Abū Ẓabī

or Abu Dhabi

Largest constituent emirate (pop., 2001 est.: 1,186,000) of the United Arab Emirates.

Bounded to the north by the Persian Gulf, to the south and west by Saudi Arabia, and to the east by Oman, it has an area of 28,210 sq mi (73,060 sq km). It has numerous offshore islands, and internally it surrounds Dubayy and has a short boundary with Al-Shāriqah (Sharjah). Since the 18th century the Āl Bū Falāḥ, a clan of the Banū Yās, has held power. In 1761 they found wells of potable water at the site of Abu Dhabi city, and they made their headquarters there from 1795. In the 19th century territorial conflicts with Masqat and Oman and with the Saūd dynasty (which now rules Saudi Arabia) led to border disputes that have remained largely unsettled. Abū Ẓabī signed an agreement with Great Britain in 1892, placing its foreign affairs under British control. When Britain withdrew from the Persian Gulf in 1968, the emirate and the other Trucial States formed the United Arab Emirates. Its rich oil fields make it, after Dubayy, the federation's most prosperous emirate.

* * *