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TheUnited Arab Emirates (the UAE or the Emirates) is a country in theeastern part of theArabian Peninsula, located on the southeastern coast of thePersian Gulf and the northwestern coast of theGulf of Oman. The UAE has a history of human habitation, transmigration and trade spanning over 125,000 years.[5] Pastoralist, nomadicNeolithic communities thrived in the area until the 4th millennium BCE.[6] The area was home to the Bronze AgeMagan people,[7] known to theSumerians, who traded with theHarappan culture of the Indus Valley, Afghanistan[8] andBactria,[9] and the Levant.[10]
Through thethree defined Iron Ages and the subsequent Hellenistic period, the area was an important coastal tradingentrepôt.[11] It wasIslamised in the 7th century, when it again emerged as an important centre for trade, particularly around the ports ofJulfar,Dibba andKhor Fakkan.[12] Linked to the Eastern Arab trading network that centred around theKingdom of Hormuz, they formed an important link in the Arab monopoly of trade between the East and Europe.[13]
ThePortuguese underAfonso de Albuquerque invaded the area and disrupted the Arab trade networks, triggering a decline in trade and a rise in regional conflict. Conflicts between the maritime communities of the Trucial Coast and the British led to the sacking of Ras Al Khaimah by British forces, which resulted in the first of several British treaties with the coastal rulers in 1820 (leading to the adoption of the name theTrucial States)[14] and their status as a British protectorate. An early-1968 British decision to withdraw from its involvement in the Trucial States led to the decision to form a federation between two of the most influential Trucial rulers,Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi andSheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai, who shook hands on 18 February 1968 in a desert tent between their emirates. They met with the rulers of the other five Trucial States and Bahrain and Qatar to discuss a federation on 25 February, and in a 27 February joint announcement named the intended federation the Federation of the Arab Emirates.[15]
The United Arab Emirates achieved independence from Britain on 2 December 1971. Six of the sevenemirates (Abu Dhabi,Dubai,Sharjah,Ajman,Umm Al Quwain andFujairah) declared their union that day and the seventh,Ras Al Khaimah, joined the federation on 10 February 1972.[16]
In 2011, archeologists excavated primitive hand-axes and several kinds of scrapers and perforators at theJebel Faya site. These objects resemble the tools used byearly modern humans inEast Africa. According tothermoluminescence dating, the artefacts are 125,000 years old.[17] This is some of the earliest evidence of modern humans outside Africa, indicating that they left Africa much earlier than previously thought.[5] The site has been preserved with discoveries related to later cultures, including tombs and other finds from theHafit,Umm Al Nar,Wadi Suq,Iron Age, Hellenistic and Islamic periods, at Sharjah'sMleiha Archaeological Centre.[18]
Eastern Arabia is thought to have been uninhabitable during theglacial maximum period, from 68,000 to 8000 BCE. Finds from the Stone Age ArabianBifacial andUbaid cultures (including knapped stone arrow and axe heads and Ubaid pottery) are evidence of human habitation in the area from 5000 to 3100 BCE, and demonstrate a cultural linkage between the human settlements of the Gulf and those of Mesopotamia.[6] The inland necropolis atJebel Buhais inSharjah is the oldest burial site in the Emirates, with burials as old as the 5th millennium BCE. The archaeological record indicates that the Neolithic Arabian Bifacial/Ubaid period abruptly ended in eastern Arabia and the Oman peninsula at 3800 BCE, just after the lake lowering and dune reactivation onset;[19] this devastated the area west of theHajar Mountains,[6] leading to theDark Millennium: a fallow piece of the archaeological record, probably triggered by climate change[20] and covering much of the period between 4000 and 3200 BCE.[6] In theBaynunah Formation of thewestern Emirate of Abu Dhabi, acamel-slaughter site has been discovered which dates to about 6,000 years ago.[2]
TheHafit period followed the Dark Millennium as[20] the re-emergence of human habitation on the western coast of Emirati. The Hafit period was named after many finds of burials of distinctive beehive-shaped tombs in the mountainous area of Jebel Hafeet inAl Ain Region.[21] Further links to Mesopotamia are evidenced by finds ofJemdet Nasr pottery. The period defines early Bronze Age human settlement in the United Arab Emirates and Oman as from 3,200 to 2,600 BCE. Hafit-period tombs and remains have also been found across the UAE and Oman at sites such asBidaa Bint Saud,[22]Jebel Buhais andBuraimi.[23]
Umm Al Nar (also known as Umm an-Nar) was aBronze Age culture loosely defined by archaeologists as from around 2600 to 2000 BCE in the area of the present-day UAE andOman. The etymology derives from the island of the same name, which is adjacent toAbu Dhabi.[24][25] The key site is well-protected and its location, between a refinery and a sensitive military area, have restricted public access.[26]
A characteristic element of the Umm Al Nar culture is circular tombs, typically with well-fitted stones in the outer wall and multiple human remains within.[27] The Umm Al Nar culture covers six centuries (2600-2000 BCE), with further evidence of trade with theSumerian andAkkadian kingdoms and theIndus Valley. The increasing sophistication of the Umm Al Nar people included the domestication of animals.[28]
It was followed by theWadi Suq culture, which dominated the region from 2000 to 1300 BCE. Key archaeological sites, pointing to major trading cities extant during both periods, are located on the western and eastern coasts of the UAE and in Oman and include Dalma, Umm Al Nar,Sufouh,Ed Dur,Tell Abraq andKalba. Burial sites atShimal andSeih Al Harf in Ras Al Khaimah have evidence of transitional Umm Al Nar to Wadi Suq burials.[29]
