HISTORY

HERALDRY

Early Heraldry

Maskat & Oman, Oman

[ Dawlat Oman ]

ARMED FORCES

Army

Navy

Air Force

Police

Royal Guard

History

Sultanate in the south east of the Arab peninsula. Formerly Maskat and Oman an renamed Oman on 8 August 1971. Since 18 November 1970 Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id is the ruler of Oman.

From the 3rd century BC to the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD, Oman was controlled by two other Iranian dynasties, the Parthians and the Sassanids. During this period Oman's administrative name was Mazun.

Oman adopted Islam in the 7th century, during the lifetime of the prophet Muhammad. Ibadism became the dominant religious sect in Oman by the 8th century

Afterwards Oman was conquered by several foreign powers, having been controlled by the Qarmatians between 931–932 and then again between 933–934. Between 967 and 1053, Oman was part of the domain of the Iranian Buyyids, and between 1053 and 1154, Oman was part of the Great Seljuk empire.

In 1154, the indigenous Nabhani dynasty took control of Oman, and the Nabhani kings ruled Oman until 1470, with an interruption of 37 years between 1406 and 1443.

Muscat was taken by the Portuguese on 1 April 1515, and was held until 26 January 1650, although the Ottomans controlled Muscat between 1550–1551 and 1581–1588. In about the year 1600, Nabhani rule was temporarily restored to Oman, although that lasted only to 1624, when fifth imamate, which is also known as the Yarubid Imamate. The latter recaptured Muscat from the Portuguese in 1650 after a colonial presence on the northeastern coast of Oman dating to 1508. The Yarubid dynasty expanded, acquiring former Portuguese colonies in East Africa and engaging in the slave trade. By 1719 dynastic succession led to the nomination of Saif ibn Sultan II. His candidacy prompted a rivalry among the ulama and a civil war between the two major tribes, the Hinawi and the Ghafiri, with the Ghafiri supporting Saif ibn Sultan II. He assumed power in 1748 after the leaders of both factions had been killed in battle, but the rivalry continued, with the factionalization working in favor of the Iranians, who occupied Muscat and Sohar in 1743.

When Sultan Sa'id bin Sultan Al-Busaid died in 1856, his sons quarreled over the succession. As a result of this struggle, the empire—through the mediation of the British Government under the Canning Award—was divided in 1861 into two separate principalities: Zanzibar (with its East African dependencies), and Muscat and Oman.

In 1868 Azzam ibn Qais Al-Busaid (r. 1868–1871) emerged as self-declared imam. Although a significant number of Hinawi tribes recognized him as imam, the public neither elected him nor acclaimed him as such.

In 1970, Qaboos bin Said Al Said ousted his father, Sa'id bin Taymur, who later died in exile in London. Al Said has ruled as sultan ever since.

Heraldry

Early Omani heraldry is dominated by flags and tughra’s but very little of it has been preserved. In the following a short review is given of early Omani emblems.

Nabhan Dynasty 1406 - 1624

Portuguese Protectorate 1515 - 1650

Diogo Homem, on his map of the Indian Ocean (1555) gives for Oman, then a Portugues Protectorate a flag: Gules, four escutceons Azure, charged with five balls Argent..(ill.) This is a symbol that is specific for the Omani settlements in the 16th century because in this time different  flags were flown in Mombasa and Sofala.

 Ya'ariba Dynasty (first reign, 1624-1724)

The flag of the Omani Ya’rubi dynasty is documented by a Dutch flag chart of about the middle of the 18^th century called Nieuwe Tafel van alle de Zee-varende VLAGGE des Werelds, op nieuws van alle voorgaande Fouten gesuyverd. under the name of Pav: de Sangrian. It was a flag of 13 stripes red-white-green-yellow-red-green-yellow-red-green-yellow-re-white and green, the yellow stripes charged with green crescents 3,2,3, like this:

 Abu Sa'id Dynasty (1749-Present)

After the extinction of the Ya'ariba dynasty in 1744, the new Abu Sa’id dynasty, to which all later Omani sultans belonged, flew their own flag which was red  without any other symbol.

For other Omani flags ð Roberto Bresci

H.H. al-Haj Sultan Sayyid Said ibn Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman

1806 - 1856

Tughra of Sultan Sayyid Said ibn Sultan

dated ١٢٣٦ = 1816 AD

Masqat wa ‘Oman until 1971

Oman 1971 - present

Maskat and Oman Coin, 1940

Showing the emblem of Maskat and Oman.

The emblem of Maskat and Oman is known with certainty from the reign of Sa’id III ibn Taimur as-Saíd. It is on the reverse of a series of coins issued in 1940.

The emblem consists of two sabres in saltire and a khanjar per pale.

Emblem of Maskat and Oman, 1940 -

A khanjar is a ceremonial dagger with its abundantly decorated sheath, traditionally made of rhinonoceros-horn. The khanjar is highly appreciated in the arab world and for that reason contributes substantially to the extinction of the rhinoceros in Africa. 

ï  Khanjar

(Coll. Museum voor Volkenkunde, Rotterdam)

Qaboos ibn Sa’id

1971 - present

In 1980 the emblem was restyled.

ð See illustration in the head of this essay.

At the same time a royal royal emblem was adopted. This last consists of the state-emblem of Oman, crested with the Royal crown of Oman:

Royal Emblem

Royal Arms

Royal Standard

ARMED FORCES

The Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces (SAF) are the Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman and other defence forces of the Sultanate of Oman. They were established in th early 1950s with British assistance.

The ancient emblem of the tri-service of the armed forces of Oman, as illustrated above, was of three bars red, light blue and navy blue charged with two rifles in saltire, a pair of wings per fess, and an anchor per pale, charged with a khanjar per pale; crested with the royal crown and surrounded by a garland of laurel. In base is a scroll with the name of the service. 

Royal Oman Army

Emblem on the army flag

Royal Oman Navy

Emblem of the RON (1995)

Royal Oman Air Force

Emblem of the ROAF

Arms of the ROAF

Royal Oman Police

Emblem of the Royal Oman Police

Royal Guard of Oman