• 1650: Portuguese colonizers are ejected from Oman. • 1913: Control of Oman splits between the Imamate in the center and the Sultanate centered on Muscat. • 1920: The Treaty of Seeb is signed stating that the sultan will respect the autonomy of the interior. • 1954: Ghalib Bin Ali is elected imam of the Imamate of Oman, prompting a rift with Sultan Said Bin Taimur over oil negotiations with the Iraq Petroleum Company. • 1955: The sultan’s forces are sent to occupy the main centers of Oman, the imamate in the Jebel Akhdar War against the sultan. • 1957: The sultan’s forces begin retreating, but British military support enables them to push imamate forces back to the Jebel Akhdar. • 1959: The Jebel Akhdar is occupied by the British ending the war. The imamate is abolished and incorporated into the sultanate. • 1965: The Dhofar rebellion begins. • 1967: Oil extraction begins. • 1970: Qaboos deposes his father in a bloodless coup. • 1975: With help from Britain, Iran, Jordan and Pakistan, Qaboos defeats the Dhofar rebels. • 1997: Qaboos decrees that women can vote and stand for election to the Consultative Assembly of Oman. • 2002: Suffrage is extended to all citizens over 21. • 2011: The sultan promises jobs and benefits following protests.