Sultan ofZanzibar
Sultanate flag
Longest serving ruler: Khalifa bin Harub of Zanzibar 9 December 1911 – 9 October 1960
Details
First monarch	Majid bin Said
Last monarch	Jamshid bin Abdullah
Formation	1856
Abolition	1964
Residence	Sultan's Palace,Stone Town
Appointer	Hereditary
Pretender	Crown PrinceSayyid Ali bin Jamshid Al Said (since 2024)

TheSultan of Zanzibar (Arabic:سلاطين زنجبار;Swahili:Sultani wa Zanzibar) was the ruler of theSultanate of Zanzibar, which was created on 19 October 1856 after the death ofSaid bin Sultan. He had ruledOman andZanzibar as thesultan of Oman since 1804. The sultans of Zanzibar were of acadet branch of theAl Bu Said dynasty of Oman.^[1]

In 1698, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman, falling under the control of the sultan of Oman. Omani and other Arab traders had already been prominent in trade with the island for hundreds of years. It was also visited by traders from Persia and India, who arrived with the seasonalmusim (west wind). Months later they could return east with a change in the wind.

In 1832^[2] or 1840^[3] (the date varies among sources), Said bin Sultan moved his capital fromMuscat in Oman toStone Town on Zanzibar. He established a ruling Arab elite and encouraged the development ofcloveplantations, using the island'senslaved black Africans as labourers.^[4]

Zanzibar's commerce fell increasingly into the hands of traders from theIndian subcontinent, whom Said encouraged to settle on the island. Traders had been coming to the island from Persia, Arabia, and India for hundreds of years. After Said's death in 1856, two of his sons,Majid bin Said andThuwaini bin Said, struggled over thesuccession. They divided Zanzibar and Oman into two separateprincipalities; Thuwaini became the sultan of Oman, and Majid became the first sultan of Zanzibar.^[5]

During his 14-year reign as sultan, Majid consolidated his power around theEast African slave trade. His successor,Barghash bin Said, helped abolish the slave trade in Zanzibar and is credited with developing the country's infrastructure.^[6] The third sultan,Khalifa bin Said, also furthered the country's progress toward abolishing slavery.^[7]

Until 1886, the sultan of Zanzibar also controlled a substantial portion of the east African coast, known asZanj, andtrade routes that extended further into the continent, as far asKindu on theCongo River. That year, the British and Germans secretly met and re-established the area under the sultan's rule.

Over the next few years, European imperial powers took over most of the mainland possessions of the Sultanate. With the signing of theHeligoland-Zanzibar Treaty in 1890 duringAli bin Said's reign, Zanzibar became a Britishprotectorate.^[8] In August 1896, Britain and Zanzibar fought a38-minute war, the shortest inrecorded history, afterKhalid bin Barghash had taken power followingHamid bin Thuwaini's death.

The British had wantedHamoud bin Mohammed to become sultan, believing that he would be much easier to work with. The British gave Khalid an hour to vacate the sultan's palace in Stone Town. Khalid failed to do so, and instead assembled an army of 2,800 men to fight the British. The British launched an attack on the palace and other locations around the city. Khalid retreated and later went into exile. The British installed Hamoud as sultan.^[9]

Khalid bin Harub became Sultan of Zanzibar in late 1911; he served until his death in October 1960.

In December 1963, Zanzibar was granted independence by theUnited Kingdom and became aconstitutional monarchy within theCommonwealth under the sultan.^[10] SultanJamshid bin Abdullah was overthrown a month later during theZanzibar Revolution.^[11] Jamshid fled into exile, and the Sultanate was replaced by thePeople's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba, a government dominated by Africans.

In April 1964, the republic was united withTanganyika to form theUnited Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. This was renamed asTanzania six months later.^[3]

