The sultans of Zanzibar ( ar, سلاطين زنجبار) were the rulers of the
Sultanate of Zanzibar
The Sultanate of Zanzibar ( sw, Usultani wa Zanzibar, ar, سلطنة زنجبار , translit=Sulṭanat Zanjībār), also known as the Zanzibar Sultanate, was a state controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar, in place between 1856 and 1964. The Sul ...
, which was created on 19 October 1856 after the death of
Said bin Sultan
Sayyid Saïd bin Sultan al-Busaidi ( ar, سعيد بن سلطان, , sw, Saïd bin Sultani) (5 June 1791 – 19 October 1856), was Sultan of Muscat and Oman, the fifth ruler of the Busaid dynasty from 1804 to 4 June 1856. His rule commenced fol ...
, who had ruled
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 t ...
and
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
as the
sultan of Oman since 1804. The sultans of Zanzibar were of a
cadet branch
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...
of the
Al Said Dynasty
The House of Busaid (, ), also known as Al Said dynasty, is the current ruling royal house of the Oman, and former ruling royal house of the Omani Empire (from 1744 to 1856), Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (1856 to 1970) and the Sultanate of Zan ...
of Oman.
In 1698, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings 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 t ...
, falling under the control of the
sultan of Oman. In 1832, or 1840
(the date varies among sources), Said bin Sultan moved his capital from
Muscat
Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...
in Oman to
Stone Town
Stonetown of Zanzibar ( ar, مدينة زنجبار الحجرية), also known as Mji Mkongwe ( Swahili for "old town"), is the old part of Zanzibar City, the main city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng'ambo ...
. He established a ruling Arab elite and encouraged the development of
clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s, using the island's
slave labour
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. Zanzibar's commerce fell increasingly into the hands of traders from the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, whom Said encouraged to settle on the island. After his death in 1856, two of his sons,
Majid bin Said and
Thuwaini bin Said, struggled over the
succession, so Zanzibar and Oman were divided into two separate
principalities
A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
; Thuwaini became the sultan of Oman while Majid became the first sultan of Zanzibar. During his 14-year reign as sultan, Majid consolidated his power around the
East African slave trade
The Indian Ocean slave trade, sometimes known as the East African slave trade or Arab slave trade, was multi-directional slave trade and has changed over time. Africans were sent as slaves to the Middle East, to Indian Ocean islands (including Ma ...
. His successor,
Barghash bin Said
Sayyid Barghash bin Said al-Busaidi,(1836 – 26 March 1888) ( ar, برغش بن سعيد البوسعيد), was an Omani Sultan and the son of Said bin Sultan, was the second Sultan of Zanzibar. Barghash ruled Zanzibar from 7 October 1870 to 26 ...
, helped abolish the slave trade in Zanzibar and largely developed the country's infrastructure.
The third sultan,
Khalifa bin Said
Sayyid Khalifa I bin Said al-Busaidi, GCMG, (or Chalîfe) (1852 – 13 February 1890) ( ar, خليفة بن سعيد البوسعيد) was the third Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from 26 March 1888 to 13 February 1890 and was succeed ...
, also furthered the country's progress toward abolishing slavery.
Until 1886, the sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the east African coast, known as
Zanj
Zanj ( ar, زَنْج, adj. , ''Zanjī''; fa, زنگی, Zangi) was a name used by medieval Muslim geographers to refer to both a certain portion of Southeast Africa (primarily the Swahili Coast) and to its Bantu inhabitants. This word is also ...
, and
trading route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sin ...
s extending further into the continent, as far as
Kindu
Kindu is a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the capital of Maniema province. It has a population of about 200,000 and is situated on the Lualaba River at an altitude of about 500 metres, and is about 400 km west of Bukavu.
Kindu ...
on the
Congo River
The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
. That year, the British and Germans secretly met and re-established the area under the sultan's rule. Over the next few years, most of the mainland possessions of the Sultanate were taken by European imperial powers. With the signing of the
Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty in 1890 during
Ali bin Said's reign, Zanzibar became a British
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
. In August 1896, Britain and Zanzibar fought a
38-minute war, the shortest in
recorded history
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...
, after
Khalid bin Barghash
Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busa'id ( ar, خالد بن برغش البوسعيد; 1874–1927) was the sixth Sultan of Zanzibar.
Biography
Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busa'id was born on 1874 in Zanzibar, the second son of Barghash bin Said ( ...
had taken power after
Hamid bin Thuwaini's death. The British had wanted
Hamoud 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. Hamoud was then installed as sultan.
In December 1963, Zanzibar was granted independence by the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and became a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
within the Commonwealth under the sultan.
Sultan
Jamshid bin Abdullah
Sultan Sir Jamshid bin Abdullah Al Said, ( ar, جمشيد بن عبد الله; born 16 September 1929), is a Zanzibari royal who was the last reigning Sultan of Zanzibar before being deposed in the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution.
Biography
Jamshid ...
was overthrown a month later during the
Zanzibar Revolution
The Zanzibar Revolution () occurred in January 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government by local Africans.
Zanzibar was an ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east co ...
. Jamshid fled into exile, and the Sultanate was replaced by the
People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba
The People's Republic of Zanzibar () was an African state founded in 1964, consisting of the islands of the Zanzibar Archipelago. It existed for less than a year before it merged with Tanganyika to create the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zan ...
. In April 1964, the republic was united with
Tanganyika
Tanganyika may refer to:
Places
* Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state
* Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania
* Tanzania Main ...
to form the
United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, which became known as
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
six months later.
