The sons of Sultan Sa'id bin Sultan Al-Busaid of the Empire of Oman had quarreled over the succession when their father died in 1856.

As a result of this struggle, the empire—through the mediation of the British Government under the Canning Award—had been divided in 1861 into two separate principalities: Zanzibar (with its East African dependencies), and Muscat and Oman.

Sa'id bin Sultan’s descendant Thuwaini ibn Said Al-Busaid rules Muscat and Oman; Mayid ibn Said Al-Busaid rules Zanzibar.

Thuwaini, the Al Bu Sa'id ruler of Muscat and Oman (as his truncated empire is now known), dies in 1866, rumored to have been killed by his own son, Salim bin Thuwaini, under whom the dynasty continues.

The dynasty is threatened, however, by the omnipresent challenge from the independent tribes of the interior who reject the authority of the sultan, recognizing the imam as the sole legitimate leader and pressing, by resorting to arms, for the restoration of the imamate.