Oman’s history begins in the early 3rd or late 4th millennium bc, with the rise of a society that had cultural and trade ties to ancient Mesopotamia. Between the 4th century bc and the 7th century ad the area was dominated by successive Persian empires. In the 1st century ad Arab tribes began to migrate into Oman and, when it accepted Islam just before the Prophet Muhammad died in 632, Persian rule ended and Oman’s Arab character was firmly established. In 751 Ibadi Muslims, a moderate branch of the Kharijites, established an imamate in Oman. Despite interruptions, the Ibadi imamate survived until the mid-20th century.

the tribal nature of its society, the traditional Ibadite imamate form of government, and its maritime tradition. Archaeological evidence of civilization in Oman dates to about the 3rd millennium BC, but Persian colonization prior to the 1st century AD established the falaj irrigation system, which has since sustained Omani agriculture and civilization. The history of the Dhofar region followed a separate path. Ancient South Arabian kingdoms controlled the production of frankincense there from the 1st century AD. The province thus remained culturally and politically linked to South Arabia until it was absorbed into the Al Bu Sa'id state in the 19th century.

Western world began when Portugal seized Masqat and other coastal strongholds in the early 16th century and held them until the mid-17th century. The imamate then flourished again under the Ya‘aribah dynasty, which extended Omani rule or influence to both sides of the Persian Gulf and East Africa. By the mid-18th century a civil war ended Ya‘aribah rule and the current Al Bu Said dynasty emerged in 1749. The Al Bu Said rulers soon ceased to hold the title of imam and moved their capital from the traditional Ibadi seat at Nizwá to Masqat to concentrate on maritime commerce. At the beginning of the 19th century the rulers established a close security relationship with Britain; this initially helped to protect them from external threats and later from the forces of the imamate, which was revived in 1913.