Mazoon al-Mashani

Princess Mazoon al-Maashani[1] (Arabic: ميزون بنت أحمد‎) (? - 12 August 1992) was the second wife of Sultan Said bin Taimur and the mother of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman.[2]

Biography

Princess Mazun was born in the 1920s in Dhofar, the southern province of Oman. She was the daughter of Sheikh Ahmed Ali Al-Maashani, the leader of the powerful Bait al-Maashani tribe. She became either at the end of 1939 or the beginning of 1940 the second wife of Sultan Said. She was from the same tribe as his first wife. The wedding was celebrated with the usual rejoicing and on 18 November 1940, Mazoon gave birth to the Sultan's only son Qabus, the later Sultan and successor of her husband.[3] Of her life little is known, except that Sultan Qabus was cordially connected with his mother throughout his life. She died in 1992 from her long lasting diabetes. Sultan Qabus buried her in her homeland region in Taqah in the cemetery near the mosque. She was not only popular in her home province, but throughout the entire country. Therefore on the occasion of her death a three-day-long state mourning was declared.

References

  1. ^ Their first name "Mazoon" is an old Persian name for the Sultanate of Oman. The way of writing of the name varies in many publications. One finds also: "Mazun" (in German), "Mazwun bint Ahamed al-Maashani", "Mizoon" or "Miyzun".
  2. ^ See Plekhanov, Sergey: A Reformer on the Throne: Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, London: Trident Press, 2004, p. 279.
  3. ^ See Jeapes, Tony: SAS Secret war: Operation Storm in The Middle East, London/Pennsylvania: Grennhill Books/Stakpole Books, 2005 (ISBN 1-85367-567-9), p. 19.