Treaty of Seeb

The Treaty of Seeb (variously Sib or As Sib) was an agreement reached between the Sultan of Muscat, Taimur bin Feisal (1886–1965), and the Imamate of Oman on 25 September 1920. It recognised Omani autonomy within the interior regions of Muscat and Oman, which was a British protectorate at the time. The treaty was named after As Sib, a coastal town in present-day Oman.

Prior to the treaty, Salim ibn Rashid al-Kharusi instigated an anti-Muscat rebellion among the conservative Ibadhi sects in the interior mountainous areas of Oman and founded the Islamic Imamate of Oman in opposition to Muscat. With British assistance, the Treaty of As Sib went into effect in 1920. The capital of the Imamate was created in the town of Nizwa. The Imam Salim ibn Rashid al-Kharusi was murdered in July 1924 and a new Imam, Imam Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Khalili, elected.

Relationships between Muscat and Oman were relatively peaceful until 1954 when, following the occupation of the Buraimi oasis in 1952 by Saudi Arabia and the death of Imam Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Khalili, Saudi Arabia supported the new Imam Ghalib bin Ali Al Hinai. This support rapidly enabled a rebellion in Jebel Akhdar under the leadership of Sheikh Suleiman bin Himyar al-Nabhani to spread. In 1955 Sultan Said bin Taimour occupied Nizwa. The brother of the new Imam, Sheikh Talib bin Ali Al Hinai, who resided in Saudi Arabia gradually restarted the rebellion Jebel Akhdar and eventually re-joined his followers in Oman. The war's conclusion was in January 1959 when a military defeat of the rebels once again sent the leaders into exile in Saudi Arabia.