Camels and other animals were domesticated during the Wadi Suq era (2000-1300 BCE),[30] leading to increased inland settlement and the cultivation of diverse crops which included the date palm. Increasingly-sophisticated metallurgy, pottery and stone carving led to more sophisticated weaponry and other implements, providing evidence that trading links with the Indus Valley andMesopotamia dwindled.[29]
Throughout three Iron Ages (Iron Age I, 1200-1000 BCE; Iron Age II, 1000-600 BCE; and Iron Age III, 600-300 BCE) and the Hellenistic Mleiha period (after 300 BCE), Eastern Arabia was occupied by a number of forces (including theAchaemenid Empire) and marked by the construction of fortified settlements and extensive husbandry due to the development of thefalaj irrigation system. Early finds ofaflaj, particularly those around the desert city of Al Ain, have been cited as the earliest evidence of these waterways.[31] The UAE have an unusual richness of archeological finds, particularly the metallurgical centre ofSaruq Al Hadid in present-day Dubai.[32] Other important Iron Age settlements in the UAE includeAl Thuqeibah,Bidaa bint Saud,Ed Dur,Muweilah andTell Abraq.[33]
The archaeological remnants of theMleiha Archaeological Centre, dated to 300 BCE, are the most complete evidence of human settlement and community from the post-Iron Age era in the UAE. It documents early iron use, including nails, long swords and arrowheads, and evidence ofslag fromsmelting.[34] The period from 300 to 0 BCE has been called the Mleiha period, the Late Pre-Islamic period (PIR) and, according to older references, the Hellenistic era;Alexander the Great's conquests went no further than Persia, however, and left Arabia untouched.[35]
Mleiha is linked to theancient Near Eastern city of Ed Dur, on the UAE west coast.[36] Hundreds of Macedonian-style coins were found at Ed Dur and Mleiha which date to Alexander the Great. They feature a head of Heracles and a seated Zeus on the obverse, and bear the name ofAbi'el in Aramaic.[37] These coins match the moulds found at Mleiha, which (with finds of Mleiha slag)[38] suggest the existence of a metallurgical centre in the Mleiha Archaeological Centre[39] and indicate a link between the Mleiha and Ed Dur. Camels buried with their heads reversed are also a common feature of animal burials at Ed Dur and inland Mleiha.[40]
In February 2021, a trove of 409 Hellenistic-era coins stored in a clay pot was unearthed at Mleiha. TheSharjah Archaeology Authority described the nine-kilo find as "hugely significant".[41] Funerary inscriptions from the mid-3rd century BCE mention the presence of "Uman", a major kingdom in Mleiha; the kingdom is mentioned by Greek writersPliny the Elder andStrabo as Omana. The Mleiha site was apparently abandoned after the 3rd century CE, marking the kingdom's fall.[42]
Archaeology has revealedlate-antique and early Islamic Christian communities in the present-day UAE, linked to theChurch of the East in theBeth Qaṭraye region along the coast.[43] On Sir Bani Yas (Abu Dhabi), a monastery and church were first identified in 1992; subsequent study established the site's monastic character, and a 2025 excavation uncovered a molded-plaster cross in adjacent courtyard houses (indicating a broader monastic settlement).[44][45][46] A second monastery was identified on Siniyah Island (Umm al-Quwain) with radiocarbon dates from 534 to 656 CE, representing part of a cluster of Gulf Christian sites contemporary with the emergence of Islam.[47][48]
TheTuwwam region has long been held to have been related to theBuraimi settlement as a result of mentions in literature by Muqaddasi and others. However, contemporary research has tentatively identifiedSiniyah Island inUmm Al Quwain as the centre of the ancient lost town and region of Tawwam (or Tu'am); the nameTu'am is derived fromSt Thomas the Apostle of the East.[49] Siniyah is the site of a major Christian monastic complex and the oldestpearling town in the Gulf.[50] Siniyah is one of six monasteries identified on the Persian Gulf coast,[51] and its discovery follows that of a pre-Islamic monastic centre on Abu Dhabi'sSir Bani Yas island.[52]
The arrival of envoys fromMuhammad in 632 heralded the region's conversion toIslam.A major battle of theRidda Wars was fought after Muhammad's death atDibba, on the east coast of the present-day Emirates. The defeat of the non-Muslims, includingLaqit bin Malik Al-Azdi, resulted in the triumph of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula.[21]
The Islamic era saw the expansion of trading links to the East, with trade centred aroundHormuz Island and its port ofJulfar. The medieval port was settled in two halves in the present-day Ras Al Khaimah suburbs ofAl Mataf and Al Nudud from the 13th to 17th centuries CE. Julfar's founding has been dated to the early to mid-14th century as a small settlement of palm-frond huts which expanded during the 15th and 16th centuries into an important trading town.[53] Julfar's early population fished and probably pearled; they also farmed, benefiting from the access to land and sea which characterised Kush, Julfar's predecessor settlement.[54] Evidence of occupation at Julfar include finds of 14th-century Chineseporcelain, followed by post holes and ovens and the development of mud-brick buildings, defined streets and courtyard houses as the town developed into the 15th century.[55]
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Pearling drove the economy of coastal communities acrossEastern Arabia, which thrived in the relative calm at sea. Two to three thousand local ships were involved in the seasonal extraction of pearls from communities across the Gulf, and annual income was over half a millionPortuguese cruzados. Workers in Julfar and surrounding areas were paid in pearls instead of cash.[57] About 4,500 pearl boats operated from Gulf ports in 1907, employing over 74,000 people.[58]
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The most prominent pearling centers extended from Bida (Doha) to Dubai. The main part of the pearling season was aroundDalma island, and was referred to asal-ghaws al-kabir (Arabic:الغوص الكبير, "the Great Dive"). The large increase in demand from the expanding Indian and European markets led to the exploitation of more distant banks, such as the areas around Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The growth of the international merchant network turned pearling into an integrated industry enforced by local rulers. Pearling fleets remained at sea from June to late September, and every able-bodied male joined the fleet. Pearling was 80 percent of SheikhZayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan's revenue, giving him great influence and allowing him to distribute largesse.[59]
