List of sultans of Zanzibar

The Sultans of Zanzibar (Arabic: سلاطين زنجبار‎) were the rulers of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, which was created on 19 October 1856 after the death of Said bin Sultan, who had ruled Oman and Zanzibar as the Sultan of Oman since 1804. The Sultans of Zanzibar were of a cadet branch of the Al Said Dynasty of Oman.[1]

Sultan of Zanzibar
Sultanate Flag
Majid Bin Said, first Sultan
Details
First monarch	Majid bin Said
Last monarch	Jamshid bin Abdullah
Formation	1856
Abolition	1964
Residence	Sultan's Palace, Stone Town
Appointer	Hereditary
Pretender(s)	Jamshid bin Abdullah

In 1698, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman, falling under the control of the Sultan of Oman. In 1832,[2] or 1840[3] (the date varies among sources), Said bin Sultan moved his capital from Muscat in Oman to Stone Town. He established a ruling Arab elite and encouraged the development of clove plantations, using the island's slave labour.[4] Zanzibar's commerce fell increasingly into the hands of traders from the Indian subcontinent, 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; Thuwaini became the Sultan of Oman while Majid became the first Sultan of Zanzibar.[5] During his 14-year reign as Sultan, Majid consolidated his power around the East African slave trade. His successor, Barghash bin Said, helped abolish the slave trade in Zanzibar and largely developed the country's infrastructure.[6] The third Sultan, Khalifa bin Said, also furthered the country's progress toward abolishing slavery.[7]

Until 1886, the Sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the east African coast, known as Zanj, and trading routes extending further into the continent, as far as Kindu on the Congo River. 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.[8] In August 1896, Britain and Zanzibar fought a 38-minute war, the shortest in recorded history, after Khalid bin Barghash 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.[9]

In December 1963, Zanzibar was granted independence by the United Kingdom and became a constitutional monarchy under the Sultan.[10] Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah was overthrown a month later during the Zanzibar Revolution.[11] Jamshid fled into exile, and the Sultanate was replaced by the People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba. In April 1964, the republic was united with Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which became known as Tanzania six months later.[3]

Sultans of Zanzibar

No.	Sultan	Full name	Portrait	Began rule	Ended rule	Notes
1	Majid bin Said^[A]	Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid		19 October 1856[12]	7 October 1870	Bargash bin Said attempted to usurp the throne from his brother in 1859, but failed. He was exiled to Bombay for two years.[13]
2	Barghash bin Said	Sayyid Sir Barghash bin Said Al-Busaid		7 October 1870	26 March 1888	Responsible for developing much of the infrastructure in Zanzibar (especially Stone Town), like piped water, telegraph cables, buildings, roads, etc. Helped abolish the slave trade in Zanzibar by signing an agreement with Britain in 1870, prohibiting slave trade in the sultanate, and closing the slave market in Mkunazini.[6]
3	Khalifa bin Said	Sayyid Sir Khalifa I bin Said Al-Busaid		26 March 1888	13 February 1890	Supported abolitionism, like his predecessor.[7]
4	Ali bin Said	Sayyid Sir Ali bin Said Al-Busaid		13 February 1890	5 March 1893	The British and German Empires signed the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty in July 1890. This treaty turned Zanzibar into a British protectorate.^[B]
5	Hamid bin Thuwayni	Sayyid Sir Hamad bin Thuwaini Al-Busaid		5 March 1893[14]	25 August 1896
6	Khalid bin Barghash	Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid		25 August 1896	27 August 1896^[C]	Was a belligerent in the Anglo-Zanzibar War, the shortest war in recorded history.
7	Hamoud bin Mohammed	Sayyid Sir Hamoud bin Mohammed Al-Said		27 August 1896[15]	18 July 1902	Issued the final decree abolishing slavery from Zanzibar on 6 April 1897.[15] For this, he was knighted by Queen Victoria.
8	Ali bin Hamud	Sayyid Ali bin Hamud Al-Busaid		20 July 1902[16]	9 December 1911^[D]	The British First Minister, Mr A. Rogers, served as regent until Ali reached the age of 21 on 7 June 1905.[17]
9	Khalifa bin Harub	Sayyid Sir Khalifa II bin Harub Al-Said		9 December 1911	9 October 1960	Brother-in-law of Ali bin Hamud. Oversaw the construction of harbor in Stone Town and tar roads in Pemba.[6][18]
10	Abdullah bin Khalifa	Sayyid Sir Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Said		9 October 1960	1 July 1963^[E]
11	Jamshid bin Abdullah	Sayyid Sir Jamshid bin Abdullah Al Said		1 July 1963	12 January 1964^[F]	On 10 December 1963, Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy under Jamshid.[10]

Pretenders since 1964

No.	Sultan	Full name	Portrait	Began rule	Ended rule	Notes
11	Jamshid bin Abdullah	Sayyid Sir Jamshid bin Abdullah Al Said		12 January 1964	Present.

