French. The British halt payment of the Maria Teresa Silver Dollars.
1896: Britian loans Oman 60,000 Maria Teresa Silver Dollars, to be repaid in monthly instalments. This is the beginning of the countries foreign debt problem that continued until the discovery of oil.
1913: Sayyid Taimour becomes Sultan, with the tribes from the interior in open revolt.
1915: The British intervene militarily and prevent the Al-Harthy tribe from sacking the royal palace in Muscat.
1921: Treaty of Seeb officially recognizes the countries interior and coastal regions as separate entities and renames the country "Muscat and Oman." The Sultan rules Muscat, the Imam rules the interior.
1947: Indian Independence
1948: Iraq Petroleum Company begins searching for oil in Oman.
1952: Saudi Arabia occupies the Buraimi Oasis, in northwestern Oman, believed to hold vast reserves of oil. This serves to unify the interior tribes with Muscat in an attempt to defeat the invaders.
1955: Sultan Said, with the help of the British Trucal Scouts, defeats the Saudi's and retakes the Buraimi Oasis. Oman is unified and the Imamate ended.
1960: North Yemen Independence
1962: Prince Qaboos graduates from the Royal Military Acadamy at Sandhurst. His tenure at the school was marked by bullying and poor grades. However, his close friend and study partner, Tim Landon, became his protector and somewhat mentor.
1964: Dhofar War begins. The People's Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG) sought the expulsion of the British from Oman.
1964: PDO announces oil is finally discovered in commercially viable quantities.
1967: South Yemen Independence
1967: First oil revenues.
October 1969: First signs of Soviet involvement in Yemen, competing with China for dominance in the area. Also, this marks the first purchase by Oman of British helicopters.
June 1970: Dhofar War moves to the north with attacks in and around Izki and plans to attack Muscat.
June 1970: In Britain, the Labor Party is defeated by the Conservatives, led by Edward Heath.
23 July 1970: The palace coup. Sultan Said is expelled from Oman by his son, Qaboos. The Sultan is flown to London by the British Royal Air Force. Throughout the coup, it is said Tim Landon was a constant companion to Qaboos. The official reason for the coup was the (supposed) imminent threat from the Marxist's in Yemen, the communist threat from the Dhofar rebels (although they had been fighting for 6 years to remove the British), and the father's inability to deal with either.
1974: Anthony Ashworth is appointed Advisor to Oman's Minister of Information by Tim Landon. Over the years, he molds and shapes every bit of press on Oman. He controls all foreign reporters in Oman, plying them with luxury hotels and footing the bill for their stay. Whenever, wherever, a negative story appears about Oman, Anthony Ashworth tracks down the reporter and attempts to kill the story. He is certainly considered the father of the current Information Ministry spin that is put on any story in or out of Oman.
2000: Anthony Ashworth is declared a Prohibited Immigrant and departs Oman. Nobody really knows why he fell out of favor with the Sultan.
2001: The Sunday Times Rich List ranks Tim Landon the 105th richest man in the UK. Others estimate his wealth to be US$600-750 million, which would place him at 98th. He has never been listed as a director in any company and seldom does he appear in the press.