Sultan of Zanzibar
In 1698 Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman, falling under the control of the Sultan of Oman.
On April 6, 1861, following a struggle over the accession to the position of Sultan of Oman, Zanzibar and Oman were divided into two separate principalities. Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid (1934/5-1870), son of Sayyid Said bin Sultan Al-Busaid, became Sultan of Zanzibar, while his brother Sayyid Turki bin Said Al-Busaid (1832-1888) became Sultan of Oman.
The Sultans of Zanzibar were as follows:
- HM Sultan Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid, 1st Sultan of Zanzibar (1856-1870)
- HM Sultan Sayyid Barghash bin Said Al-Busaid, 2nd Sultan of Zanzibar (1870-1888)
- HM Sultan Sayyid Khalifah bin Said Al-Busaid, 3rd Sultan of Zanzibar (1888-1890)
- HM Sultan Sayyid Ali bin Said Al-Busaid, 4th Sultan of Zanzibar (1890-1893)
- HM Sultan Sayyid Hamad bin Thuwaini Al-Busaid, 5th Sultan of Zanzibar (1893-1896)
- HM Sultan Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid, 6th Sultan of Zanzibar (1896)
- HM Sultan Sayyid Hamud bin Muhammed Al-Busaid, 7th Sultan of Zanzibar (1896-1902)
- HM Sultan Sayyid Ali bin Hamud Al-Busaid, 8th Sultan of Zanzibar (1902-1911) (abdicated)
- HM Sultan Sayyid Khalifa bin Harub Al-Busaid, 9th Sultan of Zanzibar (1911-1960)
- HM Sultan Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Busaid, 10th Sultan of Zanzibar (1960-1963)
- HM Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah Al-Said, 11th Sultan of Zanzibar (1963-1964)
(NOTE: Dates given are the dates the Sultans ruled, rather than their birth and death dates.)
On December 19, 1963, Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy under the Sultan. This state of affairs was short-lived, and on January 12, 1964, the Sultan was overthrown. Later that year, Zanzibar merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania.