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Dhofar () is the largest of the 11 governorates in the Oman by area. It lies in southwestern Oman, bordered on the west by Al Mahrah Governorate of Yemen, on the north by the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, on the east by Al Wusta Governorate, and on the south by the Arabian Sea, part of the Indian Ocean. It is a rather mountainous area that covers and had a population of 416,458 in the 2020 census. Salalah is the largest city and capital of the governorate. Historically, the region was a source of frankincense. The local dialect of Arabic is Dhofari Arabic, which is distinct from that used in the rest of Oman and in Yemen.
Al-Baleed (also spelled Al Blaid), an area near Salalah which contains numerous archeological finds, used to serve as the home of the Manjawi Civilization from the 12th to 16th centuries.
The Shahri people are believed to be the original inhabitants of Dhofar.
Prior to Omani rule, Dhofar was part of the sultanate of Kathiri, (2023). 9781003419440, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781003419440 and was later mostly controlled by the tribes of Al-Hakli (Qara), thus given the name "Dhofar Mountains".
A historical political précis on Dhofar produced by the British Government indicate that in 1876, a man named Sayyid Fadhl bin Alawi, who had arrived in Dhofar from Mecca in August 1875, had established himself as the de facto ruler of Dhofar. He claimed allegiance to the Ottoman Empire, however, it was unknown if he was acting under their directive. With the help of Dhofari tribes he carried out warfare against the Bedouins of the interior. He was expelled by local sheikhs in January 1879. This article incorporates text from this source, which is freely available for re-use under the Open Government License.
Communication outside of Dhofar was made difficult on account of the rugged landscape and the fact that no large harbors existed on the coast, though Mirbat and Risut were said to offer good anchorage for smaller vessels. The mountain paths were, for all intents and purposes, inaccessible during the rainy season. Aside from camels, no other transport animals were widely used. Frankincense was said to comprise the bulk of economic trade, with 9,000 cwt. being sent to Mumbai annually. Other exports were hides, sheep-skins, gums and beeswax. Among the chief imports were khat (which was mistaken for tobacco) from Mukalla and rice, sugar, dates and cloths from Mumbai.
Gordon Noel Jackson's 1943 essay on Dhofar provides a historical glimpse into the administration of the region: This article incorporates text from this source, which is freely available for re-use under the Open Government Licence.
During World War I it was fertile enough to produce food and grain to supply a large proportion of the requirement of the British Army fighting in Mesopotamia.
A counter-insurgency campaign—the Omani Civil War (1963-76)—was fought here by the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces against guerrilla fighters of the nationalist Dhofar Liberation Front and later the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Persian Gulf (PFLOAG). This latter group was supported by Communism South Yemen and several other socialist states, including East Germany. It aimed to depose the Sultan's government, who was assisted by the United Kingdom, Iran, and officers and doctors from Pakistan and India.In the service of the Sultan – Ian Gardiner The rebellion failed, and once the campaign was declared over in December 1975, the active remainder of PFLOAG forces surrendered.
In Gordon Noel Jackson's 1943 treatise on the Dhofar Governorate, he wrote that "the people of the province are as varied as the landscape". He goes on to state that the Arabs of the hills, 'mountain Arabs', were highly nomadic and were not proficient in Standard Arabic. Furthermore, it is asserted that they were not overtly observant of Islamic customs, were highly superstitious, and practiced pre-Islamic rites, much to the indignation of the Sultan of Oman. They engaged in little cultivation due to the arid landscape, instead preferring to trade incense and rear livestock. This article incorporates text from this source, which is freely available for re-use under the Open Government Licence.
In the past, the Hindu festival Diwali was celebrated by practicing Omani Muslims and non-Muslims alike. According to local tradition, the custom was introduced by a Brahmin who was shipwrecked off Dhofar's coast and found a ready acceptance of the festival among the lower classes of Dhofar. Jackson (1943) states that the ruler of Oman prohibited Muslims from participating in these festivities sometime in the early 20th century.
While Arabic speakers from the dominant culture of Oman have come to live in the province, especially the larger cities and towns, Dhofar has been the traditional homeland of many tribespeople speaking Modern South Arabian languages. One of the languages most commonly spoken by Al-Hakli (Qara), Al-Shahri, Al-Barami, Al-Mashaiki and Al-Bathari mountain tribes is the Shehri language (called Jibbali "Mountainous"). The Yemeni language Mehri language is somewhat linked to Jeballi. Other indigenous groups speaking smaller languages such as Bat'hari living in the coastal towns of Shuwaymiya and Sharbithat. The Harasis, speaking Harsusi language, number 1–2000 and live in Jiddat al-Harasis.
As of April 2024, 54.9% of the population are expatriates and 45.1% are Omanis.
The Province contains three distinct physical tracts, a cultivated coastal belt, Al Haffah, divided from the mountains by a desert plain some 40 miles in length and up to 9 miles in depth. The mountains enclosing the western end of the plain are precipitous and inaccessible while those to the east rise steeply with many sheer cliffs and deep gorges but are capped by rolling grassy uplands and interspersed with wide park-like valleys well wooded with groves of Common fig, , , . Varieties of evergreens, , babuls, wild olives, , camel thorn, Tamarix and an abundance of wild flowers and grasses provide ample grazing during the summer for herds of dairy cattle, camels and goats numbering many hundreds.
The uplands rise gently to a height of between 3,000 and 4,000 feet at the top of the watershed and thence slope away to the north draining into Wadi Muqshin on the southern edge of the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter). Cloud formations are entrapped over the enclosed plain and on southern slopes of the mountains, the reverse slopes draining to the north being practically free of clouds and devoid of moisture. It is in these that the frankincense, for which the mountains have been famous through the ages, grows wild. The dryness of the air determines the quality of the frankincense, the resin of similar trees growing on the southern slopes being spoilt by the rain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is freely available for re-use under the Open Government Licence.
Although the southern slopes enjoy a good rainfall the ground soil does not retain the water. Underground rivers drain the waters of Jabal Aram into Wadi Darbat, the mouth of which is sealed by a sheer limestone cliff 500 feet high. The accumulated waters fill a lake two miles long, situated at a height of 1,000 feet, and overflow during the rains to form a picturesque waterfall. Other underground rivers feed perennial springs at the foot of the hills. There are six of these springs; Jarziz, the best of them, producing an estimated flow of 40,000 gallons of water an hour. These waters, if unharnessed, again disappear underground in the foothills and reappear to feed extensive fresh water creeks in the coastal belt divided from the sea only by narrow sandbars. Fresh water is easily obtainable from shallow wells at a distance of a hundred yards from high water mark and up to a distance of one mile inland, beyond which the increased depth of the water discourages prospective cultivators.
Salalah, the region's capital, has an international airport, one of the largest seaports in the Middle East, several resorts including the Marriott hotel and the Crowne Plaza, and a university. The Burj-al-Nadha clock tower is a local landmark and is featured in the Dhofar Municipality coat of arms.
The Dhofar region is also rich in meteorites.
According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the coasts of Dhofar, perhaps Wadi Sayq, are considered the most likely location of the Book of Mormon land of Bountiful, from which the nomadic family of Lehi sailed, some time after 600 BC, in a ship constructed by his son Nephi, to the New World. (1996). 9781555172763, Cedar Fort, Inc. ISBN 9781555172763
The following are the ten wilayats of Dhofar:
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