Said bin Taimur Al Said

Said bin Taimur (; 13 August 1910 – 19 October 1972) was the 13th Sultan of Muscat and Oman from 10 February 1932 until he was deposed on 23 July 1970 by the British with the help of his son, Qaboos bin Said.

He was a member of the Al Bu Said dynasty who in 1932 became the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, succeeding his father, Sultan Taimur bin Feisal who had abdicated for financial reasons. The 21-year-old Said inherited an administration that was in debt. He consolidated power, with the help of the British, and regained control of the tribal interior, bringing together Muscat and Oman. Once the country was united, Said left the capital of Muscat and resided in a coastal town in Dhofar. Muscat and Oman became fully sovereign and independent states in 1951 with him as ruler.

Early life and education Said was born in 1910. His father, Sultan Taimur bin Feisal, was strongly against him learning the ways of the Western world and speaking English. When Said was younger, his father found him and his brother Nadir possessing an English primer, and he ordered all their books be burned. He attended Mayo College at Ajmer in Rajputana, India, from 1922–1927 where he mastered English and Urdu. Upon his return to Muscat in May 1927, it was suggested he attend Beirut to further his education. However, his father feared that by sending him to Beirut, he would be influenced by Christianity. Sultan Said inherited a country that was heavily in debt to Britain and British India. In order to break away from Britain and maintain autonomy, his country needed to regain economic independence. Therefore, beginning in 1933, he controlled the budget of the state until being overthrown in 1970.

During World War II, the Sultan cooperated readily with the British; several Royal Air Force landing fields were constructed between Salalah in Dhofar and Muscat. This allowed the channels of supply to remain open between Britain and the Allies. It had a marked effect on Said, causing him to become even more erratic in governing the country. It was forbidden to smoke in public, to play football, to wear sunglasses or to speak to anyone for more than 15 minutes. No one was safe from the Sultan's paranoia, not even his own son, Qaboos, who was kept under virtual house arrest at Al Hosn Palace in Salalah. In 1967 Britain returned the Khuriya Muriya Islands to Oman.

During his reign, Oman had an under 5 mortality rate of around 25%. Trachoma, venereal disease and malnutrition were widespread. There were only three schools, the literacy rate was 5%, and there were only of paved roads.

Deposition Edward Heath, who supported Said's overthrow as then British prime minister, kept his photo in his home (1987). Qaboos returned from his educational studies in the United Kingdom at the Royal Military Academy, and a year of service in the British Army infantry in 1964, and was placed under house arrest. Said did not speak to his son during the last 14 months before the coup, even though they lived in the same palace.

On 23 July 1970, at the Sultan’s palace in Salalah, Qaboos executed a successful coup against his father with the help of the British and his uncle, and exiled his father to the United Kingdom. Said lived his last two years at the Dorchester Hotel in London. He was originally buried in Brookwood Cemetery, England. His remains were later disinterred and transported back to Oman, and he was buried in the royal cemetery in Muscat.

Marriages and issue In 1933, Said married his first wife, Fatima bint Ali Al Mashani, and later divorced. He had one daughter from this marriage. Umaima bint Said bin Taimur Al Said

In 1936, Said married his second wife, Mazoon bint Ahmad Al Mashani, who was a cousin of his first wife. Hon. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG): 1965

Ancestry