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 Zanzibar 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 – 9 December 1911; 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
  • Politics of Tanzania
  • List of governors of Tanganyika
  • President of Tanzania
    • List of heads of state of Tanzania
  • Prime Minister of Tanzania
    • List of Prime Ministers of Tanzania
  • President of Zanzibar
  • List of heads of government of Zanzibar
  • List of rulers of Oman
• Lists of Incumbents

Footnotes

• ^A 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.[19]
• ^B From 1886, the United Kingdom and Germany had plotted to obtain parts of the Zanzibar Sultanate for their own empires.[13] In October 1886, a German-British border commission established the Zanj as a 10 nautical mile (19 km) wide strip along most of the coast of East Africa, stretching from Cape Delgado (now in Mozambique) to Kipini (now in Kenya), including Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. Over the next few years, almost all of these mainland possessions were lost to European imperial powers.
• ^C 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 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, where he was granted asylum. This conflict, known as the Anglo-Zanzibar War, was the shortest war in recorded history. Khalid later went into exile in Dar es Salaam until being captured by the British in 1916.[20][21]
• ^D After attending the coronation of King George V, Ali decided to abdicate from the throne to live in Europe.[6][16]
• ^E Abdullah bin Khalifah died from complications of diabetes.[6]
• ^F Jamshid bin Abdullah overthrown on 12 January 1964 during the Zanzibar Revolution.[22] Jamshid managed to flee to Great Britain with his family and ministers.[23]

References

1. "Zanzibar (Sultinate)". Henry Soszynski. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
2. Ingrams 1967, p. 162
3. Appiah & Gates 1999, p. 2045
4. Ingrams 1967, p. 163
5. Ingrams 1967, pp. 163–164
6. Michler 2007, p. 37
7. Ingrams 1967, p. 172
8. Ingrams 1967, pp. 172–173
9. Michler 2007, p. 31
10. United States Department of State 1975, p. 986
11. Ayany 1970, p. 122
12. Ingrams 1967, pp. 162–163
13. Appiah & Gates 1999, p. 188
14. Ingrams 1967, p. 173
15. Ingrams 1967, p. 175
16. Ingrams 1967, p. 176
17. Turki 1997, p. 20.
18. Ingrams 1967, p. 178
19. Keane 1907, p. 483
20. Ingrams 1967, pp. 174–175
21. Owens 2007, pp. 1–5
22. Conley, Robert (13 January 1964), "African Revolt Overturns Arab Regime in Zanzibar", The New York Times, pp. 1, 8
23. "London Cuts Support For Rent-Poor Sultan", The New York Times, p. 2, 26 January 1964

• Appiah, Kwame Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., eds. (1999), Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, New York: Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-00071-1, OCLC 41649745
• Ayany, Samuel G. (1970), A History of Zanzibar: A Study in Constitutional Development, 1934–1964, Nairobi: East African Literature Bureau, OCLC 201465
• Ingrams, William H. (1967), Zanzibar: Its History and Its People, Abingdon: Routledge, ISBN 0-7146-1102-6, OCLC 186237036
• Keane, Augustus H. (1907), Africa, Vol 1 (2nd ed.), London: Edward Stanford, OCLC 6646364
• Michler, Ian (2007), Zanzibar: The Insider's Guide (2nd ed.), Cape Town: Struik Publishers, ISBN 1-77007-014-1, OCLC 165410708
• Owens, Geoffrey R. (2007), "Exploring the Articulation of Governmentality and Sovereignty: The Chwaka Road and the Bombardment of Zanzibar, 1895–1896", Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, Johns Hopkins University Press, 7 (2): 1–55, doi:10.1353/cch.2007.0036, OCLC 45037899
• Turki, Benyan Saud (1997). "The Sultan of The Arab State of Zanzibar and The Regent 1902–1905". Journal of the Documentation and Humanities Research Center. Qatar University (9). hdl:10576/8375.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• United States Department of State (1975), Countries of the World and Their Leaders (2nd ed.), Detroit: Gale Research Company, OCLC 1492755

External links

• Omani Arab Rule In Zanzibar