ABSTRACT
Salim b. Thuwaini's expulsion from Muscat by lbadi tribespeople desiring a theocratic imamate initiated a new era in Omani history: For the next century the Al Bu Sa'id dynasty of Muscat found itself involved in a struggle for survival not just in Oman but also in Muscat. Oman and Muscat, effectively divided politically in 1785, drifted further and further apart as the tribes of the interior began electing imams to govern their affairs whereas the sultans of Muscat, dominated by the British. This political situation was formalized in 1920 with the Treaty of Sib and did not end until 1954 when Oman was reunited by Sultan Sa'id b. Taimur. The sultan's forces staged a brief offensive that regained control over most of the coast and the Ghadaf as the army of the imam withdrew to the interior. Because the political situation in interior was in flux, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), which held the oil concession for Oman, took drastic action.
