# Emirate of Dubai

The Emirate of Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is the most populous emirate of the UAE. The capital of the emirate is the eponymous city, Dubai.

## Geography

The city of Dubai is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, while the Emirate stretches inland and is bordered to the south by the emirate of Abu Dhabi, to the northeast by the emirate of Sharjah, to the southeast by the country of Oman, to the east by the emirate of Ajman, and to the north by the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

## Subdivisions

The emirate and the coterminous city is subdivided into nine numbered sectors.
Dubai is divided into 9 sectors of which 1 to 6 are urban and 7 to 9 are rural. In numbers of 2007: 1.511.423 urban, 18.369 rural, 1.529.792 total. The sectors are subdivided into 224 communities. In other sources, the sectors and communities are called districts and subdistricts. The exclave of Hatta is a community in Sector 8.

## History

In the early 19th century, the coastal township of Dubai was located within the territorial lands of the Bani Yas tribe, however Dubai was also on the borderlands near the control of the powerful Al Qasimi clan. This caused both groups to assert authority over the town.$^{:13}$
In the 19th century, pearls were the main commodity of the region, with buyers from Mumbai, commerce peaked in 1897.$^{:26}$
In 1901, Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum established Dubai as a free port with no taxation on imports or exports and also gave merchants parcels of land and guarantees of protection and tolerance. These policies saw a movement of merchants not only directly from Lingeh, but also those who had settled in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah (which had historical links with Lingeh through the Al Qawasim tribe) to Dubai. An indicator of the growing importance of Dubai can be gained from the movements of the steamer of the Bombay and Persia Steam Navigation Company, which from 1899 to 1901 paid five visits annually to Dubai. In 1902, the company's vessels made 21 visits to Dubai and from 1904 on, the steamers called fortnightly – in 1906, trading 70,000 tonnes of cargo. The frequency of these vessels helped to accelerate Dubai's role as an emerging port and trading hub of preference. British historian John Lorimer noted the transfer of merchants from Lingeh "bids fair to become complete and permanent", and also that the town had by 1906 supplanted Lingeh as the chief entrepôt of the Trucial States. By 1908, Dubai was home to a population of some 10,000 people.$^{:21–23}$
By the 1930s and 1940s, the pearl business crashed due to cultured pearls from Japan. The economy crashed which triggered a famine.$^{:28}$ Hopes were reignited when in 1937, an oil exploration contract was signed which guaranteed royalty rights for Dubai and concessionary payments to Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum. However, due to World War II, oil would not be struck until 1966 at the Fateh oil field.$^{:36–37}$
In December 1971, the emirates united to form the United Arab Emirates, thus ending their status as British Protectorates.
The ruler of the emirate is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The emirate is made up of various other communities. The inland exclave of Hatta is located about 134 km east of the city of Dubai. The exclave is bordered by Oman to the east and south, the villages of Sayh Mudayrah and Masfout in Ajman to the west, and Ras Al Khaimah to the north.

## Rulers

* 9 July 1833 – 1836: Sheikh Obeid bin Said bin Rashid (d. 1836)
* 9 July 1836 – 1852: Sheikh Maktoum bin Butti bin Suhail (d. 1852)
* 1852 – 1859: Sheikh Saeed bin Butti (d. 1859)
* 1859 – 22 November 1886: Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum (d. 1886)
* 22 November 1886 – 7 April 1894: Sheikh Rashid bin Maktoum (d. 1894)
* 7 April 1894 – 16 February 1906: Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum (d. 1906)
* 16 February 1906 – November 1912: Sheikh Butti bin Suhail Al Maktoum (d. 1912)
* November 1912 – September 1958: Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum (d. 1958)
* September 1958 – 7 October 1990: Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum (d. 1990)
* 7 October 1990 – 4 January 2006: Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum (d. 2006)
* 4 January 2006: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (b. 1949)