SayyidSaïd bin Sultan al-Busaidi (Arabic:سعيد بن سلطان,Saʿīd bin Sulṭān,Swahili:Saïd bin Sultani) (5 June 1791 – 19 October 1856) was Sultan ofMuscat and Oman, the fifth ruler of theAl Bu Said dynasty from 1804 to 4 June 1856. His rule began after a period of conflict and internecine rivalry of succession that followed the death of his father,Sultan bin Ahmad, in November 1804. He is often referred to as theLion of Oman (أسد عمان), as one of the greatestOmani sultans.[2]
Said's uncleQais bin Ahmad finally agreed to Said's primacy after Said had killed his cousin,Badr bin Saif, a pretender to the throne. Said is noted for moving his capital toZanzibar, where it remained during the time when the Omani Empire reached the zenith of its power and wealth.[3][4]
Said bin Sultan was son of Sultan bin Ahmed, who ruled Oman from 1791 to 1804. Sultan bin Ahmed died in 1804 on an expedition toBasra. He appointed Mohammed bin Nasir bin Mohammed al-Jabry as the Regent and guardian of his two sons,Salim bin Sultan and Said bin Sultan.[5] Sultan's brother Qais bin Ahmad, the ruler ofSohar, decided to attempt to seize power. Early in 1805 Qais and his brother Mohammed marched south along the coast toMuttrah, which he easily captured. Qais then started to besiegeMuscat. Mohammed bin Nasir tried to bribe Qais to leave, but did not succeed.[5]
Mohammed bin Nasir called on Badr bin Saif for help.[5]After a series of engagements, Qais was forced to retire to Sohar. Badr bin Saif became the effective ruler.[6]Allied with theWahhabis, Badr bin Saif became increasingly unpopular.[7]To get his wards out of the way, Badr bin Saif made Salim bin Sultan governor ofal Maṣna'ah on theBatinah coast and Said bin Sultan governor ofBarka.[8]
In 1806, Said bin Sultan lured Badr bin Saif to Barka and murdered him nearby. There are different accounts of what happened, but it seems clear that Said struck the first blow and his supporters finished the job. Said was acclaimed by the people as a liberator from the Wahhabis, who left the country. Qais bin Ahmad at once gave his support to Said. Nervous of the Wahhabi reaction, Said blamed Mohammed bin Nasir for the murder.[1]
On 31st July 1806Sayyida Aisha bint Sultan Al-Imam Ahmad bin Sa’id Al-Busaidi, a daughter of Sultan bin Ahmed, assumed the regency on behalf of her younger brother Said bin Sultan. She was a formidable woman, who conducted the affairs of government and frequently commanded her troops dressed in male clothing.[9]
Said bin Sultan became the sole ruler of Oman, apparently with the consent of his brother. Their aunt, the daughter of the ImamAhmad bin Said al-Busaidi, seems to have influenced this decision.[10]
In 1835, he ratified a treaty with the United States on very favorable terms, that had been negotiated byEdmund Roberts at Muscat on 21 September 1833,[13] and returned byUSSPeacock.[14]
In 1837, he conqueredMombasa (now inKenya). In 1840, Said moved his capital fromMuscat toStone Town in Zanzibar, where Richard Waters wasAmerican Consul,[15] and sent a ship to the United States to try to further a trading relationship.[16]
In 1845, he signed theHamerton Treaty, further restricting the Zanzibar slave trade.[18]
Upon Said's death in 1856, his realm was divided. His third son,Thuwaini bin Said, became the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and his sixth son,Majid bin Said, became the Sultan of Zanzibar.
TheNational Museum in Muscat houses numerous items of silverware and other possessions that belonged to Said.
Sayyid Muhammad bin Said al-Busaidi (1826–1863): he "...was considered the most pious of our entire family.... cared little for the world and worldly goods.... possessed by... antipathy against Zanzibar" (Ch. 14, Ruete); he lived most of his life in Oman; father ofHamoud bin Mohammed, Sultan of Zanzibar.
Sayyid Nasir bin Said al-Busaidi (also called Nasor) (?-1887) went toMecca with his older sister Chadudj: died in his twenties
Sayyid Abdu'l-Rab bin Said al-Busaidi (?-1888)
Sayyid Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi
Sayyid Talib bin Said al-Busaidi
Sayyid Abdullah bin Said al-Busaidi
Sayyida Sharîfe of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of aCircassian woman, she was "a dazzling beauty with the complexion of a German blonde. Besides, she possessed a sharp intellect, which made her into a faithful advisor of my father's" (described in Ruete, Ch. 15)
Sayyida Chole (or Khwala) of Zanzibar and Oman (died 1875): the daughter of a Mesopotamian woman, she "was particularly close to our father; her enchanting personality, her cheerfulness and charm won him over completely" (Ruete, Ch. 15)
Sayyida Aashe of Zanzibar and Oman: full sister of Chole; after the death of their brother Hilal (1851), she "took motherly care of his eldest son Suud" (Ruete)
Sayyida Chadudj of Zanzibar and Oman: full sister of Majid; after his death (1870), she went with her younger brother Nasir toMecca and died not long afterward (Ruete)
Sayyida Shewâne of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of an Abyssinian woman; "aclassical beauty ... endowed with a keen mind", she died early (Ruete)
Sayyida Mettle of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of an Abyssinian woman, she married a "distant cousin" in Stonetown and had "two charming twin boys" (Ruete)
Sayyida Zeyâne of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of an Abyssinian woman (Ruete)
Sayyida Semsem of Zanzibar and Oman: full sister of Zeyâne, she was married "rather late in life [to] our distant cousin Humud" (Ruete)
Sayyida Nunu of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of a Circassian woman, she was born blind; after the deaths of her parents, she lived with her sister Aashe (Ruete)
Sayyida Salme of Zanzibar and Oman (1844–1924): she became known asEmily Ruete[19]
^Nicolini, B., & Watson, P. (2004). Makran, Oman, and Zanzibar: Three-terminal Cultural Corridor in the Western Indian Ocean, 1799–1856. Leiden: Brill Academic Pub., p 132
Badger, George Percy (1871).Reports from Committees. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Retrieved2013-11-19.
Barrett, Walter (1863)."Chapter X".The Old Merchants of New York City. Second series. The Brooklyn Information Page. p. 103.He loads one of his own ships in the early part of 1840, and sends her to New York, consigned to this house, that had been doing business with him for some time.
Peterson, J. E. (2013).Oman's Insurgencies: The Sultanate's Struggle for Supremacy. Saqi.
Roberts, Edmund (1929) [1837]."XXIII".Embassy to the Eastern courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat : in the U. S. sloop-of-war Peacock ... during the years 1832-3-4. Harper & brothers. RetrievedMarch 29, 2012.
Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar,Emily Ruete, 1888. (Many reprints). Author (1844–1924) was born Princess Salme of Zanzibar and Oman and was a daughter of Sayyid Said. In the fifteenth chapter of her book, she describes her sisters and two of her brothers (Hilal and Thuweini).
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