In 750, the Ibadis founded their first state - the Imamate in Oman. The Imamate was two years later destroyed by the Abbasid Caliphate army ant the Sunnis came to power. In 791, the Ibadis with the foreign help rebelled and retook power and reestablished the Imamate. Up until 866 there was relative stability in the Imamate, then a rift occurred, which split the Imamate into two camps. The rift weakened the Imamate, which allowed the Nabhani dynasty to take power in 1154. In 1508, the dynasty was overthrown by the Portuguese. The Portuguese occupation reunited Oman and the Omanis rebelled several times but were unsuccessful and had to wait until the early 17th century. In the early 17th century, the British came to the region and weakened the Portuguese. The Omanis took this chance and with their newly elected imam Nasir bin Murshid from the house of Ya'Aruba they expelled the Portuguese. After the death of the third imam from the house of Ya’Aruba, the confusion regarding the succession caused a dispute within the family, which escalated into a civil war. The civil caused the demise of the Ya’Aruba dynasty and the rise of the house of Al Busaidi in 1749. Under the Al Busaidi dynasty Oman was transformed from an Imamate to a Sultanate. At the same time the British influence started to increase, which led to increased dissatisfaction among the Omanis which resulted in several uprisings and revolutions that aimed to abolish the Sultanate and to reestablish the Imamate. Twice the revolutionaries successfully reestablished the Imamate, but both Imamates were destroyed by the British who then reestablished the Sultanate.
|
