sultanate · Arabia and the Gulf

Omani Empire

1744 CE – 1856 CE · capital Muscat

The Al Bu Said maritime empire of Muscat and Zanzibar, which dominated the Swahili coast and the trade of the western Indian Ocean.

Origins

In the 1740s Ahmad ibn Said, governor of Sohar, expelled the Persian forces that had intervened in the civil war of the Ya'aruba dynasty and was elected imam. His family, the Al Bu Said, took the title of sayyid and later sultan and made Muscat their capital.

Rule and society

Oman's fleets and merchants controlled trade between Arabia, Persia, India and East Africa. Gwadar on the Makran coast was acquired in the 1780s and Bandar Abbas leased from Persia. Said ibn Sultan, ruling from 1806 to 1856, built up Zanzibar, planting cloves and promoting the caravan trade in ivory and slaves, and moved his residence there around 1840. Treaties were signed with Britain, the United States and France.

Decline and legacy

When Said died in 1856 his sons disputed the succession. In 1861 the British-arbitrated Canning Award divided the realm into the Sultanate of Zanzibar and the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman.

Lineage

Ya'aruba dynasty 1624 CE – 1744 CEOmani EmpireSultanate of Muscat and Oman 1856 CE – 1970 CESultanate of Zanzibar 1856 CE – 1964 CE

Connections (6)

More states of Arabia and the Gulf →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Omani Empire. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/omani-empire
MLA
“Omani Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/omani-empire. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Omani Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/omani-empire.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Omani Empire’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/omani-empire (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