Ptolemy's Map of Arabia identifies the territories of Cryptus Portus and Moscha Portus. Scholars are divided in opinion on which of the two related to the city of Muscat. Similarly, Arrianus references Omana and Moscha in Voyage of Nearchus. Interpretations of Arrianus' work by William Vincent and Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville conclude that Omana was a reference to Oman, while Moscha referred to Muscat. Similarly, other scholars identify Pliny the Elder's reference toAmithoscuta to be Muscat.
The origin of the word Muscat is disputed. Some authors claim that the word has Arabic origins – from moscha, meaning aninflated hide or skin. Other authors claim that the name Muscat means anchorage or the place of "letting fall the anchor".Other derivations include muscat from Old Persian, meaning strong-scented, or Arabic meaning falling-place, or meaninghidden. Maas-gat in the old Persian means "fishing place" (Moscha Portus). Even Masandam means "massan (fishes)+ dam (net)" in the old Persian. Cryptus Portus is synonymous with Oman ("hidden land"). But "Ov-man" (Omman) and the old sumerian name Magan (Maa-kan) means sea-people in Persian and Arabic.
Evidence of communal activity in the area around Muscat dates back to the 6th millennium BCE in Ras al-Hamra, where burial sites of fishermen have been found. The graves appear to be well formed and indicate the existence of burial rituals. South of Muscat, remnants of Harappan pottery indicate some level of contact with the Indus Valley Civilisation. Muscat's notability as a port was acknowledged as early as the 1st century CE by Greek geographers Ptolemy, who referred to it as Cryptus Portus(the Hidden Port), and by Pliny the Elder, who called it Amithoscuta.
The port fell to a Sassanid invasion in the 3rd century CE, under the rule of Shapur I., while conversion to Islam occurred during the 7th century. Muscat's importance as a trading port continued to grow in the centuries that followed, under
