[13] By the first century CE overland caravan traffic between Syria and cities in southern Iraq began. Also, there was seaborne travel to the important port of Omana (perhaps present-day Umm al-Qaiwain) and then to India. These routes were an alternative to the Red Sea route used by the Romans.[14] Pearls had been exploited in the area for millennia but at this time the trade reached new heights. Seafaring was also a mainstay and major fairs were held at Dibba, bringing in merchants from as far as China.[15] Advent of Islam The arrival of envoys from the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 630 heralded the conversion of the region to Islam. After Muhammad's death, one of the major battles of the Ridda Wars was fought at Dibba resulting in the defeat of the non-Muslims and the triumph of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. In 637, Julfar (today Ra's al-Khaimah) was used as a staging post for the conquest of Iran. Over many centuries, Julfar became a wealthy port and pearling center from which dhows travelled throughout the Indian Ocean, especially to neighboring land of Sindh and its cities of Thatta and Debal. Portuguese control See also: History of Oman and Economic history of Portugal Portuguese expansion into the Indian Ocean in the early 16th century following Vasco da Gama's route of exploration saw them battle Safavid Persia up the coast of the Persian Gulf. The Portuguese controlled the area for 150 years, in which they conquered the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula.[16] Vasco da Gama was helped by Ahmad Ibn Majid, a navigator and cartographer from Julfar, to find the route of spices from Asia.[17][18] Ottoman rule During the 16th century, portions of the nation came under the direct influence of the Ottoman Empire.[19] Thereafter the region was known to the British as the "Pirate Coast", as raiders based there harassed the shipping industry despite both European and Arab navies patrolling the area from the 17th century into the 19th.[20] British expeditions to protect the Indian trade from raiders at Ras al-Khaimah led to campaigns against that headquarters and other harbours along the coast in 1819. The next year, a peace treaty was signed to which all the sheikhs of the coast adhered. Raids continued intermittently until 1835, when the sheikhs agreed not to engage in hostilities at sea. In 1853, they signed a treaty with the British, under which the sheikhs (the "Trucial Sheikhdoms") agreed to a "perpetual maritime truce." It was enforced by the United Kingdom, and disputes among sheikhs were referred to the British for settlement.[21] Flag of the Trucial Coast Primarily in reaction to the ambitions of other European countries, the United Kingdom and the Trucial Sheikhdoms established closer bonds in an 1892 treaty, similar to treaties entered into by Britain with other Persian Gulf principalities. The sheikhs agreed not to dispose of any territory except to Britain and not to enter into relationships with any foreign government other than the United Kingdom without its consent. In return, the British promised to protect the Trucial Coast from all aggression by sea and to help in case of land attack.[22] British suppression of piracy meant that pearling fleets could operate in relative security. On the negative side, however, the British prohibition of the slave trade meant an important source of income was lost to some sheikhs and merchants.[23] The rise and fall of the pearling industry During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the pearling industry thrived in the relative calm at sea, providing both income and employment to the people of the Persian Gulf. It began to become a good economic resource for the local people. Then the First World War had a severe impact on the pearl fishery, but it was the economic depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, coupled with the Japanese invention of the cultured pearl, that all but destroyed it. The industry eventually faded away shortly after the Second World War, when the newly independent Government of India imposed heavy taxation on pearls imported from the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.[24] The decline of pearling resulted in a very difficult era, with little opportunity to build any infrastructure. Dubai in the mid-20th century Beginning of the oil era At the beginning of the 1960s, the first oil company teams carried out preliminary surveys and the first cargo of crude was exported from Abu Dhabi in 1962. As oil revenues increased, ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, undertook a massive construction program, building schools, housing, hospitals and roads. When Dubai’s oil exports commenced in 1969, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the de facto ruler of Dubai, was also able to use oil revenues to improve the quality of life of his people.[25] In 1955, Great Britain sided with Abu Dhabi in the latter's dispute with Oman over the Buraimi Oasis, another territory to the south.[26] A 1974 agreement between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia would have settled the Abu Dhabi-Saudi border dispute; however, the agreement has yet to be ratified by the UAE government and is not recognised by the Saudi government. The border with Oman also remains officially unsettled, but the two governments agreed to delineate the border in May 1999.[27] Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed and the union In the early 1960s, oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi, an event that led to quick unification calls made by UAE sheikdoms. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan became ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966 and the British started losing their oil investments and contracts to U.S. oil companies.[28] The British had earlier started a development office that helped in some small developments in the emirates. The sheikhs of the emirates then decided to form a council to coordinate matters between them and took over the development office. They formed the Trucial States Council,[29] and appointed Adi Bitar, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum's legal advisor, as Secretary General and Legal Advisor to the Council. The council was terminated once the United Arab Emirates was formed.[30] In 1968, the United Kingdom announced its decision, reaffirmed in March 1971, to end the treaty relationships with the seven Trucial Sheikhdoms which had been, together with Bahrain and Qatar, under British protection. The nine attempted to form a union of Arab emirates, but by mid-1971 they were still unable to agree on terms of union, even though the British treaty relationship was to expire in December of that year.