UNESCO honour for Jibreen Fort and poet bin Raziq

The Sultanate of Oman succeeded in including two new cultural elements in the UNESCO programme to celebrate important historical events and globally influential figures.

UNESCO added the 350th anniversary of the establishment of Jibreen Fort, and the 150th anniversary of the death of the historian and poet Humaid bin Muhammad bin Raziq. This came during the participation of the delegation of the Sultanate of Oman in the 42nd session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is being held in Paris.

UNESCO included Jibreen Fort in this programme as one of the important historical events, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of its establishment during the reign of Imam Belarab bin Sultan al Yarubi. The fort was completed in 1675. This fort is considered one of the most important Omani architectural masterpieces of the seventeenth century.

The most skilled craftsmen and architects participated in its construction, and it was used as a rural residence for the Imam and the seat of his rule. At that time, Jibreen Fort became a scientific centre with professors and scholars who were supported and promoted by the Imam himself who encouraged students to learn various sciences and specialisations, such as: jurisprudence, law, literature, history, astronomy, mathematics, medicine and chemistry. The fort was a unique scientific university visited by many scholars as university professors who stayed there to teach. It is noteworthy that the number of scholars and writers who graduated from this scientific centre during the era of Imam Belarab bin Sultan exceeded 40 scholars.

Historian and poet Humaid bin Muhammad bin Raziq is considered one of the most important Omani historians in the nineteenth century. He worked on documenting the historical phase extending from the establishment of the Al Busaid dynasty until the end of the reign of Sayyid Said bin Sultan in 1856. He also documented the activity of the European powers in the Indian Ocean and the Arab region. His books are a reliable reference for researchers of Oman. His works were reviewed by a number of specialists from inside and outside Oman. His style was characterised by being neutral in writing events, and examining the narratives that described events that preceded his time. He was also open to the knowledge of others, non-Omanis and looked at the collections of major Arabic poets such as Ibn Tammam, Al Mutanabbi and Ibn Hani Al Andalusi.

With the inclusion of these two, the number of cultural elements that Oman included in this international programme has become eight. Earlier six Omani figures were added in the UNESCO programme and they are the linguist Al Khalil bin Ahmed al Farahidi in 2005; and physician and pharmacist Rashid bin Omairah al Hashimi al Rustaqi in 2013, and the polymath and social reformer Shaikh Nour Al Din Abdullah bin Humaid al Salmi in 2015; the physician and physicist Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Muhammad al Azdi, nicknamed Ibn al Dhahabi, the poet Nasser bin Salem al Rawahi, nicknamed Abu Muslim al Bahlani in 2019 and the navigator Ahmed bin Majid al Saadi in 2021.

Oman's National Commission for Education, Culture and Science designated February 10 to celebrate the memory of globally influential Omani figures who are included in the UNESCO list of important historical events and globally influential figures. It also marks the accession of the Sultanate of Oman to UNESCO on February 10, 1972. The celebration of this day aims to introduce influential Omani figures at the local and global levels, and to shed light on their scientific legacy.