After thePortuguese Empire occupied Hormuz island and the northern and Persian coasts and took over the taxation system, the Sultan of Hormuz was responsible for collecting pearling taxes (magumbayas) from 1523 to 1622 and Portugal obtained revenue from the industry until the second decade of the 18th century. The Portuguese system issued navigation permits (cartazes); permit distribution and tax collection were centered in the ports extending fromJulfar toKhasab. On the Persian coast, the Portuguese did the same with the Arabs fromBandar Kong to the southwest coast of Iran. Any ship sailing without a Portuguese license was subject to capture by thePortuguese Armada. Fear of armada cannons led to maritime control of the Arabian coast.[57]
At the start of the pearling season, which lasted from June to September, thousands of ships gathered with provisions for three months and a starting day would be set. On that day, celebrations were held and religious rites observed; this included the traditional charming of sharks so they would not harm the divers. The ships then dispersed on a clear, windless day, when the sea was calm.[57]
Each ship carried divers, who dove to the sea floor to gather pearls. To reach the bottom, two heavy stones were tied to the diver's feet and a cord to his waist; the cord was held by those who would pull him out. When his bag of pearls was full, the diver signalled to be pulled out.[57]
The initial explanation of the decline of the Gulf pearling industry and the economy of theTrucial Coast, derived from two entries in the 1929 and 1930 British Residency Monthly Report by Hugh Biscoe (a newly-arrived administrator with experience in India and none in the Gulf), cited two factors: the invention of thecultured pearl by Japanese entrepreneurKokichi Mikimoto and theGreat Depression of 1929. Contemporary research indicates that overfishing, regional and world wars, poor weather and mounting debt sent the industry into decline about 20 years before Biscoe's memo, with reports of consistently poor harvests and depressed markets since 1911. The industry was already beyond recovery by the time of Biscoe's reports; the Great Depression and cultured pearls played no role in its decline.[60] The Japanese cultured pearl, initially regarded as a wonder and displayed at expositions,[61] began to be produced in commercial quantities during the late 1920s. However, the damage had already been done: in 1907, 335 pearling boats operated out of Dubai; in 1929, only 60 boats remained in port during the season.[62]
The complex system of finance that underpinned the pearling industry and the relationships among owners, pearl merchants,nakhudas (captains), divers and pullers fell apart, leaving a large number of men unemployed.[63] The pearling industryused slave labour; a record number of slaves approached the British Agent seekingmanumission during the 1930s, reflecting the parlous state of the pearling fleet and its owners.[64]
Ottoman attempts to expand their sphere of influence into the Indian Ocean failed,[65] andPortuguese expansion into theIndian Ocean in the early 16th century (followingVasco da Gama's route) resulted in the sacking of many coastal towns by the Portuguese. After this conflict, theAl Qasimi – a seafaring tribe based on the Northern Peninsula and Lingeh on the Iranian coast – dominated the Southern Gulf until the arrival ofBritish ships.[66]
The region was known to the British as the "Pirate Coast",[67] with Al Qasimi (known as "Joasmee") raiders harassing theshipping industry despite (or perhaps because of) British navy patrols in the area during the 18th and 19th centuries. A number of conflicts occurred between 1809 and 1819.[68]
An expeditionary force embarked forRas Al Khaimah in 1809, beginning thePersian Gulf campaign of 1809 after years of tension between the British and Al Qasimi navies; the first incidents occurred under the rule ofSaqr bin Rashid Al Qasimi in 1797. The campaign ended with a peace treaty between the British andHassan bin Rahma Al Qasimi, the Al Qasimi leader, which broke down in 1815. British diplomatJ. G. Lorimer wrote that after the dissolution of the treaty, the Al Qasimi "indulged in a carnival of maritime lawlessness, to which even their own previous record presented no parallel".[69][70]
After another year of recurring attacks, Hassan bin Rahmah made conciliatory overtures to Bombay at the end of 1818 which were "sternly rejected". Naval resources commanded by the Al Qasimi were estimated at 60 large boats headquartered in Ras Al Khaimah, carrying 80 to 300 men each, and 40 smaller vessels housed in nearby ports.[71]
The British began anexpedition against the Al Qasimi in November 1819, besieging Ras Al Khaimah with a platoon of 3,000 soldiers led by Major General William Keir Grant and supported by a number of warships which included theHMSLiverpool andCurlew. They extended an offer toSaid bin Sultan ofMuscat to make him ruler of the Pirate Coast if he agreed to assist the British in their expedition, and he obliged with a force of 600 men and two ships.[72][73]
With the fall of Ras Al Khaimah and the surrender ofDhayah Fort, the British established a garrison of 800sepoys and artillery in Ras Al Khaimah.Jazirat Al Hamra, south of Rad Al Khaimah, was found to be deserted. The British destroyed the fortifications and larger vessels inUmm Al Qawain,Ajman,Fasht,Sharjah,Abu Hail, and Dubai; ten vessels which had taken shelter in Bahrain were also destroyed.[74] After the expedition, the British and thesheikhs of the coastal communities signed theGeneral Maritime Treaty of 1820.[75]
