Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
UNDERSTAND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
TOP OF CHAPTER
History
Early History
The earliest significant settlements in the UAE date back to the Bronze Age. In the 3rd mil-
lennium BC, a culture known as Umm Al Nar arose near modern Abu Dhabi. Its influence
extended well into the interior and down the coast to today's Oman. There were also settle-
ments at Badiyah (near Fujairah) and at Rams (near Ras Al Khaimah) during the same peri-
od.
The Persians and, to a lesser extent, the Greeks, were the next major cultural influences
in the area. The Persian Sassanid empire held sway until the arrival of Islam in AD 636,
and Christianity made a brief appearance in the form of the Nestorian Church, which had a
monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island, west of Abu Dhabi, in the 5th century.
During the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Hormuz controlled much of the area, including
the entrance to the Gulf, as well as most of the regional trade. The Portuguese arrived in
1498 and by 1515 they occupied Julfar (near Ras Al Khaimah). They built a customs house
and taxed the Gulf's flourishing trade with India and the Far East, but ended up staying
only until 1633.
British Rule
The rise of British naval power in the Gulf in the mid-18th century coincided with the con-
solidation of two tribal factions along the coast of the lower Gulf: the Qawasim and the
Bani Yas, the ancestors of the rulers of four of the seven emirates that today make up the
UAE.
The Qawasim, whose descendants now rule Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, were a seafar-
ing clan based in Ras Al Khaimah whose influence extended at times to the Persian side of
the Gulf. This brought them into conflict with the British, who had forged an alliance with
the Al Busaid tribe, the ancestors of today's rulers of Oman, to prevent the French from
taking over their all-important sea routes to India.
