 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this article. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Said bin Taimur" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Said bin Taimur | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sultan of Oman | |
| Reign | 10 February 1932 – 23 July 1970 |
| Predecessor | Taimur bin Feisal |
| Successor | Qaboos bin Said |
| Born | 13 August 1910 Muscat,Muscat and Oman |
| Died | 19 October 1972(1972-10-19) (aged 62) London, England |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Fatima bint Ali Al Mashani Mazoon bint Ahmad Al Mashani |
| Issue | Qaboos bin Said Khadija bint Said Umaima bint Said |
| House | Al Bu Said |
| Father | Taimur bin Feisal |
| Mother | Sheikha Fatima bint 'Ali Al-Sa'id |
| Religion | Ibadi Islam |
Said bin Taimur (Arabic:سعيد بن تيمور; 13 August 1910 – 19 October 1972) was the 13th Sultan ofMuscat and Oman from 10 February 1932 until he wasdeposed on 23 July 1970 by his sonQaboos bin Said.
He was a member of theAl Bu Said dynasty who in 1932 became the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, succeeding his fatherTaimur bin Feisal who had abdicated for financial reasons. The 21-year-old Said inherited an administration that was in debt. He consolidated power, with the help of the British, and regained control of the tribal interior, bringing together Muscat and Oman. Once the country was united, Said left the capital ofMuscat and resided in a coastal town inDhofar. Muscat and Oman became fully sovereign and independent states in 1951 with him as ruler.
Said was born in 1910.[1] He attendedMayo College atAjmer inRajputana, India, from 1922–1927 where he masteredEnglish andUrdu. Upon his return to Muscat in May 1927, it was suggested he attendBeirut to further his education. His father, Sultan Taimur bin Feisal, feared that by sending him to Beirut, he would be influenced by Christianity.[2]
Said’s father was strongly against him learning the ways of the Western world and speaking English. When Said was younger, his father found Sa’id and his brother Nadir possessing an English primer, and he ordered all their books be burned. Instead of sending Said to Beirut, his father sent him toBaghdad to studyArabic literature and history for a year.[2]
After completing his year-long study inBaghdad, Said participated in the Omani government upon his return home. He became the president of theCouncil of Ministers in August 1929. Sultan Said's inability to govern the state affairs ofOman created an opportunity for a new leader. The British were very fond of Said and during February 1932, at the age of 21, Said became the new crowned Sultan.[3] Sultan Said inherited a country that was heavily in debt to Britain andBritish India. In order to break away from Britain and maintain autonomy, his country needed to regain economic independence. Therefore, beginning in 1933, he controlled the budget of the state until being overthrown in 1970.[3]
In 1933, Said married his first wife, Fatima bint Ali Al Mashani, and later divorced.[4][5]
In 1936, Said married his second wife,Mazoon bint Ahmad Al Mashani, who was a cousin of his first wife.[4]
He also had a daughter by aslave concubine.[4]
On his accession, he inherited the remains of theOmani Empire, which included the neighbouring provinces of Oman andDhofar, as well as the last remnants of an overseas empire, includingGwadar in theArabian Sea. Nevertheless, hispetroleum-rich country also had long established ties with theUnited Kingdom, based on a 1798 Treaty of Friendship, and had been a British protectorate since 1891. He also inherited an administration that was in debt.[citation needed]
Once he became Sultan, Said maintained a friendly relationship with theUnited States. In 1938, PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt invited Said and his father to visit the United States. Said landed inSan Francisco and began a tour fromCalifornia toWashington, D.C. During his visit to theWhite House, Roosevelt presented him with two books he had written. Said toured theFBI Headquarters, and laid a wreath uponGeorge Washington’s tomb, atMount Vernon.[2]
DuringWorld War II, the Sultan cooperated readily with the British; several Royal Air Force landing fields were constructed betweenSalalah inDhofar andMascat. This allowed the channels of supply to remain open between Britain and the Allies.[2]
Oil wealth would have allowed Said to modernize his country. He secured British recognition of its independence in 1951. Nevertheless, he also faced serious internal opposition, from ImamGhalib bin Ali, a religious leader of Oman, who claimed power in the sultanate for himself. The Imam'srevolt in Jebel Akhdar was suppressed in 1955, with British help, but this in turn earned Said the animosity ofSaudi Arabia, which supported the Imam, and ofEgypt, which regarded British involvement in suppressing the revolt as not conducive to the cause ofArab nationalism. In 1957, these two countries supported a renewed revolt by the Imam, which was similarly suppressed by 1959.
In 1958 Saidsold Gwadar to Pakistan for $1 million, while in 1967 Britain returned theKhuriya Muriya Islands.
Said became more reclusive from his people and country. In 1965, after making concessions to export oil with Iraq, Iran and Britain, he did little to improve the life of his people. The benefits of this deal would not come to fruition until his was deposed in 1970 in a palace coup.
In 1965, the province ofDhofarrevolted, this time with the support of thePeople's Republic of China and some of the nationalistArab states, followed by an assassination attempt in 1966. It had a marked effect on Said, causing him to become even more erratic in governing the country. It was forbidden to smoke in public, to play football, to wear sunglasses or to speak to anyone for more than 15 minutes.[6] No one was safe from the sultan's paranoia, not even his own son,Qaboos, who was kept under virtualhouse arrest atAl Hosn Palace inSalalah.
Before he was overthrown in 1970, because of his backwards policies, Oman had an under 5 mortality rate of around 25%.[7]Trachoma,venereal disease andmalnutrition were widespread. There were only three schools, the literacy rate was 5%, and there were only 10 kilometres (6 mi) of paved roads.[8]
Qaboos returned from his educational studies in the United Kingdom at theRoyal Military Academy, and a year of service in theBritish Army infantry in 1964, and was placed under house arrest.[9] Said did not speak to his son during the last 14 months before the coup, even though they lived in the same palace.[citation needed]
On 23 July 1970 at the Sultan’s palace inSalalah, Qaboos executed asuccessful coup against his father with the help of the British and his uncle, and exiled his father to theUnited Kingdom. Said lived his last two years at theDorchester Hotel inLondon.[10] He was originally buried inBrookwood Cemetery,Woking,Surrey,England. His remains were then disinterred and transported back to Oman, and he was buried in the royal cemetery inMuscat.[11]
| Ancestors of Said bin Taimur | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Sultan of Oman 10 February 1932 – 23 July 1970 | Succeeded by |
Sultans of Oman since 1749 | ||
|---|---|---|
