Al Said
| House of Al Bu Said | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country |
Sultanate of Oman Sultanate of Zanzibar |
| Titles |
|
| Founded | 1744 |
| Founder | Ahmad bin Said Al Bu Said |
| Final ruler | Sultanate of Zanzibar: Jamshid bin Abdullah Al Said (1 July 1963 – 12 January 1964) |
| Current head | Qaboos bin Said Al Said, Sultan of Oman |
| Deposition | Sultanate of Zanzibar: 1964 Zanzibar revolution |
| Ethnicity | Arab (Peninsular) |
| Cadet branches | Zanzibar Royal Family |
The tribe of Al Said traces its roots to a band of Al Azd through a patrilineal ancestor, al-'Atik b. al-Asad b. Imran, who settled in Dibba (Dabá), hence the band was also known as the "Azd of Daba". Like other Qahtani, the Azd originally hailed from Yemen and migrated north after the destruction of the Marib Dam. Archeological evidence points to the Sasanid era, around the third or fourth century AD, a period of admittedly weak Persian rule.
Their ascendancy to positions of power was in tandem with special relationships established with Persian rulers, who recognized the Azdites as "the kings of the Arabs", as seen in a number of inscriptions from the sixth century CE. The head of the Azd confederation was given the title of buland (بُلند), a Sasanid appellation derived from the Middle Persian word for "eminence" and "stature", later Arabized in the form of al-julandā (الجُلندا) to identify the early rulers of Oman.
With the arrival of Islam, the Sasanians in Oman conflicted with the converted Azdi kings. The balance in this conflict swung in favour of the Arabs when they were joined by Muslim forces sent by Muhammad from Medina, and in the resulting military campaigns the Sasanian citadels were overwhelmed and their forces expelled by 630 AD. With the rise of Islam, the Azd established themselves into a leading force in the ensuing Muslim conquests and later in the realms of the Umayyad Caliphate through the celebrated general Al Muhallab ibn Abi Suffrah (Abu Said), the progenitor of the Al Busaid tribe. Significantly, it is with the Azd that most early sections of pre-Islamic universal chronicles of Arabs begin.
Ahmad bin Said Al Busaidi, a shrewd military tactician, was the governor of Sohar when a Persian fleet attacked the town. He held out for nine months, finally forcing the Persian commander of Nader Shah's army to come to terms and leave the country altogether within a few years. He was elected imam in 1744, marking the last time Oman was occupied by foreign parties and the beginning of a new unified state. It was also the start of a dynasty that has lasted to the present day, making it one of the oldest surviving royal dynasties in Arabia and the first to gain independence.
...
Wikipedia