The 1820 treaty was followed by the 1847 "Engagement to Prohibit Exportation of Slaves From Africa on board of Vessels Belonging to Bahrain and to the Trucial States and the Allow Right of Search of April–May 1847".[76] The signatory sheikhs, now expanded by conquering smaller neighbours, includedSheikh Sultan bin Saqr of Ras Al Khaimah,Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum of Dubai,Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Rashid of Ajman,Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid of Umm Al Quwain andSheikh Saeed bin Tahnoun of Abu Dhabi.[77]
The treaty, granting protection to British vessels, did not prevent coastal wars between tribes. Intermittent raids continued until 1835, when the sheikhs agreed not to engage in hostilities at sea for one year; the truce was renewed annually until 1853.[29]
The Perpetual Maritime Truce, signed on 4 May 1853, prohibited any act of aggression at sea. The signatories included Abdulla bin Rashid of Umm Al Quwain, Hamed bin Rashid of Ajman, Saeed bin Butti of Dubai, Saeed bin Tahnoun ("Chief of the Beniyas") and Sultan bin Saqr ("Chief of the Joasmees").[78] A further agreement suppressing the slave trade was signed in 1856, followed by the "Additional Article to the Maritime Truce Providing for the Protection of the Telegraph Line and Stations, Dated 1864". An agreement about the treatment of absconding debtors followed in June 1879.[79][80]
Signed in March 1892, the Exclusive Agreement bound rulers not to enter into "any agreement or correspondence with any Power other than the British Government"; without British assent, they would not "consent to the residence within my territory of the agent of any other government" and would not "cede, sell, mortgage or otherwise give for occupation any part of my territory, save to the British Government".[81] In return, the British promised to protect the Trucial Coast from hostile activity on land and sea.[82]
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In accordance with the treaties, the Trucial rulers were independent to manage their internal affairs. They often asked the British to provide naval firepower for their frequent disputes, particularly when the disputes involved indebtedness to British and Indian nationals.[83]
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of changes occurred to the status ofemirates. Emirates such as Rams and Dayah (now part of Ras Al Khaimah) were signatories to the original 1819 treaty, but were not recognised by the British as trucial states; the emirate ofFujairah, today one of the seven United Arab Emirates, was not recognised as a trucial state until 1952. Kalba, recognised as a trucial state by the British in 1936, is part of the present-dayemirate of Sharjah.[84]
Until the 1930s, the British refrained from interfering in the internal affairs of the Trucial sheikhdoms as long as peace was maintained. This contrasted with their policy in Oman, where the British supported the stability of Oman's sultanate and maintained their airbase onMasirah Island. According to a British official,
They could fight each other as much as they liked by land, and we did not hesitate to recognize a ruler who had acquired power by murder. The construction of an airport at Sharjah and the grant of oil concessions to an oil company forced us to modify this policy to some extent.[85]
During the 1930s, the firstoil company teams carried out preliminary surveys. An onshore concession was granted to Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) in 1939, and an offshore concession to D'Arcy Exploration Ltd in 1952.[86] Exploration concessions were limited to British companies in accordance with agreements between the trucial sheikhs and British government. Management of the Trucial Coast moved from the British government in Bombay to the Foreign Office in London in 1947 with Indian independence. ThePolitical Resident in the Gulf headed the small team responsible for liaison with the trucial sheikhs; he was based inBushire until 1946, when his office was moved toBahrain. Day-to-day administration was carried out by the Native Agent, a post established with the 1820 treaty and abolished in 1949. This agent was bolstered by a British political officer, based in Sharjah, in 1937.[87]
Oil was discovered under Umm Shaif (an old pearling bed in the Persian Gulf) in 1958, and in the desert at Murban in 1960. The first cargo of crude was exported from Jabel Dhanna in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1962. As the emirate's oil revenue increased, SheikhZayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan built schools, housing, hospitals and roads. When Dubai began exporting oil in 1969, SheikhRashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum also used oil revenue to improve his people's quality of life.[88]
British administrators in the Trucial States were particularly sensitive to criticism during the early part of the war, particularly into 1940 when things were going badly in Europe; an Indian trading company’s agent was deported to India for expressing pro-German sentiment that year.[89] The ruler of Sharjah turned up the volume of his radio and played German Arabic-language broadcasts for the benefit of an increasingly-large crowd gathering nightly to hear the broadcasts, a practice which was stopped by the horrified British Residency Agent.[89] Rumours in thesouk about British and French failure were found to have been started by Abdullah bin Faris, the ruler's secretary, and a war of words followed between Faris' supporters and British authorities; Faris was "kept under observation".[89] British military activity increased at the aerodrome and RAF station at Sharjah, at the RAF landing strip and refuelling depot onSir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and at smaller facilities inKalba and Ras Al Khaimah.[90]
A Handley Page HP42 biplane en route from India to Sharjah in theGulf of Oman was lost in March 1940, and aWellington bomber was lost in February 1943 atDhadna in Fujairah. A monument to the crash and the death of the Wellington’s navigator stands at Dhadna, on the east coast.[89][91] ThreeBlenheims crashed in 1942 and 1943; one was due to engine failure in Umm Al Quwain, and one ditched in shallow water off Sharjah. One was fatal, with the loss of the pilot and two crew members of a Blenheim that lost an engine as it took off from Sharjah over the desert on 1 February 1942.[89]
