With the rise of Islam, the Azd established themselves into a leading force in the ensuing Muslim conquests and later in the realms of the Umayyad Caliphate through the celebrated general Al Muhallab ibn Abi Suffrah (Abu Said), the progenitor of the Busaid tribe.

[citation needed] He was elected imam on 20 November 1744, marking the last time Oman was occupied by foreign parties and the beginning of a new unified state.

[citation needed] His son Hamad bin Said moved the capital from the interior city of Rustaq to the coastal Muscat in 1783 and took the title of sultan, implying purely coercive power.

[citation needed] Sultan bin Ahmed assumed control of the government after the death of his nephew and strengthened the already powerful fleet by adding numerous gunships and sleek cargo vessels.

He also needed a strong ally to help him regain control of Mombasa from the Mazrui clan, fight off the movement spreading from what is now Saudi Arabia and to keep the Qasimi tribes from the Persian city of Lingeh out of Oman.

In the late 18th century, the second British Empire was at war with France and knew that the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, was planning to march through Persia and capture Muscat on his way to invade India.

As well as defeating Bonaparte, the British had another motive for the treaty with Oman: they wanted to put pressure on the sultan to end slavery, which had been declared illegal in England in 1772.

Sultan's eldest son Said was merely thirteen, too young to take the reins of his country, "so the elders called upon another nephew Badr bin Saif to act as regent in the boy's behalf until he came of age.

[citation needed] During the reign of the renowned Sultan Said bin Sultan, the progenitor of the Busaidi dynasty, he took Oman to its zenith as a commercial and political maritime power: extending its borders to include Mombasa and parts of the Southeast African coast, Zanzibar, Pemba Island, Mafia Island, Lamu Archipelago, Cape Delgado (northern border of the current Mozambique), Bandar-Abbas and the southern Iranian coast, Gwadar province of Balochistan (bought by Pakistan in 1958) and, for a short time Bahrain.

The celebrated explorer Richard Francis Burton called him "as shrewd, liberal and enlightened a prince as Arabia has ever produced," and an Italian physician who served him for a time said: "His constant love of justice, and distinguished clemency, the effects of which are felt, not only by his own subjects, but even by his domestic slaves.

Recognizing the suitability of Zanzibar climate and soil, he initiated large scale cultivation of cloves (an essential meat preservative in Europe prior to the advent of refrigeration) and soon after sought slaves as cheap labor to plant and harvest the biennial crop.

The United States and Oman both stood to benefit, as the U.S. – unlike Britain and France – had no territorial ambitions in the Middle East and was solely interested in commerce.

The visit of Al-Sultanah lasted nearly four months, in which time the emissary, Ahmed Bin Na'aman Al-Kaabi (whose portrait can still be seen in the Oman and Zanzibar display of the Peabody Museum in Massachusetts) and his officers were entertained by state and city dignitaries.

Among Bin Na'aman's hosts was Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, in whose home he met Governor William H. Seward and Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson.

The visit of Ahmed Bin Na'aman to America was a happy one, and when he prepared to leave, the United States completely repaired Al-Sultanah and presented him with gifts for his Sultan.

Realizing that Majid would be unaware of their father's death, Bargash came ashore secretly and tried to take control of the palace at Mtoni and the fort in Zanzibar town, but he was unable to muster enough supporters and his attempt was thwarted.

Recognizing the economic loss caused to Oman by the severance of the Zanzibar connection, Thuwaini insisted Majid pay 40,000 Maria Theresa thalers annually as compensation but the payment fell into arrears and ceased a year later.

He was pardoned by Zanzibar President Salmin Amour on the 46th anniversary of the 1964 uprising[4] and declared free to return as an ordinary Omani citizen, but remained barred from settling in Oman until 2020 after being exiled for more than 50 years.

[citation needed] Turki contrived to keep the office within the immediate family and re-establish his father's sultanate; having secured the political and financial backing of the British, he managed to execute Azzan, bringing the revolt to a successful end in January 1871.