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| 1963–75 |
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| A tribal revolt in Dhafur, in the interior of Oman. As it came under the South Yemeni influence in the early 1970s, the movement acquired a revolutionary character and aimed at the overthrow of the sultanate itself. The rebels' most prominent organization was the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arab Gulf (formerly, until Nov. 1968, the Dhafur Liberation Front). The government emerged victorious in 1975 with assistance from Iran. | 1 |
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| 1965, Nov. 24 |
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| Death of the Kuwaiti emir Abdallah, who was succeeded by his younger brother, Sabah. | 2 |
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| 1966, Aug. 6 |
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| Deposal of Sheik Shakbut ibn Sultan, ruler of Abu Dhabi. He was replaced by Sheik Zayd, his younger brother. | 3 |
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| 1967 |
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| Start of oil exports in Oman. | 4 |
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| 1968 |
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| Iran claimed Bahrain, a revival of an old claim to the island from the 17th century. With Iran's acquiesence, the matter was placed before the UN, which ruled against the Iranians. | 5 |
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| 1970, July 23 |
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| MILITARY COUP IN OMAN. Sultan Sa`id was deposed and exiled by his son, QABUS, who subsequently began to reorganize the Omani government to cope with the country's newfound oil wealth. | 6 |
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| 1970–85 |
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| Construction of an educational system in Oman. Only 16 schools were open in 1970; the country had almost 600 by 1985 and established its own university, Sultan Qabus University, the next year. | 7 |
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| 1971, Aug. 14 |
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| INDEPENDENCE OF BAHRAIN from British rule. | 8 |
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| Sept. 1 |
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| INDEPENDENCE OF QATAR from British rule. | 9 |
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| Dec. 2 |
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| CREATION OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, a collection of small sheikdoms that emerged from the territory known as Trucial Oman under British rule. The political system consisted of a president (Sheik Zayd of Abu Dhabi at independence), a council of ministers, and a consultative assembly. But the most important institution was the Supreme Council of Rulers, on which Abu Dhabi and Dubayy alone held veto power. Within the federation, the dominant state was Abu Dhabi, which held most of the wealth and population. The lesser sheikdoms resisted attempts to strengthen the union but were irresistably drawn together by acts such as the establishment of a common currency board (1973), an army (1976), a judicial system (1978), and a central bank (1980). Only two other sheikdoms, Dubayy and Sharja, possessed significant reserves of oil. | 10 |
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