Muscat – The National Museum inaugurated the second exhibition within the Gallery of Oman initiative at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, entitled ‘The Omani Empire: Asia and Africa.’

The exhibition will run for all visitors until January 26, 2025.

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

The opening ceremony was attended by HH Sayyida Dr. Mona Fahd Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University for International Cooperation, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, Jamal Hassan Al Moosawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, Hamood Salim Al Towaiya, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Russian Federation, Professor Dr. Mikhail Petrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum and member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, along with a number of officials and individuals interested in the cultural field.

The exhibition includes 28 artifacts that reflect the history of the Omani Empire, encompassing both its Asian and African sides. It 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. The exhibition highlights their role as a link between neighboring countries, such as the Arabian Peninsula and Western Asia, with the East African coast.

The exhibition narrates 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. It explores the resulting manifestations of Omani civilizational influences in East Africa in the social, religious, political, economic, cultural, and urban fields, which still witness Omani presence today.

One of the most prominent objects on display is a curved-edged sword (shamshir), attributed to Imam Saif bin Sultan al-Yarbi I.