Sultan bin Saif

Sultan bin Saif bin Malik (Arabic: سلطان بن سيف اليعربي) (died c. 1679) was the second of the Yaruba dynasty of Imams of Oman, a member of the Ibadi sect. He ruled from 1649 to 1679. He completed the work of his predecessor, Nasir bin Murshid, in driving the Portuguese out of Oman. Their last base in Muscat fell to his forces in January 1650. He built up Omani sea power, taking the fight against the Portuguese to their bases in India and East Africa. During his reign the country was peaceful and increasingly prosperous. Sultan bin Saif was the cousin of the Imam Nasir bin Murshid bin Sultan al Ya'Aruba, who had founded the Yaruba dynasty in 1624. The Imam Nasir died on 14 April 1649 and was buried at Nizwa. He left no sons. The notables who gathered at Rustaq on the day he died selected Sultan bin Saif and proclaimed him Imam.