[oh-mahn] 
| 1. | Sultanate of. Formerly, Muscat and Oman. an independent sultanate in SE Arabia. 2,264,590; ab. 82,800 sq. mi. (212,380 sq. km). Capital: Muscat. |
| 2. | Gulf of, a NW arm of the Arabian Sea, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. |
O·man (ō-män')  (click for larger image in new window) A sultanate of the southeast Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of Oman, an arm of the Arabian Sea. Much of the area was controlled by the Portuguese from 1508 to 1659 and the Turks until 1741, when the present royal line was founded. Oman established close ties with Great Britain in the late 18th century. Muscat is the capital. Population: 3,200,000. O·man'i (ō-mä'nē) adj. & n. |
Kingdom on the southern and eastern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula on the Arabian Sea, bordered to the northwest by the United Arab Emirates, the west by Saudi Arabia, and the southwest by Yemen. Oman includes a tip of land on one side of the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf.
Note: Strategically located on trading and military routes between the Persian Gulf and Asia and east Africa, Oman has been occupied by the Portuguese, the Turks, and the Persians; since the beginning of the nineteenth century, it has maintained close relations with Britain.
Note: Oman began exporting oil in 1967.