Sultans of Zanzibar
Family tree
*Sayyid Said, Sultan of Muscat, Oman and Zanzibar (1797–1856)
**Sayyid Thuwaini, Sultan of Muscat and Oman (1821–1866)
*** Sayyid Harub (1849–1907)
**** IX. Sayyid Khalifa II (26 August 1879 – 9 October 1960; r. 9 December 1911 – 9 October 1960) 9 Al-Said
***** X. Sayyid Abdullah (12 February 1910 – 1 July 1963; r. 9 October 1960 – 1 July 1963) 10 Al-Said
****** XI. Sayyid Jamshid (b. 16 September 1929; r. 1 July 1963 – 17 January 1964; Head of the Zanzibari royal house: 17 January 1964 – present) 11 Al-Said
*** V. Sayyid Hamad (1857 – 25 August 1896; r. 5 March 1893 – 25 August 1896) 5 Al-Busaid
** Sayyid Muhammad (1826–1863)
*** VII. Sayyid Hamud (1853 – 18 July 1902; r. 27 August 1896 – 18 July 1902) 7 Al-Said
**** VIII. Sayyid Ali II (7 June 1884 – 20 December 1918; r. 18 July 1902 – 9 December 1911) 8 Al-Busaid
** I. Sayyid Majid (1834 – 7 October 1870; r. 19 October 1856 – 7 October 1870) 1 Al-Busaid
** II. Sayyid Barghash (1837 – 26 March 1888; r. 7 October 1870 – 26 March 1888) 2 Al-Busaid
*** VI. Sayyid Khalid (15 December 1874 – 19 March 1927; r. 25–27 August 1896) 6 Al-Busaid
** III. Sayyid Khalifa I (1852 – 13 February 1890; r. 26 March 1888 – 13 February 1890) 3 Al-Busaid
** IV. Sayyid Ali I (September 1854 – 5 March 1893; r. 13 February 1890 – 5 March 1893) 4 Al-Busaid
See also
*
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
**
Politics of Tanzania
The politics of Tanzania takes place in a framework of a unitary presidential democratic republic, whereby the President of Tanzania is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by ...
**
List of governors of Tanganyika
The colony of German East Africa (german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was founded in the 1880s, after the German explorer Carl Peters signed treaties with native chieftains on neighboring Zanzibar. On 3 March 1885, the government of the German Empi ...
**
President of Tanzania
The President of the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania) is the head of state and head of government of the United Republic of Tanzania. The President leads the executive branch of the Government of Tanzan ...
***
List of heads of state of Tanzania
This is a list of the heads of state of Tanzania, from the independence of Tanganyika in 1961 to the present day.
From 1961 to 1962 the head of state under the Constitution of 1961 was the queen of Tanganyika, Elizabeth II, who was also the q ...
**
Prime Minister of Tanzania
The prime minister of Tanzania is the head in the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania. The position is subordinated to the president, who is the actual head of government.
The functions and powers of the prime minister are desc ...
***
List of prime ministers of Tanzania
**
President of Zanzibar
The President of Zanzibar ( sw, Rais wa Zanzibar) is the head of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, which is a semi-autonomous government within Tanzania. The current president is Hussein Mwinyi. The president is also the chairman of th ...
**
List of heads of government of Zanzibar
This is a list of the heads of government of Zanzibar, an autonomous region of Tanzania. The office of Chief Minister (later changed to Prime Minister) was established in 1961 and abolished in 2010, having been previously abolished between 1964 ...
**
List of rulers of Oman
The sultan of the Sultanate of Oman is the monarchical head of state and head of government of Oman. It is the most powerful position in the country. The sultans of Oman are members of the Busaid dynasty, which has been the ruling family of ...
Footnotes
* Majid bin Said, the youngest son of Said bin Sultan, became the
Sultan 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.
* From 1886, the United Kingdom and Germany had plotted to obtain parts of the Zanzibar
Sultanate
This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continui ...
for their own empires.
In October 1886, a German-British border commission established the
Zanj
Zanj ( ar, زَنْج, adj. , ''Zanjī''; fa, زنگی, Zangi) was a name used by medieval Muslim geographers to refer to both a certain portion of Southeast Africa (primarily the Swahili Coast) and to its Bantu inhabitants. This word is also ...
as a 10 nautical mile (19 km) wide strip along most of the coast of East Africa, stretching from
Cape Delgado
Cape Delgado ( pt, Cabo Delgado) is a coastal promontory south of Mozambique's border with Tanzania. It is the arc-shaped delta of the Rovuma River and was created from sediment deposited by the Rovuma as it empties into the Indian Ocean. It is som ...
(now in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
) to
Kipini
Kipini is a historic Swahili settlement in Kenya's Coast Province
The Coast Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Pwani) of Kenya, along the Indian Ocean, was one of Kenya's eight provinces. It comprises the Indian Ocean coastal strip with the capital city a ...
(now in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
), including
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
and
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
. Over the next few years, almost all of these mainland possessions were lost to European imperial powers.
*
Hamoud 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, the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
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 German
consulate
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...
, where he was granted asylum. This conflict, known as the
Anglo-Zanzibar War
The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history. The immediate ca ...
, was the shortest war in recorded history. Khalid later went into exile in
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
until being captured by the British in 1916.
*After attending the coronation of
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
, Ali decided to abdicate from the throne to live in Europe.
* Abdullah bin Khalifah died from complications of
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
.
* Jamshid bin Abdullah overthrown on 12 January 1964 during the
Zanzibar Revolution
The Zanzibar Revolution () occurred in January 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government by local Africans.
Zanzibar was an ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east co ...
. Jamshid managed to flee to
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
with his family and ministers.
References
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Omani Arab Rule In Zanzibar
{{featured list
Zanzibar, Sultans
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
Sultans