Said bin Ahmad (died 1803) was briefly the Imam and Sultan of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

, the second of the Al Said dynasty, ruling the country between 1783 and 1786.

Rule

Said bin Ahmad was the son of the Imam and Sultan

Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi (1694 – 15 December 1783) was the first ruler of Oman of the Al Said dynasty. He came to power during a period when Oman was divided by civil war, and the Persians had occupied large parts of the country. During his long ...

, and was elected Imam on his father's death in 1783. The succession was unchallenged, and Said took possession of the capital,

Rustaq Rustaq ( ar, ٱلرُّسْتَاق, Ar-Rustāq) is a town and ''Wilayah'' (District) in Al Batinah Region of northern Oman. The wilayah is in the Western Hajar Mountains, in the south of the Batinah. Rustaq was once the capital of Oman, during ...

. His brothers Saif and

Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan bin Ahmad al Busaidi (died 1804) was the Sultan of Oman, the fourth of the House of Busaid, Busaid dynasty dynasty, ruling the country between 1792 and 1804. Early years Sultan bin Ahmad was the son of the Imam and Sultan Ahmad bin Said al ...

called on Sheikh Sakar of the Shemal tribal group to help them gain the throne. Sheikh Sakar took the towns of Hamra, Shargah, Rams and Khor Fakan. Said fought back, but was unable to regain these towns. However, Saif and Sultan felt it was too dangerous for them to stay in Oman. Saif sailed for East Africa, intending to set himself up as a ruler there. He died there soon after. Sultan escaped to

Gwadar Gwadar ( Balochi/ ur, ) is a port city with located on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea opposite Oman. Gwadar is the 100th largest city of Pakistan, according to the 2017 ...

on the Makran coast of

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

Deposition

The Imam was increasingly unpopular. Around the end of 1785 a group of notables elected his brother,

Qais bin Ahmad Qais bin Ahmad (died May 1808) was the third son of Ahmad bin Sa'id Al-Busaidi, the first Sultan of Oman of the Al Said dynasty. After his father's death he made more than one attempt to gain the throne. Youth and first revolt Qais bin Ahmad bi ...

, Imam. This revolt soon collapsed. Later one of Said‘s sons was held prisoner in Fort Al Jalali for a period by the governor of

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

. Another son,

Hamad bin Said Hamad bin Said (died 13 March 1792) was ruler of Oman, the third of the Al Said dynasty, ruling the country between 1786 and 1792. Rule Hamad bin Said was the son of the Imam and Sultan Said bin Ahmad, who succeeded to those positions in 1783 on ...

, came to negotiate with the governor. Hamad and his followers managed to gain control of forts al-Jalali and al-Mirani, and thus of Muscat. This happened in 1786. One by one the other fortresses in Oman submitted to Hamad, until Said no longer had any temporal power. Hamad took the title of ''Sheikh'' and established his court in Muscat. Said bin Ahmad remained in Rustaq and retained the title of Imam, but this was purely a symbolic religious title that carried no power.

References

Citations Sources * * * {{authority control 1803 deaths 18th-century Arabs 18th-century Omani people 19th-century Arabs 19th-century Omani people Al Said dynasty Omani imams Sons of Omani sultans Sultans of Oman Year of birth missing