MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL VOLUME 58, NO. 1, WINTER 2004 Although the majority of Oman’s population is Arab and either Ibadi or Sunni Muslim, the country exhibits a wealth of diversity in ethnic groups and native languages. While these other groups are often small in total size, they are represented in such areas as politics and commerce in numbers disproportionate to the weight of their communities a...

extended abstract 1. introduction abbasid period can be regarded as an epoch in which poetry and eulogy in persia reached maturity, i.e., in which poetry has become a means of praise and admiration (dayf, 2006, p. 565). the kings of this dynasty gathered a group of flattered eulogists and used them for political announcements (alebadi, 2006, p. 13), by allocating precious gifts of war booty to ...