The late Sultan came to rule Oman in 1970, following his father, the Sultan Said bin Taimur, whose rule had nearly brought the citizens of the then-known Muscat and Oman to their knees. Muscat and Oman had tended towards intense isolationism and an aversion to modernization and progress.
While already under the influence of the British Empire (to the point where the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman could have been called a de facto colony), Sultan Said bin Taimur’s increasingly incompetent rule not only suppressed technological advancement at every turn, but had also fallen to corruption.
Two major rebellions had sprung up: the Jebel Akhdar rebellion, and the Dhofar rebellion. As a result, the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman began to rely more and more on British military intervention. Having grown paranoid from an assassination attempt, Sultan Said bin Taimur refused to leave the royal palace. Everyone—the citizens, the British Empire, and his own family—had grown tired of his incompetence. Continue reading “An Oasis of Peace and Progress in the Middle East: The Legacy of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman”