The war at sea included the August 1944 sinking off the coast of Oman by theGermanU-boatU859 of the AmericanLiberty ShipJohn Barry, which was carrying silver ingots destined forRussia. The first sinking of a submarine in the area was the 1940 attack on the Italian submarineLuigi Galvani, with the loss of 26 of its crew, after papers relating to its voyage were taken from the surrender of another Italian submarine. Thirty-one crew memberswere picked up by British ships. The German U-BoatU533 was sunk off the coast of Fujairah by a Blenheim flying out of Sharjah. A single survivor from the U-boat was interned in Sharjah for the duration of the war.[89]
During the war, rationing and identity cards were introduced; commodities such as tea and sugar became valuable rarities. Opportunistic traders in Dubai smuggled and traded contraband and engaged ingunrunning. Outbreaks of disease were frequent, including outbreaks ofcholera. Swarms oflocusts – considered edible by the locals – were frequent, although a British eradication program (involving celebrated explorerWilfred Thesiger) was successful.[89]
An internal conflict broke out in the Trucial States when Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum led a party of men to build a pair of watchtowers overlooking the entrance to the creek in the coastal area of Khor Ghanadah, south of Dubai, on 17 October 1945. A combination of launches and landward forces was used, with about 300 men descending on the area and planting Dubai flags. Seeing the potential of a conflict with Abu Dhabi (which also claimed Ghanadah), the British noted Rashid's breach of the 1853 Perpetual Maritime Treaty and he withdrew.[89]
Sheikh Shakhbut of Abu Dhabi was furious at the incursion, and camel-raiding by Bedouin tribes loyal to Abu Dhabi started to take place. Sheikh Rashid began to retaliate and launched a raid against Abu Dhabi in January 1946, capturing a large number of camels.[89] Measures were taken by the British to force Rashid to stand down, including stoppingBritish India Steam Navigation Company steamers from calling into Dubai on 8 June 1946. The British ruled that Ghanadah belonged to Abu Dhabi, and Dubai agreed to restitution and the return of a number of Abu Dhabi's camels on 15 July 1946.[89]
The signing of a treaty in March 1947 was followed by further raiding by parties from theManasir,Al Bu Shamis andAwamir tribes after Shakhbut failed to pay his Bedouins. Raiders had taken over fifty camels from Dubai by July 1947, and in August and September 300 more camels were taken by raiders and two Dubai men were killed. Abu Dhabi was blockaded by the British, resulting in peace in April 1948. The British drew the line between the two emirates at Hassyan on the coast andAl Ashoosh inland (where it remains), although the border was not finally agreed until 1968.[89]
The mountainous area ofMasfout was seized from the town'sNa’im headman, Saqr bin Sultan Al Hamouda, by Ajman rulerRashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi in 1948.[89] After a long and debilitating conflict with its neighbour,Hatta, Masfout could not raise a force to oppose Rashid. Part of Masfout, the village ofSayh Mudayrah and the nearby community ofSinadil, were subject to a border dispute withOman which was settled with joint sovereignty until a final border settlement in 1998 placed Sinadil on the Omani side of the border.[89]
A group of about 80 Saudi Arabian guards – 40 of whom were armed – led by the SaudiEmir ofRas Tanura, Turki Abdullah al Otaishan, crossed Abu Dhabi in 1952, occupiedHamasa (one of three Omani villages in the oasis), and claimed it as part of theEastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The sulṭan of Muscat and imam of Oman gathered their forces to expel the Saudis, but were persuaded by the British government to exercise restraint and attempts to settle the dispute by arbitration. The British military presence increased, leading to the implementation of a standstill agreement and referral of the dispute to an international arbitration tribunal. Arbitration began in Geneva in 1955, but collapsed when British arbitratorReader Bullard objected to Saudi Arabian attempts to influence the tribunal and withdrew. A few weeks later, the Saudi party was driven from Hamasa by theTrucial Oman Levies.[92] The dispute was finally settled in 1974 by theTreaty of Jeddah between UAE President Sheikh Zayed and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.[93]
The British instituted theTrucial States Council in 1952 and allocated a Trucial States Development Budget, a limited fund which did little to bolster the resources of the Trucial States' rulers. Abu Dhabi did not strike oil until 1956, and revenue from oil-exploration concessions formed much of the rulers' income. When theArab League approached them with an offer of a significant development fund, it found a receptive audience.[94]
An Arab League delegation headed by Egyptian diplomat and Arab League Secretary-GeneralAbdel Khaleq Hassouna visited the Trucial States on an October 1964 "mission of brotherhood", proposing the creation of a £5 million development fund for the states.[94]Ras Al Khaimah rulerSaqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi and Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi of Sharjah, an ardentArab nationalist, supported the opening of an Arab League office inSharjah.[95][94]
A wave of demonstrations broke out in the streets of the Trucial States, with increasing anti-British sentiment. Long maintaining "British prestige" on the Trucial Coast, British administrators were alarmed at the strength of the sentiment and its source:Nasserism and itsSoviet backers.[94] British officials petitioned the rulers to turn down the Arab League offer, citing previous treaties in which the trucial rulers pledged not to deal with any foreign government other than the British. Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi was obstinate, even when British officials threatened to close his airspace and shut down Sharjah's power station.[94] The British increased funding to the Trucial States Development Fund until it stood at £2.5 million, but the rulers of the Northern States were not impressed; the ruler ofAjman,Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, said that "5 million pounds will go further than 2.5 million pounds".[94]
