Muscat and Oman in the context of "Omani Empire"

The House of Al Bu Said (Arabic: آل بوسعيد, Arabic pronunciation: [aːl buː sa.ʕiːd]), is the current ruling royal family of Oman, and former ruling house of the Omani Empire (1744–1856), Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (1856–1970) and the Sultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964). It was founded by Ahmad bin Said Al Busaidi on 20 November 1744 and is currently headed by Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.

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 Al Bu Said dynasty from 1804 to 4 June 1856. His rule began after a period of conflict and internecine rivalry of succession that followed 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 the zenith of its power and wealth.

Thuwaini bin Said al-Busaidi (Arabic: ثويني بن سعيد ال سعيد, Sayyid Ṯuwaynī bin Saʿīd Āl Saʿīd) (1821–1866) was Sultan of Muscat and Oman (19 October 1856 – 11 February 1866) and the third son of Said bin Sultan. Thuwaini was born in Oman, and never visited Zanzibar. When his father was away in Zanzibar, Thuwaini was his representative in Oman.

Thuwaini was married to his cousin Ralie (Sayyida Ghaliya bint Salim Al-Busaidiyah), daughter of his father's elder brother Salim Ibn Sultan. They had several children.

The Imamate of Oman (Arabic: إِمَامَة عُمَان, romanised: Imāmat ʿUmān) was several succession of states within the Oman proper (Arabic: عُمَان ٱلْوُسْطَى, romanised: ʿUmān al-Wusṭā, lit. 'Central Oman') in the Hajar Mountains, part of the present-day Sultanate of Oman. The capital of the Imamate alternated historically between Rustaq and Nizwa. The Imamate's territory extended north to Ibri and south to the Alsharqiyah region and the Sharqiya Sands. The Imamate was bounded in the east by the Hajar Mountains and in the west by the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) desert. The Al Hajar Mountains separated the Imamate of Oman from Muscat and Oman. The elected Imam (ruler) resided in the capital, and Walis (governors) represented the Imamate in its different regions.

The Imamate of Oman, similar to the Sultanate of Muscat, was ruled by the Ibadi sect. Imams exercised spiritual and temporal representation over the region. The Imamate is a 1,200-year-old system of government pioneered by the Ibadi religious leaders of Oman, and was based upon the Islamic sharia. The Imamate holds that the ruler should be elected. The imam is considered as the head of the community but tribalism that is part of the Omani society encouraged a decentralised form of governance that would help sustain political unity among the Omanis. The Imamate set out a government system wherein the ruler should not have absolute political nor military power; rather power should be shared with local governors. To prevent local or external threats to the Imamate, the imam had to gather the support of the local communities and tribes to raise a force to fight for a certain cause. The imam needed in-depth understanding of tribal politics and political acumen to maintain political stability within the Imamate when conflicts occurred.

The Zanzibar Revolution (Swahili: Mapinduzi ya Zanzibar; Arabic: ثورة زنجبار, romanized: Thawrat Zanjibār) began on 12 January 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar Jamshid bin Abdullah and his mainly Arab government by the island's majority Black African population.

Zanzibar was an ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east coast of Tanganyika. Formally separated from German East Africa in 1890, it had become fully independent in 1963, with responsibility for its own defense and foreign affairs, as a result of Britain giving up its protectorate over it. In a series of parliamentary elections preceding this change, the Arab minority succeeded in retaining the hold on power it had inherited from Zanzibar's former history as an overseas territory of Oman.