“The Omani Empire: Asia and Africa” Exhibition

The National Museum inaugurated the second exhibition within the Gallery of Oman initiative at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, titled “The Omani Empire: Asia and Africa,” on Saturday 9th December 2023 CE and will continue for all visitors until January 26, 2025 CE.

The opening of the exhibition comes after the success of the first edition of this initiative on June 2nd, 2021 CE, and within the framework of the ongoing bilateral cooperation between the National Museum and the State Hermitage Museum.

The opening ceremony was attended by Her Highness Sayyida Dr. Mona bint Fahd al-Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University for International Cooperation, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, His Excellency Jamal bin Hassan al-Moosawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, and H.E. Hamood bin Salim al-Towaiya, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Russian Federation, and Professor Dr. Mikhail Petrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum and member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, and a number of officials and those interested in the cultural field.

The exhibition includes (28) artefacts that reflect the history of the Omani Empire, both its Asian and African sides, and focuses on different and gradual periods of time for the rulers of Oman, including the al- Yarubi Imams and the al-Busaid Sultans in the period between the 17th and 19th centuries, and their role as a link between the neighbouring countries such as the Arabian Peninsula and Western Asia with the East African coast.

The exhibition tells the story of the history of the Omanis in East Africa and their role in expelling the Portuguese from East Africa and establishing the sprawling Omani Empire, and the resulting manifestations of the Omani civilisational influences in East Africa in the social, religious, political, economic, cultural, and urban fields, which are still witness the Omani exists until today.