Editing Muscat (section)

==History==
{{For timeline}}
Evidence of communal activity in the area around Muscat dates back to the 6th millennium BC in Ras al-Hamra, where burial sites of fishermen have been found. The graves appear to be well formed and indicate the existence of burial rituals. South of Muscat, remnants of [[Harappa]]n pottery indicate some level of contact with the [[Indus Valley civilisation]].<ref>Rice (1994), p.255-256</ref> Muscat's notability as a port was acknowledged as early as the 1st century AD by the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] geographer [[Ptolemy]], who referred to it as ''Cryptus Portus'' (the ''Hidden Port''), and by [[Pliny the Elder]], who called it ''Amithoscuta''.<ref>Forster (1844), p.234.</ref>

The port fell to a [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid]] invasion in the 3rd century AD, under the rule of [[Shapur I]],<ref>Potter (2002), p.41.</ref> while conversion to Islam occurred during the 7th century. Muscat's importance as a trading port continued to grow in the centuries that followed, under the influence of the [[Azd|Azd dynasty]], a local tribe. The establishment of the First [[Imamate]] in the 9th century was the first step in consolidating disparate Omani tribal factions under the banner of an [[Ibadi]] state. However, tribal skirmishes continued, allowing the [[Abbasid]]s of [[Baghdad]] to conquer Oman. The Abbasids occupied the region until the 11th century, when they were driven out by the local Yahmad tribe. Power over Oman shifted from the Yahmad tribe to the [[Azd]]i Nabahinah clan, during whose rule, the people of coastal ports such as Muscat prospered from maritime trade and close alliances with the [[Indian subcontinent]], at the cost of the alienation of the people of the interior of Oman. The [[Portuguese empire|Portuguese]] admiral [[Afonso de Albuquerque]] sailed to Muscat in 1507, in an attempt to establish trade relations. As he approached the harbour, his ships were fired on. He then decided to conquer Muscat. Most of the city burned to the ground during and after the fighting.
[[File:MASCATE António Bocarro.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Muscat (Mascate) Portuguese Fortress in the 17th century. António Bocarro Book of Fortress.]] The Portuguese maintained a hold on Muscat for over a century, despite challenges from [[Persia]] and a bombardment of the town by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]] in 1546.<ref>Miles (1997), p.167</ref> The Turks twice captured Muscat from the Portuguese, in the [[Capture of Muscat (1552)]] and 1581–88. The election of [[Nasir bin Murshid|Nasir bin Murshid Al-Ya'rubi]] as Imam of Oman in 1624 changed the balance of power again in the region, from the Persians and the Portuguese to local Omanis. Among the most important castles and forts in Muscat, the [[Al Jalali Fort]] and the [[Al-Mirani Fort]] are the most prominent buildings left by the Portuguese. On August 16, 1648, the Imam dispatched an army to Muscat, which captured and demolished the high towers of the Portuguese, weakening their grip over the town. Decisively, in 1650, a small but determined body of the Imam's troops attacked the port at night, forcing an eventual Portuguese surrender on January 23, 1650.<ref>Miles (1997), p. 196.</ref> A civil war and repeated incursions by the Persian king [[Nader Shah]] in the 18th century destabilised the region, and further strained relations between the interior and Muscat. This power vacuum in Oman led to the emergence of the [[Al Bu Sa'id Dynasty|Al Bu Sa‘id dynasty]], which has ruled Oman ever since.<ref>Miles (1997), p.256.</ref>

{{quote box
| width = 23em|"Muscat is a large and very populous town, flanked on both sides with high mountains and the front is close to the water's edge; behind, towards the interior, there is a plain as large as the square of Lisbon, all covered with salt pans. [T]here are orchards, gardens, and palm groves with wells for watering them by means of swipes and other engines. The harbour is small, shaped like a horse-shoe and sheltered from every wind."|—[[Afonso de Albuquerque]], after the fall of Muscat, in 1507.<ref name="Miles 1997, p.147">Miles (1997), p.147.</ref>
}}

Muscat's naval and military supremacy was re-established in the 19th century by [[Said bin Sultan]], who signed a treaty with U.S. President [[Andrew Jackson]]'s representative [[Edmund Roberts (diplomat)|Edmund Roberts]] on September 21, 1833.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cotheal |first=Alexander I. |date=1854 |title=Treaty between the United States of America and the Sultân of Masḳaṭ: The Arabic Text |journal=[[Journal of the American Oriental Society]] |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/592284 |volume=4 |pages=341, 343–356; here: 341–343 |format=free |jstor=592284 |access-date=2020-09-27 |archive-date=2020-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828021312/https://www.jstor.org/stable/592284 |url-status=live }}</ref> Having gained control over [[Zanzibar]], in 1840 Said moved his capital to [[Stone Town]], the ancient quarter of [[Zanzibar City]]; however, after his death in 1856, control over Zanzibar was lost when it became an independent sultanate under his sixth son, [[Majid bin Said]] (1834/5–1870), while the third son, [[Thuwaini bin Said]], became the Sultan of Oman.
[[File:The Persian problem; an examination of the rival positions of Russia and Great Britain in Persia, with some account of the Persian gulf and the Bagdad railway (1903) (14577292147) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|A view of Muscat, ca. 1902]]