[31] Bahrain became independent in August, and Qatar in September 1971. When the British-Trucial Sheikhdoms treaty expired on December 1, 1971, they became fully independent.[32] The rulers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai decided to form a union between their two emirates independently, prepare a constitution, then call the rulers of the other five emirates to a meeting and offer them the opportunity to join. It was also agreed between the two that the constitution be written by December 2, 1971.[33] On that date, at the Dubai Guesthouse Palace, four other emirates agreed to enter into a union called the United Arab Emirates. Ras al-Khaimah joined later, in early 1972.[34][35] After the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States the UAE was identified as a major financial center used by Al-Qaeda in transferring money to the hijackers (two of the 9/11 hijackers, Marwan al-Shehhi and Fayez Ahmed Bannihammad, who crashed United Flight 175 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, were UAE citizens). The nation immediately cooperated with the U.S, freezing accounts tied to suspected terrorists and strongly clamping down on money laundering. The UAE supports military operations from the United States and other Coalition nations that are engaged in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan (2001) and Saddam Hussein in Iraq (2003) as well as operations supporting the Global War on Terrorism for the Horn of Africa at Al Dhafra Air Base located outside of Abu Dhabi. The air base also supported Allied operations during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and Operation Northern Watch. The country had already signed a military defense agreement with the U.S. in 1994 and one with France in 1995. On 2 November 2004, the UAE's first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, died. His eldest son, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, succeeded as ruler of Abu Dhabi. In accordance with the constitution, the UAE's Supreme Council of Rulers elected Khalifa as president. Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan succeeded Khalifa as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.[36] In January 2006, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, died, and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum assumed both roles. Geography Main article: Geography of the United Arab Emirates Geography of the UAE Coastline 1,318 km (819 miles) Bordering countries Saudi Arabia, and Oman The landscape of Sir Bani Yas Island The United Arab Emirates is situated in Southwest Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia; it is in a strategic location along southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.[37] A view of the desert landscape on the outskirts of Dubai The mountainous region in the north The UAE lies between 22°50' and 26° north latitude and between 51° and 56°25' east longitude. It shares a 530-kilometer border with Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and a 450-kilometer border with Oman on the southeast and northeast. The land border with Qatar in the Khawr al Udayd area is about nineteen kilometers in the northwest; however, it is a source of ongoing dispute.[38] The total area of the UAE is approximately 77,700 square kilometers. The country's exact size is unknown because of disputed claims to several islands in the Persian Gulf, because of the lack of precise information on the size of many of these islands, and because most of its land boundaries, especially with Saudi Arabia, remain undemarcated.[39] Additionally, island disputes with Iran and Qatar remain unresolved.[40] The largest emirate, Abu Dhabi, accounts for 87% of the UAE's total area (67,340 square kilometers). The smallest emirate, Ajman, encompasses only 259 square kilometers (see figure). The UAE coast stretches for more than 650 kilometers along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf. Most of the coast consists of salt pans that extend far inland. The largest natural harbor is at Dubai, although other ports have been dredged at Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and elsewhere. Numerous islands are found in the Persian Gulf, and the ownership of some of them has been the subject of international disputes with both Iran and Qatar. The smaller islands, as well as many coral reefs and shifting sandbars, are a menace to navigation. Strong tides and occasional windstorms further complicate ship movements near the shore. The UAE also has a stretch of the Al Batinah coast of the Gulf of Oman, although the Musandam Peninsula, the very tip of Arabia by the Strait of Hormuz is an enclave of Oman within the UAE. South and west of Abu Dhabi, vast, rolling sand dunes merge into the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) of Saudi Arabia. The desert area of Abu Dhabi includes two important oases with adequate underground water for permanent settlements and cultivation. The extensive Liwa Oasis is in the south near the undefined border with Saudi Arabia. About 100 kilometers to the northeast of Liwa is the Al-Buraimi oasis, which extends on both sides of the Abu Dhabi-Oman border. Prior to withdrawing from the area in 1971, Britain delineated the internal borders among the seven emirates in order to preempt territorial disputes that might hamper formation of the federation. In general, the rulers of the emirates accepted the British intervention, but in the case of boundary disputes between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and also between Dubai and Sharjah, conflicting claims were not resolved until after the UAE became independent. The most complicated borders were in the Al-Hajar al-Gharbi Mountains, where five of the emirates contested jurisdiction over more than a dozen enclaves. Flora and fauna Acacia trees growing in desert suburbs near Fujairah In the oasis grow date palms, acacia and eucalyptus trees. In the desert the flora is very sparse and consists of grasses and thornbushes. The indigenous fauna had come close to extinction because of intensive hunting, which has led to a conservation program on Bani Yas island initiated by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the 1970s, resulting in the survival of, for example, Arabian oryx and leopards. Coastal fish consist mainly of mackerel, perch and tuna, as well as sharks and whales. Climate Main article: Climate of the United Arab Emirates The climate of the U.A.E generally is hot and dry. The hottest months are July and August, when average maximum temperatures reach above 48 °C (118.4 °F) on the coastal plain. In the Al Hajar Mountains, temperatures are considerably lower, a result of increased altitude.