ABSTRACT
In the past, Sindbad’s alleged hometown of Sohar was an important port city. As the presumed centre of the ancient land of Magan, it was said to have provided Mesopotamia and India with copper and diorite from mines in its hinterland. Under Sassanid and early Islamic rule, Sohar became integrated within maritime commercial networks extending from East Africa to India and as far as China. The city was destroyed in 965, probably as an important competitor for Basra. After Portuguese rule (1507-1649), Sohar did not regain its previous importance and the lagoons used as its port silted. Instead, under the still ruling Al Bu Said dynasty, established in the mid-1740s, Muscat gradually emerged as the country’s major seaport (Scholz 2014).
