At the time, the forces of the Azd tribe were powerful enough to help Abu Bakr, a companion of Muhammad, in the War of al Mortadeen.

It is said that even before that, the Azd tribe, led by Malek bin Faham, were able to defeat a Persian force which controlled Oman at that time.

Under Yarubi rule, fortified buildings covered the country from the north of Musandam to the south of Dhofar, making Oman a great power in the Persian Gulf.

Prior to 1954, when Said bin Taimur became ruler of Muscat and Oman, the defence of the region was guaranteed by treaties with the British Empire.

The only armed forces in Muscat and Oman were tribal levies and a palace guard recruited from Baluchistan in Pakistan (due to a historical quirk by which the Sultan also owned the port of Gwadur).

Prior to that year, there had been a dispute with Saudi Arabia over the ownership of the Buraimi Oasis, which was important for oil exploration rights.

He had been prepared to muster Omani tribesmen to expel the Saudis from Buraimi, but at British instigation, the matter was settled by arbitration.

After some weeks' inconclusive fighting, Suleiman bin Himyar, the Sheikh of one of the major tribes in the interior, openly proclaimed his defiance of the Sultan, and began a general uprising.

The rebellion was suppressed by the Muscat Regiment and the Trucial Oman Levies from the neighbouring United Arab Emirates.

The decisive factor however, was the intervention of infantry (two companies of the Cameronians) and armoured car detachments from the British Army and aircraft of the RAF.

In another attempt, infantry launched a feint and then withdrew while Avro Shackleton bombers of the RAF bombarded the supposedly massed defenders.

[3] For two years, rebel infiltrators continually mined the roads around the Jebel, and ambushed SAF and British detachments and oil company vehicles.

Their arms (mainly British weapons of World War II vintage) were less effective than the up-to-date equipment used by Talib's fighters.

An SAF artillery unit with two 5.5-inch medium guns harassed the settlements on the plateau on top of the Jebel Akhdar, to little effect.

A paramilitary force, the Oman Gendarmerie was formed in 1960 to assist the SAF in this task, and also to take over normal policing duties.

The only apparent threat to Oman at this point appeared to be a shadowy Marxist group who attempted to assassinate the Sultan's Interior Minister, and may also have planted bombs on civil aircraft, including a Vickers Viscount of United Arab Airlines which broke up in mid-air 27.5 kilometres (17.1 mi) north of Elba on 29 September 1960, killing all 23 people on board.

Large numbers of officers and NCO instructors seconded from the British Army and Royal Marines were attached to units.

To retrieve the situation, they launched a major attack on the coastal town of Mirbat, but were defeated by Firqats, Gendarmerie and SAS detachments, with air support.

Sorties into Oman by Toyota pickup trucks armed with Dushka 12.5mm heavy machine guns killed several lightly-armed Omani troops.

As part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Oman assigned an infantry battalion to the force known as Peninsula Shield during the Iran–Iraq War.

An Omani battalion served in Saudi Arabia, as part of the GCC contribution to the ground war to liberate Kuwait.

In 2001, Oman hosted a large contingent of the British Army, which held Exercise Saif Sareea II (in which 12500 members of the SAF also participated).

Since the defeat of the Dhofar insurgents, the likelihood of internal strife caused by poverty or tribal dissension has steadily decreased as a result of the increasing standards of living, and the provision of public health and education.

The army has steadily decreased its dependence on British and other foreign assistance, and increased its degree of mechanisation, although emphasis on light infantry operations remains; as part of their training, soldiers repeat the SAS ascent of the Jebel Akhdar in 1959.

Oman recently received 174 Piranha light armoured vehicles and over 80 VBL scout cars from France to further strengthen military capabilities.

[needs update] On a troop level, Oman's armed forces are frequently trained and briefed by the regular British Army, including the elite Special Air Service (SAS).