Terence Clark, deputy to the ill British Political Agent in DubaiGlencairn Balfour Paul, deposed Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi in a1965 bloodless palace coup.[96][97] The Trucial Oman Scouts overranSharjah Fort and removed Saqr’s brother, Abdullah bin Sultan Al Qasimi. Abdullah was accompanied by the son of Ras Al Khaimah ruler Khalid bin Saqr bin Muhammad Al Qasimi.[98]
Saqr was exiled toBahrain and, eventually, toCairo.[99] His cousin,Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi succeeded him as ruler of Sharjah on 25 June 1965.[98]
On 7 April 1961, a fierce storm lashed the busy port of Dubai. A ship in port dragged its anchor in heavy waves and smashed into the bow of the 5,000-tonne, 120-meter MVDara, owned by the British India Steam Navigation Company.[100] TheDara's captain decided to leave harbour and ride out the storm in the open sea; the ship left so quickly that a number of officials' and passengers' relatives were still aboard. She sailed with 819 on board, including 132 crew.[100] By dawn on 8 April, theDara was returning to Dubai when an explosion destroyed her engine room. Fire broke out and, in the heavy swell, the lifeboats were hard to deploy when the captain called mayday. Three British frigates attended, playing hoses over the blazing decks of theDara, while anAmerican warship and several civilian vessels helped to pick up passengers. In all, 238 people died in the greatest peacetime maritime disaster since thesinking of the Titanic.[100] An April 1962 investigation found that theDara fire was caused by explosives "practically certainly deliberately placed in the vessel by person or persons unknown".[100]
By 1966, the British government had concluded that it could no longer afford to govern the Trucial States.[101] Deliberation took place inParliament, with a number of MPs arguing that theRoyal Navy would not be able to defend the trucial sheikhdoms. UKSecretary of State for Defence Denis Healey reported that theBritish Armed Forces were severely overextended and, in some respects, dangerously under-equipped to defend the sheikhdoms.[102]
On 16 January 1968, British Prime MinisterHarold Wilson announced the decision to end the treaty relationships with the seven trucial sheikhdoms which had been (with Bahrain andQatar), under British protection.[103] The British decision to withdraw was reaffirmed in March 1971 by Prime MinisterEdward Heath.[21]
The region faced a host of serious local and regional problems. There were Iranian claims for Bahrain and other islands in the Gulf, territorial disputes between Qatar and Bahrain overZubarah and theHawar Islands, and the Buraimi dispute was still unresolved by Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Oman. Views differ about the Shah of Iran's intentions; Abdullah Omran Taryam says that Iran was contemplating the occupation of Bahrain and other islands in the Gulf, and Alvandi Roham writes that the Shah had no intention of using force to resolve the Bahrain question and unsuccessfully sought a "package deal" with Great Britain for theTunb Islands andAbu Musa.[104][105] The rulers of the emirates believed that Britain's continued presence guaranteed the region's safety, and some did not want Britain to withdraw;[104] days after the British announcement to withdraw, Sheikh Zayed tried to persuade them to honour the protection treaties by offering to pay the costs of keeping British armed forces in the Emirates. The BritishLabour government rebuffed the offer.[106][107] Dennis Healey said on the BBC TV programmePanorama that he disliked the idea of being "a sort of white slaver for Arab sheikhs", a remark for which he later apologised.[108]
Between 8 and 11 January 1968, Labour MPGoronwy Roberts informed the trucial rulers about the British withdrawal.[108] On 18 February, Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Rashid of Dubai met atArgoub Al Sedirah (a hill in the desert between their emirates) and agreed on the principle of union.[109] They announced their intention to form a coalition, extending an invitation to otherGulf states to join. Later that month, at a summit meeting attended by the rulers of Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial States, the government of Qatar proposed the formation of a federation of Arab emirates to be governed by a council of nine rulers. The proposal was accepted, and a declaration of union was approved.[110] There was some disagreement among the rulers on matters such as the location of the capital, the drafting of a constitution and the distribution of ministries.[110]
Further political issues surfaced when Bahrain attempted to claim a leading role in the nine-state union, and differences emerged among the rulers of the Trucial Coast, Bahrain and Qatar; the latter two were engaged in along-running dispute over theHawar Islands. While Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Rashid, had a strong connection to the Qatari ruling family – including theroyal intermarriage of his daughter with the son of the Qatari emir[111] – the relationship between Abu Dhabi and Dubai (also cemented by intermarriage; Rashid's wife was a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family[109]) endured the break-up of talks with Bahrain and Qatar. The sixth meeting, which took place in Abu Dhabi in October 1969, sawZayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan elected as the federation's first president. There were stalemates on numerous issues during the meeting, including the position of vice-president, defense of the federation, and whether a constitution was required.[111] A message was read to the Supreme Council from the British Political Resident which triggered a walk-out by delegates who found it patronising,[108] prompting Qatar to withdraw from the federation over what it perceived as foreign interference in its internal affairs.[112] This was the last meeting of the nine-member Supreme Council, and the nine-emirate federation was disbanded despite efforts by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Britain to reinvigorate discussions.[113] Bahrain became independent in August 1971, and Qatar the following month.[114][115]
