Majid bin Said

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Sultan Majid bin Said

Sayyid Majid bin Said al-Busaidi ( Arabic ماجد بن سعيد البوسعيدي, DMG Māǧid b. Saʿīd al-Būsaʿīdī ; * 1834 ?; † October 7, 1870 ) was the first sultan of Zanzibar . He ruled from October 19, 1856 until his death.

His father Sayyid Said , as Sultan of Oman, had moved the seat of government from Muscat to Zanzibar City and made Majid his heir. His older brother Thuwaini also made claims to the succession, so that finally a division of the dominions in Oman (with Thuwaini as sultan) and Zanzibar took place. During his reign there were several intrigues and attempts by his brothers to overthrow him. At the beginning of 1860 he was able to prevail against an attempted coup under his brother Barghash (who was supported by his half-sister Salme ). As a punishment, his siblings involved in the coup attempt were placed under house arrest in a country estate for a few months and were then able to return to his court.

During his rule, the sultanate increasingly focused on the slave trade along the entire coast of East Africa . During his reign, the slave market in Zanzibar City became the largest establishment of its kind in all of Africa. The economic, political and diplomatic relations with the then great powers Great Britain and France as well as the USA , Portugal and several German states were expanded, whereby he succeeded in maintaining the independence of the Sultanate of Zanzibar .

Since he only had one daughter, his brother Bargash followed him as sultan. Majid's daughter Khanforah in turn married her cousin, the Omani prince Hammud ibn Muhammad ibn Said , who became Sultan of Zanzibar in 1896.