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67 SAID-RUETE, Rudolph. Said bin Sultan (1791–1856).
London: Alexander Ouseley, Limited, 1929 the first omani sultan of zanzibar
First and only contemporary edition, decidedly uncommon. The author was the son of Princess Salme (1844–1924), daughter of Sayyid Said ibn Sultan, and this remarkable survey of his grandfather’s life and times is widely considered to be as important to an understanding of his reign as Vincenzo Maurizi’s History of Seyd Said, Sultan of Muscat (1819). While still in his teens Sayyid Said ibn Sultan became the ruler of Oman. After defeating the opposition with British help he determined to reassert Oman’s traditional claims in East Africa. He eventually succeeded and around 1840 shifted his capital to Zanzibar, where he introduced the clove, which became the foundation of the island’s economy, and with assistance from the Royal Navy curtailed the slave trade. By the end of his reign he had “made Zanzibar the principal power in east Africa and the commercial capital of the western Indian Ocean” ( Encyclopedia Britannica ). In this biography Said-Reute highlights the early history of Oman, the ascent of Said ibn Sultan, and his relations with foreign powers, principally France, Britain, and the United States. In his foreword, Major General Sir Percy Cox identifies the establishment of an Arab dominion in Zanzibar as Sultan Said’s most lasting achievement. In 1866, the author’s mother, Princess Salme, fled to Aden to marry Friedrich Ruete, a German trader in Zanzibar, with whom she had fallen in love. They settled in Hamburg where Friedrich died in an accident four years later. Salme was refused her inheritance and attempted reconciliation with her brother Bargash, by now sultan of Zanzibar, but was repudiated. Octavo. Original dark yellowish green fine pimple-grained cloth, lettered in gilt to spine and to front board with device of Said bin Sultan’s tughra. Ticket of Melbourne booksellers N. H. Seward on front pastedown. Half-tone portrait frontispiece and 5 other plates, folding map at the rear, full-page genealogical table to the text. A little rubbed and bumped, spine creased as
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often, ink spatter to the tail end of the fore edge with minimal encroachment into the margin, moderate toning throughout, a very good copy. £6,500 [157187] 68 SAID-RUETE, Rudolph. Dates and References of the History of the Al Bu Said Dynasty from the time of its founder Ahmed Bin Said till the death of Said Bin Sultan (1741–1856). London: Printed by Billing and Sons Ltd., Guildford and Esher [for the author], 1931 Signed and dated by the author on the title page, with his compliments slip inscribed “salutations sincère” loosely inserted. This scarce pamphlet gathers from Ruete’s previous works “the scattered dates and their references” relating to some of the best known members of the dynasty “to enable students of Arabian history” to find the material they require “without undue difficulty”. Rudolph assiduously collected material on his family while researching the authoritative biography of his eminent grandfather. Of this work we have traced just 10 locations worldwide. Octavo, 23 pp. Sewn in original green card printed wrappers. With full-page genealogical table. A very good copy. £750 [127595]
sharjah international book fair
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