[41] Average minimum temperatures in January and February are between 10 and 14 °C (50 and 57.2 °F).[42] During the late summer months, a humid southeastern wind known as Sharqi (i.e. "Easterner") makes the coastal region especially unpleasant. The average annual rainfall in the coastal area is fewer than 120 mm (4.7 in), but in some mountainous areas annual rainfall often reaches 350 mm (13.8 in). Rain in the coastal region falls in short, torrential bursts during the summer months, sometimes resulting in floods in ordinarily dry wadi beds.[43] The region is prone to occasional, violent dust storms, which can severely reduce visibility. The Jebel Jais mountain cluster in Ras al-Khaimah has experienced snow only twice since records began.[44] Government and politics Main article: Politics of the United Arab Emirates See also: Military of the United Arab Emirates and Constitution of the United Arab Emirates National Symbols of the UAE[45] Flag Flag of United Arab Emirates Anthem Ishy Bilady Animal Arabian Horse Bird Peregrine Falcon Flower Tribulus Omanense Tree Ghaf trees Dairy Camel Milk Beverage Arabic Coffee Sport Camel racing Dress Khandura Government Current President of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan The politics of the United Arab Emirates take place in a framework of a federal, presidential, elective monarchy. The UAE is a federation of seven absolute monarchies: the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al-Qaiwain. The President of the United Arab Emirates is its head of state, and the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates is its head of government,[46] including foreign affairs, security and defense, nationality and immigration issues, education, public health, currency, postal, telephone and other communications services, air traffic control, licensing of aircraft, labor relations, banking, delimitation of territorial waters and extradition of criminals. All responsibilities not granted to the national government are reserved to the emirates. The UAE government comprises three branches: the executive, legislature, and judiciary. The executive branch consists of the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Federal Supreme Council, and a Council of Ministers (the cabinet). The Federal Supreme Council is composed of the emirs of the seven emirates. It elects the president, vice president, members of the Council of Ministers, and judges of the Federal Supreme Court. The Supreme Council also formulates government policy, proposes and ratifies national laws, and ratifies treaties. Although elected by the Supreme Council, the president and prime minister are essentially hereditary. The emir of Abu Dhabi holds the presidency, and the emir of Dubai is prime minister. All but one prime minister served concurrently as vice president. The political influences and financial obligations of the emirates are reflected by their respective positions in the federal government. While each emirate still retains autonomy over its own territory, a percentage of its revenue is allocated to the UAE’s central budget.[47] Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the UAE's president from the nation's founding until his death on November 2, 2004. On the following day the Federal Supreme Council elected his son, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to the post. Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the heir apparent.[48] The legislature is the Federal National Council, which consists of 40 members drawn from all the emirates. Half are appointed by the rulers of the constituent emirates, and the other half are indirectly elected to serve two-year terms. The first indirect elections took place in 2006, and the goal is a wholly elected council. The council carries out the country’s main consultative duties and has both a legislative and supervisory role provided by the constitution.[49] The council scrutinizes and amends proposed legislation, but cannot prevent it from becoming law. A constitutionally independent judiciary includes the Federal Supreme Court.[50] However, Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah do not belong to the national judiciary. All emirates have their own secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts.[51] Sharia-Law Main article: Crime in the United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United Arab Emirates Constitution Constitution of the United Arab Emirates Executive President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Legislative Federal National Council Rulers Elections 2006 election Emirates Foreign relations Human rights Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view • talk • edit When contrasted with other Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia for instance, the UAE has comparatively very liberal laws. The country has a civil law jurisdiction. However, Shari'a or Islamic law is applied to aspects of family law, inheritance and certain criminal acts. Women can drive in the UAE and there is a strong emphasis in equality and human rights brought by the UAE's National Human Rights Committee. A federal court system applies to all emirates except Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, which are not fully integrated into the federal judicial system. All emirates have secular courts to rule about criminal, civil, and commercial matters, and Islamic courts to review family and religious disputes. The country has undergone a period of liberalization and modernisation during the reign of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The laws of the UAE tolerate alcohol to a certain extent. However, public bars and nightclubs in the UAE operate mainly in hotels and clubs, much like in Qatar, although some do operate independently. In the UAE the establishment of the Civil and Criminal Courts resulted in diminishing the role of the Sharia Courts. Nevertheless, the competence of the Sharia Courts in some emirates, particularly Abu Dhabi, was substantially expanded later on to include, in addition to matters of personal status, all types of civil and commercial disputes as well as serious criminal offences. Therefore, in addition to the Civil Courts, each of the seven emirates maintains a parallel system of Sharia Courts which are organised and supervised locally. In common with other Arab states of the Persian Gulf, sponsorship laws exist in the UAE. These laws have been widely described as akin to modern-day slavery.[52] The sponsorship system (Kafeel or Kafala) exists throughout the GCC and means that a worker (not a tourist) may not enter the country without having a kafeel, cannot leave without the