Battle of Dhank
Date October 1870 Location Dhank,Oman Result Turki bin Said's victory
Belligerents
Sultan of Muscat forces Support: Emirate of Dubai Emirate of Ajman Ras Al Khaimah Tribal support: Na'im andBani Qitab	Imamate of Oman Support: Emirate of Abu Dhabi Emirate of Sharjah
Commanders and leaders
Turki bin Said Hasher bin Maktoum Rashid bin Humaid	Azzan bin Qais Zayed bin Khalifa Salim bin Sultan

TheBattle of Dhank took place in October 1870, ranging forces in support of the Omani ImamAzzan bin Qais againstTurki bin Said, Sultan of Muscat. The battle was won by Turki bin Said backed by forces fromDubai,Ajman andRas Al Khaimah as well as mounted fighters from theNa'im andBani Qitab tribes.

Azzan bin Qais was theImam ofOman between 1868 and 1870, having deposed SayyidSalim bin Thuwaini. Azzan opposed theSaudi interference in theBuraimi Oasis and took control of Buraimi in 1869.Zayed bin Khalifa of Abu Dhabi (known as Zayed the Great^[1]) supported Azzan bin Qais, who paid Abu Dhabi a stipend for its defence of Buraimi, but the Sultan of Muscat, Turki bin Said, canvassed support for his cause from other Trucial Rulers. In early 1870 Turki visited Dubai with that goal in mind but, tempted though the other Trucial Sheikhs were to support Turki against Abu Dhabi's powerful leader, Zayed, and the Imam Azzan bin Qais, their support wasn’t ardent enough to back feet on the ground.^[2]

Although Azzan bin Qais saw theGhafiri northern emirates as beingWahhabi in nature and therefore supportive of his enemies the Saudis, Sharjah actually joined the alliance between him and Abu Dhabi against Muscat’s Turki bin Said. In October 1870, Turki bin Said took his forces to the field in the Battle of Dhank supported by men from Dubai, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah, as well as riders from the Na’im and Bani Qitab tribes,^[2] many of the Na'im at the time being settled at Dhank.^[3] The support of the Na'im was unusual in that they had traditionally been dependent on Zayed the Great - and remained so until his death in 1909.^[4]

Winning the battle, Turki cemented his ascendancy over Muscat and Oman. The Imam Azzan bin Qais, was eventually killed in battle atMuttrah in January 1871.^[2]

The settlement of the rule over the Sultanate of Oman did nothing to lessen the jostling of the tribes aroundBuraimi and Zayed bin Khalifa’s ambitions to hold the fertile oasis only grew with time. This culminated in January 1875 in a further attack by Zayed against the Na’im town of Dhank and the area south of the town, the Dhahirah, by a mounted force of 200 Manasir and Bani Hajir Bedouins. At the same time, Zayed sent a force of Manasir and Mazari against Buraimi, an act which led to the Bani Qitab applying to Dubai for assistance and a force of riders being sent from Dubai to Buraimi. This resulted in a standoff and Zayed suspended his operations against the oasis.^[2]

• History of Oman
• History of the United Arab Emirates

• 19th century in Oman
• History of Abu Dhabi
• Conflicts in 1870
• 1870 in Asia

• CS1 maint: location missing publisher