No.	Sultan	Full name	Portrait	Began rule	Ended rule	Rule duration	Notes
1	Majid bin Said[A]	Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid		19 October 1856[12]	7 October 1870	13 years, 347 days	Bargash bin Said attempted to usurp the throne from his brother in 1859, but failed. He was exiled toBombay for two years.[13]
2	Barghash bin Said	Sayyid Sir Barghash bin Said Al-Busaid		7 October 1870	26 March 1888	17 years, 148 days	Responsible for developing much of theinfrastructure in Zanzibar (especially Stone Town), likepiped water,telegraphcables, buildings, roads, etc. Helped abolish theZanzibar slave trade by signing an agreement with Britain in 1870, prohibiting slave trade in the sultanate, and closing the slave market inMkunazini.[6]
3	Khalifa bin Said	Sayyid Sir Khalifa I bin Said Al-Busaid		26 March 1888	13 February 1890	1 year, 352 days	Supportedabolitionism, like his predecessor.[7]
4	Ali bin Said	Sayyid Sir Ali bin Said Al-Busaid		13 February 1890	5 March 1893	3 years, 20 days	TheBritish andGerman Empires signed theHeligoland-Zanzibar Treaty in July 1890. This treaty turned Zanzibar into a Britishprotectorate.[B]
5	Hamid bin Thuwayni	Sayyid Sir Hamad bin Thuwaini Al-Busaid		5 March 1893[14]	25 August 1896	3 years, 173 days
6	Khalid bin Barghash	Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid		25 August 1896	27 August 1896[C]	2 days	Was a belligerent in theAnglo-Zanzibar War, the shortest war in recorded history.
7	Hamoud bin Mohammed	Sayyid Sir Hamoud bin Mohammed Al-Busaid		27 August 1896[15]	18 July 1902	5 years, 325 days	Issued the final decree abolishingslavery in Zanzibar on 6 April 1897.[15] For this, he was knighted byQueen Victoria.
8	Ali bin Hamud	Sayyid Ali bin Hamud Al-Busaid		20 July 1902[16]	9 December 1911[D]	9 years, 144 days	The BritishFirst Minister, Mr A. Rogers, served asregent until Ali reached the age of 21 on 7 June 1905.[17]
9	Khalifa bin Harub	Sayyid Sir Khalifa II bin Harub Al-Busaid		9 December 1911	9 October 1960	48 years, 305 days	Brother-in-law of Ali bin Hamud. Oversaw the construction of harbor in Stone Town and tar roads inPemba.[6][18]
10	Abdullah bin Khalifa	Sayyid Sir Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Busaid		9 October 1960	1 July 1963[E]	2 years, 265 days
11	Jamshid bin Abdullah	Sayyid Sir Jamshid bin Abdullah Al-Busaid		1 July 1963	12 January 1964[F]	195 days	On 10 December 1963, Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom as aconstitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth under Jamshid.[10]

^{[citation needed]}

• Tanzania
  • Politics of Tanzania
  • List of governors of Tanganyika
  • President of Tanzania
    • List of heads of state of Tanzania
  • Prime Minister of Tanzania
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  • President of Zanzibar
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  • List of rulers of Oman

• ^A Majid bin Said, the youngest son of Said bin Sultan, became theSultan of Oman after his father's death on 19 October 1856. However, Majid's elder brother,Thuwaini bin Said, contested the accession to power. Following a struggle over the position, it was decided that Zanzibar and Oman would be divided into two separate principalities. Majid would rule as the Sultan of Zanzibar while Thuwaini would rule as the Sultan of Oman.^[19]
• ^B From 1886, the United Kingdom and Germany had plotted to obtain parts of the ZanzibarSultanate for their own empires.^[13] In October 1886, a German-British border commission established theZanj as a 10 nautical mile (19 km) wide strip along most of the coast of East Africa, stretching fromCape Delgado (now inMozambique) toKipini (now inKenya), includingMombasa andDar es Salaam. Over the next few years, almost all of these mainland possessions were lost to European imperial powers.
• ^CHamoud bin Mohammed, the son-in-law of Majid bin Said, was supposed to become the Sultan of Zanzibar after Hamid bin Thuwayni's death. However, Khalid bin Bhargash, son of Bargash bin Said, seized the Sultan's palace and declared himself the ruler of Zanzibar. The British, who had supported Hamoud, responded on 26 August by issuing an ultimatum to Khalid and his men to leave the palace within one hour. After he refused, theRoyal Navy began firing at the palace and other locations in Stone Town. Khalid assembled an army of 2,800 and stationed them all around the town. Thirty-eight minutes later, Khalid retreated to the Germanconsulate, where he was granted asylum. This conflict, known as theAnglo-Zanzibar War, was the shortest war in recorded history. Khalid later went into exile inDar es Salaam until being captured by the British in 1916.^[20][21]
• ^D After attending the coronation ofKing George V, Ali decided to abdicate from the throne to live in Europe.^[6][16]
• ^E Abdullah bin Khalifah died from complications ofdiabetes.^[6]
• ^F Jamshid bin Abdullah overthrown on 12 January 1964 during theZanzibar Revolution.^[22] Jamshid managed to flee toGreat Britain with his family and ministers.^[23]

• Omani Arab Rule In Zanzibar

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