Raʾs al-Khaymah

▪ emirate, United Arab Emirates

also spelled  Ras al-Khaimah 

      constituent emirate of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman). It consists of two irregularly shaped tracts on the Musandam Peninsula, oriented north-south. The northern section shares the Ruʾūs al-Jibāl peninsula with the sultanate of Oman and has a coastline of approximately 35 miles (56 km) on the Persian Gulf. A southern inland tract is separated from the northern by a projection of Al-Fujayrah (Fujayrah, Al-) emirate. Political fragmentation in the region is so extreme that Raʾs al-Khaymah's two parts have borders with 10 political units; eight belong to five of the six other emirates in the federation, and the other two are with Oman and its exclave on the Ruʾūs al-Jibāl. Raʾs al-Khaymah's estimated total area is 660 square miles (1,700 square km); the capital and most significant urban settlement is Raʾs al-Khaymah city.

      Raʾs al-Khaymah was not one of the original Trucial States but was part of Al-Shāriqah (Shāriqah, Al-) emirate for most of its history. Its rulers were the Qawāsim pirate sheikhs, and Raʾs al-Khaymah town was long their most important base. In the late 16th century, Portugal had a fort, called Julfa, or Julfar, on or near the site; the Persians expelled the Portuguese in 1622. The Dutch had begun their commercial penetration of the region, but they withdrew in the mid-18th century. By the 19th century, Britain (British Empire) had become the chief Western power in the Persian Gulf. Pirates based in Raʾs al-Khaymah town became increasingly daring and captured British ships; they often held the crews for ransom and sometimes put them to death. Sulṭān ibn Ṣaqr (reigned 1803–66) was the chief pirate leader. In 1819 Raʾs al-Khaymah town was besieged and captured, after several ineffectual punitive expeditions, by a British force; in 1820 the British made Sulṭān, as sheikh of Al-Shāriqah, sign the General Treaty of Peace. Together with the other Gulf rulers, he also signed the later Trucial agreements. In 1869 Raʾs al-Khaymah became a separate state under Hamayd ibn ʿAbd Allāh, a grandson of Sulṭān, but upon his death (1900) it reverted to Al-Shāriqah, and it was not finally recognized by Britain as a separate Trucial state until 1919.

      When Britain finally left the Persian Gulf in late 1971, a dispute arose over the small islands of Greater and Lesser Ṭunb (Ṭunb al-Kubrā and Ṭunb al-Ṣughrā), in the Gulf about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Raʾs al-Khaymah town; these islands had long been claimed by both Raʾs al-Khaymah and Iran. On Nov. 30, 1971, Iranian troops landed on Greater Ṭunb and met armed resistance from Raʾs al-Khaymah police. Iran, however, remained in possession of the islands.

      Raʾs al-Khaymah emirate is unusual in the region in that agriculture is extensively practiced, employing about one-half of the labour force. Truck crops (cabbages, onions, tomatoes), dates, tobacco, and fruits, especially bananas and citrus fruits, are grown along the coast around Raʾs al-Khaymah city for local consumption and for export to other states of the federation, mainly Dubayy. Elsewhere along the coast, employment opportunities declined with the decline of the pearling industry, and much depopulation has occurred. The Shiḥūh people of the Ruʾūs al-Jibāl sell surpluses of dates and raise goats. Petroleum exploration both onshore and offshore has produced no results. The emirate has received aid from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as well as from its sister states Abū Ẓaby and Dubayy. From 1964 to 1972 much of Raʾs al-Khaymah's revenue came from commemorative stamps, printed for sale to philatelists. Industries in Raʾs al-Khaymah include the production of ceramics, pharmaceuticals, cement, lime, and a variety of construction materials.

      Raʾs al-Khaymah city's name means “the tent point,” after a large tent erected as an aid to navigation by an early chief. The city, a port from ancient times, developed only recently in the 20th century. Raʾs al-Khaymah city is connected by a paved road to Dubai and Al-Shāriqah city and has an international airport. Several ports—including Port Ṣaqr—handle the emirate's shipping traffic. Raʾs al-Khaymah city is also the site of Al-Ittiḥād University (1999). Pop. (2005 prelim.) 197,571.

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