Haitham bin Tariq Al Said assumed the sultanate in January 2020 following the death of Qaboos bin Said, who had ruled Oman for nearly five decades without ever naming a public successor. The transition — resolved within hours by the ruling family council — was the first in the modern sultanate's history not involving Qaboos, making coins bearing the new sultan's name the first issued under a genuinely new reign since 1970.
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said assumed the sultanate in January 2020 following the death of Qaboos bin Said, who had ruled Oman for nearly five decades without ever naming a public successor. The transition — resolved within hours by the ruling family council — was the first in the modern sultanate's history not involving Qaboos, making coins bearing the new sultan's name the first issued under a genuinely new reign since 1970.