By the 19th century, a large Hindu merchant community in the port city dominated its commercial life. It is argued that their settlement at least since the fifteenth century; one of the reasons is that the Portuguese relied heavily on them to secure a trade monopoly in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf area. The [[Sindhis]] were amongst the first during this era, followed by the [[Kutchi people|Kutchis]]. The merchant community played an important role in expelling the Europeans in 1650. They were not affected by civil war that established the [[Al Bu Sa'id Dynasty|Al Bu Sa‘id dynasty]] and continued to prosper under [[Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi]]. Important trade existed between the city and [[Thatta]], and later, [[Kutch district|Kutch]], expanding to other parts of India.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Calvin H. |date=1981 |title=The Indian merchant community of Masqaṭ |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0041977X00104392/type/journal_article |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |language=en |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=39–53 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00104392 |issn=0041-977X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
[[File:Muscat harbor.jpg|thumb|left|Muscat harbour, ca. 1903. Visible in the background is [[Fort Al Jalali]].]]
During the second half of the 19th century, the fortunes of the Al Bu Sa‘id declined and friction with the Imams of the interior resurfaced. Muscat and [[Muttrah]] were attacked by tribes from the interior in 1895 and again in 1915.<ref>JE Peterson's Britannica entry (1990), p.6.</ref> A tentative ceasefire was brokered by the [[British East India|British]], which gave the interior more autonomy. However, conflicts among the disparate tribes of the interior, and with the Sultan of [[Muscat and Oman]] continued into the 1950s, and eventually escalated into the [[Dhofar Rebellion]] (1962). The rebellion forced the Sultan [[Said bin Taimur]] to seek the assistance of the British in quelling the uprisings from the interior. The failed assassination attempt of April 26, 1966 on Said bin Taimur led to the further isolation of the Sultan, who had moved his residence from Muscat to [[Salalah]], amidst the civilian armed conflict. On July 23, 1970, [[Qaboos bin Said]], son of the Sultan, staged a bloodless<ref>Long (2007), p.188.</ref> ''[[coup d'état]]'' in the Salalah palace with the assistance of the British, and took over as ruler.
[[File:WH1-Effo080a.jpg|thumb|Muscat harbour during [[World War I]]]]
With the assistance of the British, Qaboos bin Said put an end to the Dhofar uprising and consolidated disparate tribal territories. He renamed the country the ''[[Sultanate of Oman]]'' (called ''Muscat and Oman'' hitherto), in an attempt to end to the interior's isolation from Muscat. Qaboos enlisted the services of capable Omanis to fill positions in his new government,<ref>Middle East Policy (2004), p.126.</ref> drawing from such corporations as [[Petroleum Development Oman]]. New ministries for social services such as health and education were established. The construction of [[Mina Qaboos]], a new port conceived initially by Sa‘id bin Taimur, was developed during the early days of Qaboos' rule. Similarly, a [[Muscat International Airport|new international airport]] was developed in Muscat's [[Seeb]] district. A complex of offices, warehouses, shops and homes transformed the old village of [[Ruwi]] in Muttrah into a commercial district.<ref>Middle East Policy (2004), p.128</ref> The first five-year development plan in 1976 emphasised infrastructural development of Muscat, which provided new opportunities for trade and tourism in the 1980s–1990s, attracting migrants from around the region. On June 6, 2007, [[Cyclone Gonu]] hit Muscat causing extensive damage to property, infrastructure and commercial activity.

Early photographs of the city and harbour, taken in the early 20th century by German explorer and photographer, [[Hermann Burchardt]], are now held at the [[Ethnological Museum of Berlin]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ansicht der Stadt & Stadtmauer von der Landseite|publisher=Staatliche Museen zu Berlin|website=Ethnologisches Museum|url=https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/626045|access-date=2023-03-11|language=de|archive-date=2023-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311162729/https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/626045|url-status=live}}{{pb}}{{Cite web
|language=de
|title=Tor nach der Landseite hin
|publisher=Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
|website=Ethnologisches Museum
|url=https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/626041
|access-date=2023-05-31
|archive-date=2023-05-31
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531143823/https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/626041
|url-status=live
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