'''Oman''' ( ;  '''' ), officially the '''Sultanate of Oman''' ( ), is a country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. Formerly a maritime empire, Oman is the oldest continuously independent state in the Arab world. Located in an area bordering the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the country shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, and shares maritime borders with Iran, and Pakistan. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz (which it shares with Iran) and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries. Muscat is its capital and largest city.