Majid bin Said of Zanzibar

Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid (Arabic: ماجد بن سعيد البوسعيد‎) (c. 1834 – (1870-10-07)7 October 1870) was the first Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from 19 October 1856 to 7 October 1870.

Majid bin Said ماجد بن سعيد  (Arabic)
Sultan of Zanzibar
Photograph of Majid bin Said
Sultan of Zanzibar
Reign	19 October 1856 – 7 October 1870
Born	c. 1834  Muscat and Oman (Unguja)
Died	7 October 1870(1870-10-07) (aged 35–36) Zanzibar (Unguja)
Burial	Makusurani Cemetery
Consort	Sayyida Aisha Al-Said
Issue	Sayyida Khanfora bint Majid Al-Said
Full name Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid
House	Al Said
Father	Said bin Sultan
Mother	Sara
Religion	Ibadi Islam

Life

Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid was born on 1834 in Zanzibar to Said bin Sultan and an Ethiopian mother.[1]

Majid became Sultan of Zanzibar and Oman on the death of his father, Sayyid Said bin Sultan, but his accession was contested. Following the struggle over the accession to the position of Sultan of Oman, Zanzibar and Oman were divided into two separate principalities, with Majid ruling Zanzibar and his older brother Thuwaini ruling Oman.

His marriage only produced one daughter, Sayyida Khanfora bint Majid (who married her cousin, Hamoud bin Mohammed). Consequently, Majid was succeeded as Sultan by his brother Barghash. Majid's grandson Ali bin Hamud Al-Busaid later became the 8th Sultan of Zanzibar, while his great-grandson Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Said was the 10th Sultan.

In 1866, he purchased the former Confederate commerce raider CSS Shenandoah and renamed her El Majidi after himself.[2]

Citations

1. Nicolini, Beatrice (2009). The Myth of the Sultans in the Western Indian Ocean during the Nineteenth Century: A New Hypothesis. p. 250.
2. "CSS Shenandoah Confederate Navy Cruiser American Civil War".

External links

• Works written by or about Majid bin Said of Zanzibar at Wikisource

Preceded by Said bin Sultan (as Sultan of Muscat and Oman)	Sultan of Zanzibar 1856–1870	Succeeded by Barghash bin Said