On 29 and 30 November 1971, a contingent of the Iranian army supported by naval forcesoccupied the islands of Abu Musa and the Lesser and Greater Tunbs.[116] OnGreater Tunb, six policemen clashed with approximately 2,000 Iranian troops; in the ensuing skirmish, four Ras Al Khaimah policemen and three Iranian soldiers were killed. The Iranian troops demolished the police station, the school, and a number of houses, forcing the natives to leave the island. The dead were buried on the island, and the residents were put on fishing boats and taken to Ras Al Khaimah.[116][117] TheImperial Iranian Navy seized the islands with little resistance from the small local Arab police force.[118] The population of Greater Tunb in 1971 was 150.[119][120] The first soldier killed on the island was Salem Suhail bin Khamis, who was shot after he refused to lower the Ras Al Khaimah flag. The death of 20-year-old bin Khamis, the first martyr in the United Arab Emirates, is observed on November 30 asCommemoration Day.[117] The ruler ofSharjah was forced to agree to negotiate for Iranian troops to occupyAbu Musa. His options were to save part of the territory or permanently forego the restoration of the remaining part of the island.[121]
The British-Trucial States treaty was annulled on 1 December 1971, and the Trucial States became the United Arab Emirates the following day.[107][122] Six former Trucial States signed the UAE's founding treaty, with a constitution quickly drafted to meet the 2 December deadline.[123] On that date, at the Dubai Guesthouse (now known as Union House), the rulers of the six emirates agreed to form a union. Although the ruler of Ras Al Khaimah was present, he was not a signatory; Ras Al Khaimah joined the UAE on 10 February 1972.[124][125] The new state was recognised first byJordan, on 2 December 1971. The UAE joined theArab League on 6 December, and theUnited Nations three days later.[126]
The United Arab Emirates' provisional constitution established five federal bodies: the Supreme Council of Rulers; the office of the President; the Cabinet; the Federal National Council (FNC) and the federal judiciary. The constitution also allowed the ruler of each emirate to maintain sovereignty "over their own territories and territorial waters that are not within the jurisdiction of the Union". A provision of the 1971 constitution was the establishment of a new capital city for the federation to be built between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and to be called Karama (Dignity). This provision was never enacted.[127]
A program of nation-building followed; the new nation had no ministries or other formal government bodies, no national infrastructure (roads, telecom, education, and finance) or national currency. The first annual federal budget, promulgated in February 1972, envisaged spending six millionBD on social housing, electricity and communication infrastructure (including roads).[127]
The former ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi, and an armed group supported by Ras Al Khaimah forced his way into the palace of Sharjah ruler Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi on 24 January 1972, occupied it, and demanded to be recognized as the ruler of Sharjah.[128] The group took control of the ruler's palace around 2:30 pm, with reports of gunfire and grenade explosions in the palace. Besieged by theUnion Defence Force (which arrived an hour later), Saqr surrendered early on 25 January to UAE Minister of DefenceSheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Khalid was killed in the fighting.[129]
Saqr was handed over toSheikh Zayed by Mohammed and, according to Glencairn Balfour-Paul, "dropped in an underground hole in Buraimi".[130] According to other sources, he was tried and imprisoned until 1979 before returning to exile in Cairo.[131]
On 25 January 1972, the ruling family in Sharjah met to choose a new ruler for the emirate; SheikhSultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, brother of the late ruler, was unanimously chosen to succeed him. The Supreme Council met in emergency session to consider the situation and, in addition to issuing an obituary of Sheikh Khālid, proclaimed the accession.[132] The movement to form a union took place at a time of unprecedented instability in the region, with a border dispute resulting in 22 deaths in Kalba and the January 1972 Sharjah coup; theemir of Qatar was deposed by his cousin in February 1972.[29]
On 17 June 1987, while Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi was on holiday in the UK, his elder brother Abdulaziz led a coup. Abdulaziz, faced with unanimous support for Sultan Bin Muhammad by the UAE's rulers, agreed to a reconciliation and assumed the position of crown prince while Sultan was restored as ruler.[133]
Abu Dhabi hosted the 1981 inaugural meeting of theGulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a political and economic union which planned to include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman.[134]
The newly-integratedUAE Armed Forces first saw action in 1982 with the establishment of the UN-brokeredMulti-National Force in Lebanon, a peacekeeping role. UAE forces held similar peacekeeping roles in Somalia in 1992 and Kosovo in 1999.[134]
For much of the 1980s, as theIran-Iraq conflict and its associatedtanker war in the Gulf intensified, the UAE Armed Forces were in a state of high alert. In the face of the threat of repercussions from the conflict, the GCC carried out the October 1983 Operation Peninsula Shield (its first joint military exercise). This led to the decision to create the jointPeninsula Shield Force the following year.[134]
Iran and Iraq targeted each other's oil facilities and attempted to block oil exports by attacking neutral shipping. Kuwaiti tankers tended to ship Iraqi oil, and were frequently targeted by Iran. The US re-flagged Kuwaiti oil tankers with US flags and assigned warships to escort Kuwaiti tankers through theStrait of Hormuz. The operation's first casualty, theEarnest Will, was an American frigate hit by IraqiExocet missiles. The Iranians laid mines in the Gulf, leading to the mining of theBridgeton (a re-flagged Kuwaiti tanker).[134]
