Seyyid Said bin Sultan
1791 – 1856 Omani Sultan of Muscat and Oman, ruler of Zanzibar
Omani ruler who moved his capital to Zanzibar and built its clove, ivory, and slave economy.
- Religion
- Ibadi Muslim
- Affiliations
- Al Said dynasty
Said bin Sultan Al-Busaid ruled Oman and its Indian Ocean possessions and shifted the centre of his realm to Zanzibar, moving his capital there around 1840. He turned the island into a plantation economy producing cloves, worked by enslaved Africans, and expanded the ivory and slave caravans reaching deep into the East African interior. He signed early treaties with Britain and the United States that opened Zanzibar to trade. After his death his dominions were split between Zanzibar and Oman under the 1861 Canning Award.
Connections
- family of Barghash bin Said — His father and the founder of Zanzibar's ruling line.
- family of Barghash bin Said — His son, who later ruled Zanzibar.
- associate of Tippu Tip — Operated within the Zanzibar-centred caravan economy Said built.
- associate of Tippu Tip — The caravan economy Said built underpinned traders like Tippu Tip.
In the timeline
- 1840 Seyyid Said Moves His Capital to Zanzibar the sultan who relocated the capital
- 1840 Zanzibar's Clove, Ivory, and Slave Economy ruler who built the plantation economy
- 1861 The Canning Award Splits Zanzibar from Oman ruler whose realm was later divided