Hamerton Treaty was an treaty signed between Britain and the Omani Empire in 1845. It was named after Atkins Hamerton , who negotiated the treaty on behalf of Britain. The treaty addressed the issue of the Zanzibar slave trade between the Swahili coast in Zanzibar and Oman in the Arabian Peninsula, which was at the time the major part of the ancient Indian Ocean slave trade .
26-627: The Hammerton Treaty formally restricted slave trade to be legal only within the territory of Zanzibar, but Zanzibar continued to import slaves from Kilwa in the East African coast to Madagascar and the Comoros with official papers for a legal slave trade north. Hamerton was a friend of Said bin Sultan , the last ruler of the Omani Empire , with the sultan giving Hamerton a building abutting
52-511: A banquet. He died soon after, the last of his dynasty. The Persians took Muscat and then attacked Sohar to the north. After enduring nine months of siege, Ahmad bin Sa’id negotiated an honorable surrender. The Persian commander Taqi Khan confirmed him as governor of Sohar and Barka in return for payment of tribute. By late 1744, Ahmad had control over large parts of Oman. Bal'arab bin Himyar of
78-548: A period of civil war and lost popularity due to his indulgent lifestyle. Saif called for military help from Persia, and in 1737 Persian troops arrived led by Nader Shah . They began to conquer the country. The Persians left in 1738 but returned from 1742 to 1744. By 1742 the Persians were in control of much of the country. Saif was tricked into letting them take the key forts of al Jalali and al Mirani in Muscat while drunk at
104-560: A result the Persians could not pay their troops in Muscat and many deserted. In 1747 Ahmad invited the remaining Persian troops to a banquet at his fort in Barka. There he massacred them. For several years Bal'arab bin Himyar was recognized as the true Imam, fully controlling the interior, while Ahmed remained on the coast. On the coast of East Africa, Ahmad bin Sa'id was recognized as Imam only by
130-762: Is buried there at the Western Fort, near the Great Mosque. Said bin Ahmad was elected Imam as his successor. His descendants continued to rule Oman, although they did not have the religious authority of the Imams of the Ibadi Muslim tradition. Ahmad bin Said was the only ruler of his dynasty who was clearly an Imam, elected in the traditional way. His son was also elected, but abdicated soon after, although retaining
156-812: The Al Said dynasty. He came to power during a period when Oman was divided by civil war, and the Persians had occupied large parts of the country. During his long rule as Imam the country prospered and regained its leading position in the Persian Gulf . Ahmad bin Sa’id bin Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Abdelmajid Al-Busaidi Al-Azdi Al-Ammani Al-Ibadhi was born in the city of Adam, Oman in 1694, the son of Sa’id bin Ahmad Al-Busaidi. Ahmad bin Sa’id came from
182-637: The Al Bu Sa’id, a small Hinawi tribe from the interior of Oman. He was great-great-grandson of Mubarak al-Saidi al-Azdy of the Banu Hiba. It was said that he began as a wood vendor and worked his way up. He became a leading merchant of the port city of Sohar . In 1737 he was appointed governor of this city. The sixth Imam of Oman of the Yaruba dynasty was Saif bin Sultan II , who came to power during
208-1002: The Bani Bu Ali with the assistance of the East India Company . It was defeated, but the following year a larger Company force returned and defeated the tribe. In 1822, he signed the Moresby Treaty , restricting the Zanzibar slave trade . In 1835, he ratified a treaty with the United States on very favorable terms, that had been negotiated by Edmund Roberts at Muscat on 21 September 1833, and returned by USS Peacock . In 1837, he conquered Mombasa (now in Kenya ). In 1840, Said moved his capital from Muscat to Stone Town in Zanzibar, where Richard Waters
234-406: The Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and his sixth son, Majid bin Said , became the Sultan of Zanzibar. The National Museum in Muscat houses numerous items of silverware and other possessions that belonged to Said. Said had 36 children: Citations Sources [REDACTED] Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi (1694 – 15 December 1783) was the first ruler of Oman of
260-641: The Wahhabis, who left the country. Qais bin Ahmad at once gave his support to Said. Nervous of the Wahhabi reaction, Said blamed Mohammed bin Nasir for the murder. Said bin Sultan became the sole ruler of Oman, apparently with the consent of his brother. Their aunt, the daughter of the Imam Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi , seems to have influenced this decision. In 1820, he launched a punitive expedition against
286-642: The Yaruba had been elected Imam in 1743, and retained the support of some of the Ghafiri of Dhahireh and the Semail. Bal'arab bin Himyar raised a strong force and advanced on Muscat, but was unable to take that town. He then attempted to take Sohar. Ahmad went to town's aid but was deserted by his troops at the Battle of Bitnah around the start of 1745 and forced to flee. Ahmad used excuses to delay paying tribute, and as
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#1732791012048312-529: The coast to Muttrah , which he easily captured. Qais then started to besiege Muscat . Mohammed bin Nasir tried to bribe Qais to leave, but did not succeed. Mohammed bin Nasir called on Badr bin Saif for help. After a series of engagements, Qais was forced to retire to Sohar. Badr bin Saif became the effective ruler. Allied with the Wahhabis , Badr bin Saif became increasingly unpopular. To get his wards out of
338-590: The death of his father, Sultan bin Ahmad , in November 1804. He is often referred to as the Lion of Oman ( أسد عمان ), as one of the greatest Omani sultans . Said's uncle Qais bin Ahmad finally agreed to Said's primacy after Said had killed his cousin, Badr bin Saif , a pretender to the throne. Said is noted for moving his capital to Zanzibar , where it remained during the time when the Omani Empire reached
