Faisal bin Turki, Sultan of Muscat and Oman

Faisal bin Turki
Sultan of Oman
Reign	4 June 1888 – 4 October 1913
Predecessor	Turki bin Said
Successor	Taimur bin Faisal
Born	8 June 1864 Bombay, British India
Died	4 October 1913 (aged 49) Muscat, Oman
Issue	Taimur bin Faisal and others
Dynasty	Al Said
Father	Turki bin Said
Mother	an Ethiopian
Religion	Ibadi Islam

Faisal bin Turki, GCIE (8 June 1864 – 4 October 1913) (Arabic: فيصل بن تركي), historic spelling Fessul bin Turkee, ruled , from 4 June 1888 to 4 October 1913 as Sultan of Muscat and Oman, as the state of Oman was known at the time. He succeeded his father Turki bin Said as Sultan. Upon his death in 1913, he was succeeded by his eldest son Taimur bin Faisal.

Life

On assuming power in 1888, Faisal ibn Turki gradually found his authority over the interior weakened as tribal leaders increasingly perceived his dependence on British advisers as an inherent weakness. In 1895 he was forced to seek refuge at Jalali Fort after Muscat was captured. British political agents frustrated his efforts to recapture Muscat, compelling him to court the French. He granted the French coaling facilities for their fleet at Bandar Jissah near Muscat.

Determined to thwart any growth in French presence in what Britain considered its sphere of influence, Britain presented Faisal ibn Turki with an ultimatum in 1899 ordering the sultan to board the British flagship or Muscat would be bombarded. Having little recourse, Faisal ibn Turki capitulated. Publicly humiliated, his authority was irreversibly damaged. In 1903 he asked Lord George Nathaniel Curzon, viceroy of India, for permission to abdicate, but his request was denied. Responsibility for the capital was delegated to Said ibn Muhammad Al Said, while affairs of the interior fell to an ex-slave, Sulayman ibn Suwaylim. By 1913 control over the interior was completely lost, and a reconstituted imamate was again a threat to Muscat. In May 1913, Salim ibn Rashid al Kharusi was elected imam at Tanuf and spearheaded a revolt against the sultan that combined both Hinawi and Ghafiri tribal groups.

On Faisal's death, he was succeeded by his second son, Taimur bin Faisal. Sultan Haitham, the current ruler of Oman, is a direct descendant of Faisal bin Turki.

Family

Faisal Bin Turki had 24 children:

1. Sayyid Badran bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
2. Sultan Taimur bin Faisal Al-Sa'id
3. Sayyid Nadir bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
4. Sayyid Muhammad bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
5. Sayyid Hamad bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
6. Sayyid Hamud bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
7. Sayyid Salim bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
8. Sayyid Ali bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
9. Sayyid Malik bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
10. Sayyid Shihab bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
11. Sayyid Abbas bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
12. Sayyid Matar bin Faisal Al-Sa’id
13. Sayyida … bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
14. Sayyida Burda bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
15. Sayyida Rahma bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
16. Sayyida Ruma bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
17. Sayyida Taimura bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
18. Sayyida Aliya bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
19. Sayyida Walyam bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
20. Sayyida Shatu’ bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
21. Sayyida Saraya bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
22. Sayyida Taimura bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
23. Sayyida Shirin bint Faisal Al-Sa’id
24. Sayyida Shuruqa bint Faisal Al-Sa’id

Honours

• Delhi Durbar gold medal – 1903
• Honorary Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) – 1904
• Delhi Durbar gold medal – 1911
• Order of the Praiseworthy, 1st Class in brilliants of the Sultanate of Zanzibar

Ancestry

Ancestors of Faisal bin Turki, Sultan of Muscat and Oman
8. Sultan bin Ahmad 4. Said bin Sultan 9. Sheikha Ghanneyeh bint Saif Al-Busaidi 2. Turki bin Said 5. an Ethiopian 1. Faisal bin Turki 3. an Ethiopian

References

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.