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Majid bin Said of Zanzibar

Sultan of Zanzibar

Majid bin Said ماجد بن سعيد (Arabic)
1859 Portrait
Sultan of Zanzibar
Reign	19 October 1856 – 7 October 1870
Predecessor	Said bin Sultan (as Sultan of the Omani Empire)
Successor	Barghash bin Said
Born	c. 1834 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
Names Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid
House	Al Busaid
Father	Said bin Sultan
Mother	Sarah
Religion	Ibadi Islam

Sayyid Majid bin Saïd al-Busaidi (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.

He succeeded his father Said bin Sultan as ruler of Zanzibar and East Africa, and briefly (claimed) Oman following Said’s death. During his reign his brother Bargash would prove constantly rebellious and adhered to his rule, nonetheless, Majid remained in power until his untimely death which was due to ‘over indulgence in sensual pleasures and stimulants’. The region’s wealth soared, particularly with the controversial Zanzibar slave trade.^{[citation needed]}

Sayyid Majid bin Said was born in 1834 in Zanzibar to Said bin Sultan and Sarah, a Circassian suri^{[clarification needed]}.^[1] Majid was the second eldest of Said’s children born in Zanzibar, after Khalid bin Said (died 1854).

Majid became Sultan of the Omani Empire, based at the capital at Zanzibar, following 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 sultanates, with Majid ruling Zanzibar and his older brother Thuwaini ruling Oman.

His marriage produced only 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]

In 1871, botanists published a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Sapindaceae, from Central Africa and called it Majidea in his honour.^[3]

• Keane, Augustus H. (1907), Africa, vol. 1 (2nd ed.), London: Edward Stanford, OCLC 6646364

• Works by or about Majid bin Said of ZanzibaratWikisource

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