Saif bin Sultan () was the fourth of the Yaruba dynasty Imams of

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, a member of the

Ibadi Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...

sect. He ruled from 1692 to 1711, during which Omani presence became firmly established on the coast of East Africa.

Early years

Saif bin Sultan was the son of the second Yaruba Imam, Sultan bin Saif. On his father's death, his brother Bil'arab bin Sultan became Imam in 1679. Later, Saif bin Sultan fell out with his brother, built up his forces and besieged Bil'arab in Jabrin. After Bil'arab died there in 1692/93, Saif bin Sultan became Imam.

Imam

Saif bin Sultan invested in improving agriculture, building aflaj in many parts of the interior to provide water, and planting date palms in the

Al Batinah Region Al-Bāţinah () was one of the regions ''( Mintaqat)'' of Oman. On 28 October 2011, Al-Batinah Region was bifurcated into Al Batinah North Governorate and Al Batinah South Governorate. The region occupied an important location on the coast of G ...

to encourage Arabs to move from the interior and settle along the coast. He built new schools. He made the castle of

Rustaq Rustaq () is a town and Provinces of Oman, ''Wilayah'' (District) in Al Batinah Region of northern Oman. The wilayah is in the Western Hajar Mountains, in the Al Batinah South Governorate, south of the Batinah. Rustaq was once the capital of Om ...

his residence, adding the Burj al Riah wind tower. Saif bin Sultan continued the struggle against the Portuguese on the East African coast. In 1696, his forces attacked Mombasa, besieging 2,500 people who had taken refuge in

Fort Jesus Fort Jesus (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Forte Jesus de Mombaça'') is a fortification, fort located on Mombasa Island. Designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Battista Cairati, it was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of Felipe I ...

. The Siege of Fort Jesus ended after 33 months when the thirteen survivors of famine and smallpox surrendered. Soon after the Omanis took

Pemba Island Pemba Island (; ''al-Jazīra al-khadrāʔ''; ; ) is a Tanzanian island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean. Geography file:Map of Zanzibar Archipelago-en.svg, left, The main islands of the ...

, Kilwa and

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

. The expansion of Omani power included the first large-scale settlement of Zanzibar by Omani migrants. Saif bin Sultan appointed Arab governors to the city states of the coast before he returned to Oman. Later, many of these were to come under the control of Muhammed bin Uthman al-Mazrui, governor of Mombasa, and his descendants, the Mazrui, who made only nominal acknowledgement of the suzerainty of Oman. Saif bin Sultan also encouraged piracy against the merchant trade of India, Persia and even of Europe.

Death and legacy

Saif bin Sultan died on 4 October 1711. He was buried in the castle of Rustaq in a handsome tomb, later destroyed by a

Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

general. At his death he had great wealth, said to include 28 ships, 700 male slaves and one third of Oman's date trees. He was succeeded by his son Sultan bin Saif II. Saif bin Sultan earned the title "the Earth's bond" or "the chain of the Earth" for the benefits he had brought to the people of Oman. According to Samuel Barrett Miles,

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saif Bin Sultan Omani imams Omani Ibadi Muslims 1711 deaths Yaruba dynasty People from Al-Rustaq Year of birth unknown 17th-century Arab people 18th-century Arab people 17th-century Omani people 18th-century Omani people