IOR/L/PS/12/2952

The file contains letters, telegrams, minutes, and draft correspondence related to the abdication of Sultan Taimur bin Faisal of Muscat [Taymūr bin Fayṣal Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and the accession of his son, Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] in 1932. The early correspondence concerns efforts to prevent Taimur from abdicating and to improve Muscat's flagging economy. Once the abdication is accepted several questions are raised and discussed, including:

• the suitability of a successor and the arrangements for the accession of his son, Said
• whether to continue both the Arms Traffic and Zanzibar Subsidy payments (this question is raised again in 1948)
• the renegotiation of Muscat's treaties with the French, Americans, and the tribes of Oman's interior
• whether to continue Taimur's personal allowance
• Sultan Said's changes to government

Further correspondence within the file deals with the following matters:

• requests for statistical information about Muscat from the Danish government for their yearbook in 1934 and 1935
• a plea from Kamile Ilgiray, an ex-wife of former Sultan Taimur, to the British Government for help with her son's education
• the question of the best time to inform the French, American, and Dutch governments of Sultan Said's succession
• the whereabouts of former Sultan Taimur, including his visits to Saudi Arabia in 1933 and Japan in 1939.

The majority of the correspondence is between the Political Agent in Muscat, Political Residency in the Persian Gulf, Government of India (Foreign Department), India Office, and Foreign Office. Further correspondence is from Sultans Taimur and Said, the French and Indian Governments, and several British political and diplomatic offices in Europe and the Middle East.