Majid bin Said

{{Infobox royalty | name = Majid bin Said<br>{{small|{{nobold|{{native name|ar|ماجد بن سعيد}}}}}} | image = Majid Bin Saiid2.jpg | caption = Photograph of Sultan Majid (probably 1860s) | succession = Sultan of Zanzibar | reign = 19 October 1856 – 7 October 1870 | predecessor = Said bin Sultan (as Sultan of the Omani Empire) | successor = Barghash bin Said | birth_date = {{Circa|1834}} | birth_place = Unguja | death_date = {{Death date and age|1870|10|7|1834|df=y}} | death_place = Zanzibar (Unguja) | burial_place = Makusurani Cemetery | spouse = Sayyida Aisha Al-Said | spouse-type = Consort | issue = {{Nowrap|Sayyida Khanfora bint Majid Al-Said}} | full name = Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid | house = Al Bu Said | father = Said bin Sultan | mother = Sarah | religion = Ibadi Islam }}

'''Sayyid Majid bin Saïd al-Busaidi''' ({{langx|ar|ماجد بن سعيد البوسعيد}}) ({{circa|1834}} – {{death date|1870|10|7|df=y}}) 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.{{cn|date=April 2022}}

==Life== thumb|left|upright|Portrait of Sultan Majid Sayyid Majid bin Said was born in 1834 in Zanzibar to Said bin Sultan and Sarah, a Circassian {{clarification needed|text=suri|reason=I haven't been able to find what "suri" means|date=July 2024}}.<ref>{{cite book | last = Nicolini | first = Beatrice | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249600550 | title = The Myth of the Sultans in the Western Indian Ocean during the Nineteenth Century: A New Hypothesis | year = 2009 | pages = 250}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://americancivilwar.com/tcwn/civil_war/Navy_Ships/CSS_Shenandoah.html|title=CSS Shenandoah Confederate Navy Cruiser American Civil War|publisher=}}</ref>

In 1871, botanists published a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Sapindaceae, from Central Africa and called it ''Majidea'' in his honour.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Majidea'' Kirk ex Oliv. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:36476-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=17 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}} ==Sources== * {{citation|last=Keane|first=Augustus H.|author-link=Augustus Henry Keane|title=Africa|publisher=Edward Stanford |location= London|year=1907 |edition=2nd |volume=1| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NrgBAAAAYAAJ|oclc=6646364}}

==External links== *{{wikisource author-inline}}

{{S-start}} {{succession box | title = Sultan of Zanzibar | before = Said bin Sultan<br>{{small|{{nobold|(as Sultan of Muscat and Oman)}}}} | after = Barghash bin Said | years = 1856–1870 }} {{S-end}}

{{ZanzibarSultans}}{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Said, Majid bin}} Category:1830s births Category:1870 deaths Category:19th-century Omani people Majid Category:Sultans of Zanzibar Category:Zanzibari royalty Majid Category:Tanzanian people of Omani descent Category:Tanzanian people of Ethiopian descent Category:19th-century Arab people Category:19th-century monarchs in Africa