Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-09-15

prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety, Washington, D. c.
But a step from lands first and
longest known in the history of the
wOrld-Egypt, Babylon, Palestine
Arabia remains one of the worlds
most unknown regions. And in one
Of its least known corners is the in
dependent state of Oman. Historically,
politically and geographically, Oman
has always been isolated from the rest
of Arabia. Ever since the days of
the caliphate, SO far as communication
with other Arabs is concerned, Oman
was practically an island, with a sea
of water on two sides and sea of
sand-the great Arabian desert-On
the other. AS a result, the people are
even more primitive in their habits
than the Arabs generally; and only re-
Gently have other towns than Muscat
the capital, opened their eyes to the
world.
Oman is relatively narrow strip of
coast, bowed around the irregular
eastern tip of Arabia. To the north
west it extends half way along the
southern shore of the Persian gulf,
into the head of which empty the his
tOric Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
From there it extends in a crooked
unbroken strip of varying width for
nearly 1000 miles, its southwestern
extremity reaching almost to the mid
point of the flaring south shore of
the Arabian peninsula.
The state has an area of $1,000
square miles, almost twice that of
Pennsylvania. Although generally ac-
cepted statistics place the population
at 100000, Colonel Miles, who has
seen more of the interior than any
other recent traveller, estimates 1t at
over 1,OOO,OOO. The capital, Muscat,
and the adjoining town of Mutrah,
have together about 25,0OO inhabit-
ants. The ancient capital, Rostak,
which is inland, declined in impor-
lance after the Portuguese, during the
remarkable growth of their colonial
power in the Sixteenth century, pushed
around the Cape of Good Hope and
northward and eastward, occupying
Muscat. The Portuguese remained in
possession of this metropolis of Oman
from 1908 until the middle of the Sew
enteenth century.
Was Almost ain Empire.
The cOnquerors of Oman who gave
it its present ruling family came from
Yemen on the other side of Arabia,
Ahmed bin Sa'eed, the leader, cap
tured Muscat in 1741. The present
sultan and imam, who came to the
throne in 1913, is a descendant of this
Eighteenth century conqueror.
At the beginning of the Nineteenth
century, before European powers had
determined upon the almost complete
parceling out Of Africa, Oman was al
most an empire. 1t extended over a
large part of Arabia, the islands to
the north of Arabia in the Persian
gulf, strip of the southern coast of
Persia, and a strip of the Indian
ocean coast of Africa from the north
eastern point near the entrance to the
Red sea almost half way to the Cape
of Good Hope. This African territory
including Zanzibar, comprised large
parts of what later became Italian
Somaliland, British East Africa and
German East Africa. 1t also included
the important island of SocOtra at the
mouth Of the Gulf of Alden, now under
British control.
At that time the slave trade was
flOurishing, and it was the Arabs of
Oman who explored the great interior
of Africa long before the days of
Spoke and Livingstone. On the death |
in 1856 of Oman's Alexander" the |
Sultan Sa'eed, the empire began to
break up, one son becoming sultan of |
Zanzibar and another sultan of the |
Arabian territory. Subsequently all |
Asiatic possessions outside Arabia
were lost, except few islands in the
Persian gulf, About this time Oman
came under the virtual protection of
Great Britain through the Indian gov
eminent, and British consul and Do
litical agent has since been main
tanned at Muscat.