364-520: The deposed Ya'Aruba family, by other tribes and by two of his sons. Ahmad bin Said encouraged the development of agriculture and maritime trading. For the first time in the history of Oman Ahmad bin Said maintained a permanent army and navy. In the late 1770s he attempted to gain control of the Strait of Hormuz between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf , a key position. Ahmad bin Said reestablished
390-536: The governor of Zanzibar . In 1749 Ahmad gathered an army and moved against Bal'arab, who was encamped near Jebel Akhdar with inferior forces. In the final battle, in the second half of 1749, Bal'arab was defeated and killed. This was the end of Yaruba power. Ahmad was now the undisputed ruler of Oman. In 1749 the Ibadi tribes of Oman elected Ahmad bin Said as their Imam. His election took place on 9 June 1749 at Rustaq . Ahmad bin Said had widespread popular support as
416-559: The leading position of Oman among the Persian Gulf states. Ahmad bin Said had several sons and daughters. His eldest son Hilal was disqualified from the succession since he was blind. His second son Said bin Ahmad was his heir. His third son Qais bin Ahmad later became governor of Sohar. His fourth and fifth sons were Saif and Sultan bin Ahmad , both children of his fourth wife, a sister of Shaikh Muhammad bin Nasir al-Jabry al-Ghafiry, of Zhahirah. Shaikh Abdallah Rocky Amir Muhammad
442-543: The person who had liberated the country from the Persian occupiers. He quickly consolidated his power through whatever techniques were expedient. A ship owner and trader in outlook, he saw the economic potential of Oman's position on the trade routes, and gained allegiance from the tribal leaders by engaging them in commercial ventures. Ahmad bin Said made his seat at Rustaq . From there he ruled for 39 generally peaceful years, although he had to deal with intrigues by members of
468-525: The promptings of Hamerton by reminding him that slavery was condoned by Islam: "The Koran, the word of God . . . sanctioned it, and the Arabs, of all Mahomedans, the people considered by the Almight as most deserving of favour, had a right to enslave infidels." But Hamerton was a persuasive negotiator and the fruit of his work was a treaty signed by Said in 1845, known as the "Hamerton Treaty" – despite most of
494-550: The sea in the town centre as a residence, waiving the rent. The British were keen to exploit this friendship to end the slave trade in Zanzibar, which was flourishing at the time. The Moresby Treaty of 1822 had restricted the Zanzibar slave trade, but not banned it. Hamerton was therefore told when on leave in Bombay in 1843 that the Company wanted him to intervene with Said. This was more easily said than done, as Said responded to
520-496: The title of Imam. Ahmad bin Said's sons Sultan and Saif rebelled in 1781, and took control of the forts of al-Mirani and al-Jalali that guarded the harbor of Muscat . They kidnapped their brother Said bin Ahmad and imprisoned him in al Jalali. Ahmad returned to Muscat early the next year, captured al-Mirani, and after bombarding al-Jalali from al-Mirani and from ships on the other side managed to regain control. Ahmad bin Said died on 15 December 1783 at Al-Batinah Fort, Rustaq. He
546-458: The way, Badr bin Saif made Salim bin Sultan governor of al Maṣna'ah on the Batinah coast and Said bin Sultan governor of Barka . In 1806, Said bin Sultan lured Badr bin Saif to Barka and murdered him nearby. There are different accounts of what happened, but it seems clear that Said struck the first blow and his supporters finished the job. Said was acclaimed by the people as a liberator from
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#1732791012048572-541: The work having been done by Lord Aberdeen and the Foreign Office – which outlawed the export of slaves from Zanzibar to the Persian Gulf area. It soon became apparent, however, that this was mere posturing by the sultan and the Company, the latter doing nothing to enforce the terms of the treaty, and Britain having few warships in the area. So the slave trade continued as before, with Hamerton reckoning that three-quarters of Zanzibar's population were slaves. It
598-633: The zenith of its power and wealth. Said bin Sultan was son of Sultan bin Ahmed , who ruled Oman from 1792 to 1804. Sultan bin Ahmed died in 1804 on an expedition to Basra . He appointed Mohammed bin Nasir bin Mohammed al-Jabry as the Regent and guardian of his two sons, Salim bin Sultan and Said bin Sultan. Sultan's brother Qais bin Ahmad, the ruler of Sohar , decided to attempt to seize power. Early in 1805 Qais and his brother Mohammed marched south along
624-681: Was American Consul , and sent a ship to the United States to try to further a trading relationship. In 1843 he nominated a nominal representative in Mogadishu and was forced to pay tribute to Sultan Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim of the Sultanate of the Geledi . In 1845, he signed the Hamerton Treaty , further restricting the Zanzibar slave trade. Upon Said's death in 1856, his realm was divided. His third son, Thuwaini bin Said , became
650-651: Was a strong leader of the Nizariya faction, and under the Yarubi had once been governor of Bahrain . His two youngest sons were Talib, later governor of Nakhal and then of Rustaq, and Muhammad, later Governor-General of Mombasa and Oman's East African possessions. The eldest of his three daughters, Moza, became a power in family affairs and acted as guardian and supporter of her nephews Salim and Sa'id. On 1 February 1775 Ahmad turned over responsibility for routine administration to his son, Said bin Ahmad , while retaining
676-703: Was followed by the Frere Treaty in 1873. Said bin Sultan Sayyid Saïd bin Sultan al-Busaidi ( Arabic : سعيد بن سلطان , Saʿīd bin Sulṭān , Swahili : Saïd bin Sultani ) (5 June 1791 – 19 October 1856) was Sultan of Muscat and Oman , the fifth ruler of the Busaid dynasty from 1804 to 4 June 1856. His rule began after a period of conflict and internecine rivalry of succession that followed
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