- Zanzibar supported his effort to capture Mombasa.
- Zanzibar was good and pleasant, with a good climate, unlike Muscat, which was hot and dry.
- Zanzibar had good (deep-water) harbors in which ships could anchor. Her water was also clean.
- He wanted to control Indian Ocean trade and the towns of the east African coast.
- Zanzibar‟s position was convenient for trade with the mainland and with Mombasa.
- Zanzibar’s good climate and fertile soil favored the cultivation of cloves, which were used as spices.
- Being an island, Zanzibar assured the Oman Arabs of protection