The escalation continued; US forces attackedIranian Revolutionary Guard units based on oil platforms, destroying three Iranian rigs. In July 1988, theUSSVincennes was involved in an action against harrying Iranian gunboats. TheVincennes mistakenly targeted an Iranian Airbus A300 flying a scheduled route from Tehran to Dubai and shot it down, with the loss of all 290 passengers and crew. Two weeks later, the Iranians accepted UN Security Council Resolution 598 calling for an end to the war.[134]
After the9/11terrorist attacks on the United States, the UAE was identified as afinancial centre used byAl-Qaeda to transfer money to the hijackers. The nation immediately cooperated with the United States, freezing accounts tied to suspected terrorists and clamping down onmoney laundering.[136] The country had signed a military-defence agreement with the United States in 1994, and with France in 1977.[137]
The UAE supportedmilitary operations from the United States and other coalition nations engaged in the invasion of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) and operations supporting the globalWar on Terrorism for theHorn of Africa atAl Dhafra Air Base, outside Abu Dhabi. The airbase also supported Allied operations during the1991 Persian Gulf War[138] andOperation Enduring Freedom.[139]
The UAE's first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, died on 2 November 2004. His eldest son, SheikhKhalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, succeeded him as ruler of Abu Dhabi. In accordance with the constitution, the UAE's Supreme Council of Rulers elected Khalifa president. SheikhMohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan succeeded Khalifa ascrown prince of Abu Dhabi.[140] Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, died in January 2006; and Crown Prince SheikhMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum assumed both roles.[29]
In March 2006, the United States forced the state-ownedDubai Ports World to relinquish control of terminals at six major American ports. Critics of the ports deal feared an increased risk of terrorist attack, saying that the UAE was home to two of the 9/11 hijackers.[141]
In December 2006, the UAE prepared for its first election to determine half the members of UAE'sFederal National Council from 450 candidates. Only 7,000 Emirati citizens (less than one percent of the Emirati population) had the right to vote in the election; the manner of selection was opaque, but women were included in the electorate.[142]
In August 2011, the Middle East experienced a number of pro-democratic uprisings popularly known as theArab Spring. The UAE had comparatively little unrest but in a high-profile case, five political activists were arrested fordefamation by insulting heads of state (UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice president Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan) on an anti-government website.[143] The trial of theUAE Five attracted international publicity and protest from a number of human-rights groups,[144] includingAmnesty International, which called the five menprisoners of conscience.[143] The defendants were convicted and given two- to three-year prison sentences on 27 November 2011.[145]
On 25 September 2019,Hazza Al Mansouri flew aboard theSoyuz MS-15 spacecraft to theInternational Space Station, where he stayed for eight days as the first Emirati in space.[146]
The first confirmedCOVID-19 case in theUnited Arab Emirates was announced on 29 January 2020. It was the first country in theMiddle East to report a confirmed case.[147]
The United Arab Emirates launched theEmirates Mars Mission that year, aUnited Arab Emirates Space Agencyuncrewedspace exploration mission toMars. The Hope probe was launched on 19 July 2020, and went into orbit around Mars on 9 February 2021.[148] The United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country and the fifth country to reach Mars, and the second country to enter Mars' orbit on its first try (after India). In April 2023,The New York Times reported an updated global map of Mars based on images from the Hope spacecraft.[149]
During the early 2020s, the UAE began overhauling its criminal and civil laws. It legalized alcohol, ended lighter punishments forhonor killings, enacted harsher punishments forrape andsexual harassment, allowed foreigners to follow their home-country's family laws for marriage and inheritance rather thanSharia, reduced penalties for drugs and having a child when unmarried, and allowed unmarried couples to live together. Economic changes have allowed foreigners to own businesses without a UAE partner. The UAE moved to a Saturday-Sundayweekend at the beginning of 2022, with Friday a working half-day.[150][151][152] Homosexuality remained illegal,[153] although a new 21+ age rating allowed uncensored movies to be shown.[154]
Expo 2020 was aWorld Expo hosted by Dubai from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, it was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.[155] Despite the postponement, organizers kept the name Expo 2020 formarketing andbranding purposes. The event recorded more than 24 million visits in its six months.[156]
On 22 February 2022, theMuseum of the Future was opened by thegovernment.[157] The date was chosen because it is apalindrome date.[158] The museum is devoted to Dubai's innovative and futuristic technologies.[159] On 14 May 2022, SheikhMohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as UAE president after the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.[160]
TheEmirates Lunar Mission was the first mission to theMoon from the UAE.[161] The mission byMohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) sent alunar rover named Rashid to the Moon aboardispace'sHakuto-R Mission 1 lander.[162][163] Launched on 11 December 2022 on aFalcon 9 Block 5 rocket,[162] the rover attempted to land in theAtlas crater.[164][165] On 25 April 2023, seconds before the attempted landing, communication with the Hakuto-R lander was lost.[165] The ispace team confirmed that the spacecraft had crashed into the Moon and was destroyed.[166][167]
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