Editing History of Oman (section)

==Late 19th and early 20th centuries==
{{Main|Muscat and Oman}}
When Sultan [[Sa'id bin Sultan Al-Busaid]] died in 1856, his sons quarrelled over the succession. As a result of this struggle, the empire—through the mediation of [[United Kingdom|Britain]] under the Canning Award—was divided in 1861 into two separate principalities: [[Sultanate of Zanzibar]] (with its African Great Lakes dependencies), and the area of "Muscat and Oman". This name was abolished in 1970 in favor of "Sultanate of Oman", but implies two political cultures with a long history:

# The coastal tradition: more cosmopolitan, and secular, found in the city of Muscat and adjacent coastline ruled by the sultan.
# The interior tradition: insular, tribal, and highly religious under the ideological tenets of Ibadism, found in "[[Oman proper]]" ruled by an [[imam]].

The more cosmopolitan Muscat has been the ascending political culture since the founding of the [[Al Said|Al Busaid]] dynasty in 1744, although the imamate tradition has found intermittent expression.<ref name="LoC HistGovernance">''[http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/omtoc.html#om0052 A Country Study: Oman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413214214/http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/omtoc.html#om0052 |date=2014-04-13 }}'', chapter 6 Oman – Government and Politics, section: Historical Patterns of Governance. [[US Library of Congress]], 1993. Retrieved 2006-10-28</ref>

The death of Sa'id bin Sultan in 1856 prompted a further division: the descendants of the late sultan ruled Muscat and Oman ([[Thuwaini bin Said, Sultan of Muscat and Oman|Thuwaini ibn Said Al-Busaid]], r. 1856–1866) and Zanzibar ([[Majid bin Said of Zanzibar|Mayid ibn Said Al-Busaid]], r. 1856–1870); the Qais branch intermittently allied itself with the ulama to restore imamate legitimacy. In 1868, [[Azzan bin Qais, Sultan of Muscat and Oman|Azzan bin Qais Al-Busaid]] (r. 1868–1871) emerged as self-declared imam. Although a significant number of Hinawi tribes recognized him as imam, the public neither elected him nor acclaimed him as such.<ref name="LoC HistGovernance"/>

Imam Azzan understood that to unify the country a strong, central authority had to be established with control over the interior tribes of Oman. His rule was jeopardized by the British, who interpreted his policy of bringing the interior tribes under the central government as a move against their established order. In resorting to military means to unify Muscat and Oman, Imam Azzan alienated members of the Ghafiri tribes, who revolted in the 1870–1871 period. The British gave financial and political support to [[Turki bin Said, Sultan of Muscat and Oman|Turki bin Said Al-Busaid]], Imam Azzan's rival in exchange of controlling the area. In the [[Battle of Dhank]], Turki bin Said defeated the forces of Imam Azzan, who was killed in battle outside [[Muttrah]] in January 1871.<ref name="LoC HistGovernance"/>

Muscat and Oman was the object of [[France|Franco]]-[[British Empire|British]] rivalry throughout the 18th century. During the 19th century, Muscat and Oman and the United Kingdom concluded several treaties of [[commerce]] benefitting mostly the British. In 1908 the British entered into an agreement based in the imperialistic plans to control the area. Their traditional association was confirmed in 1951 through a new treaty of commerce, based on oil reserves, and [[navigation]] by which the United Kingdom recognized the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman as a fully independent state, under their supervision and their strategic neo-colonial interest.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were tensions between the sultan in Muscat and the [[Ibadi]] Imam in Nizwa. This conflict was resolved temporarily by the [[Treaty of Seeb]], which granted the imam rule in the interior [[Imamate of Oman]], while recognising the sovereignty of the sultan in Muscat and its surroundings.