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United Arab Emirates
History
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History
Arabian
Muslims
Some time
after the rise of Islam in the first quarter of the 7th century AD and
the emergence of the Arabian Muslims as the founders of one of the great
empires of history, the name "'Arab" came to be used by these Muslims themselves
and by the nations with whom they came in contact to indicate all people
of Arabian origin. The very name Arabia, or its Arabic name Jazirat
Al-'Arab, has come to be used for the whole peninsula. In ancient
Greek and Latin sources, and often in subsequent sources, the term Arabia
includes the Syrian and Jordanian deserts and the Iraqi desert west of
the lower Euphrates. "Arabs" connoted, at least in pre-Islamic times,
mainly the tribal populations of central and northern Arabia.
Arabia
has been inhabited by innumerable tribal units; its history is a kaleidoscope
of shifting allegiances. A native system has evolved of moving
from tribal anarchy to centralized government and relapsing again into
anarchy. The tribes have dominated the peninsula, even in intermittent
periods when the personal prestige of a leader has led briefly to some
measure of tribal cohesion.
Arabian
culture is a branch of Semitic civilization; because of this and because
of the influences of sister Semitic cultures to which it has been subjected
at certain epochs, it is sometimes difficult to determine what is specifically
Arabian. Because a great trade route passed along its flanks, Arabia
had contact along its borders with Egyptian, Greco-Roman, and Indo-Persian
civilizations. The Turkish overlords of the Arabic-speaking countries
affected Arabia relatively little, however, and the dominant culture of
western Europe arrived late in the colonial era.
Arabia
was the cradle of Islam, and through this faith it influenced the Muslim
people. Islam essentially Arabian in nature, whatever superficial
external influences may have affected it, is Arabia's outstanding contribution
to world civilization.
Arab
States on the Persian Gulf
Five countries:
Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman are all Arab
states on the Persian Gulf that share certain characteristics. But
they are not the only countries that border the gulf. Iran, Iraq, and Saudi
Arabia share the coastline as well, and they too shared in the historical
development of the area. Of these five states, Oman has a particular
culture and history that distinguish it from its neighbors. It also
is the state with the shortest coastline along the Persian Gulf; most of
Oman lies along the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
The main
element that unites these countries is the nature of their involvement
with people and nations beyond the region. The gulf has been an important
waterway since ancient times, bringing the people who live on its shores
into early contact with other civilizations. In the ancient world,
the gulf peoples established trade connections with India; in the Middle
Ages, they went as far as China; and in the modern era, they became involved
with the European powers that sailed into the Indian Ocean and around Southeast
Asia. In the twentieth century, the discovery of massive oil deposits
in the gulf connected the countries again with the modern world.
Other
factors also bring these countries together. The people are mostly
Arabs and, with the exception of Oman and Bahrain, are mostly Sunni Muslims.
Because they live in basically tribal societies, family and clan connections
underlie most political and economic activity. The discovery of oil
and the increasing contact with the West has led to tremendous material
and social changes.
Important
distinctions exist, however, among the five countries. Bahrain is
an island with historical connections to the Persian Empire. Kuwait
is separated from the others by Saudi Arabia. In Oman high mountain
ranges effectively cut off the country's hinterland from the rest of the
region. Moreover, various tribal loyalties throughout the region
are frequently divided by religious differences that involve the major
sects of Islam, Sunni and Shia and the smaller Kharijite sect as well as
Muslim legal procedures.
United
Arab Emirates
On December
2, 1971, the U.A.E. a federation of seven emirates Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah,
Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah was established.
Links
to More Information
History
Channel
.
Sources:
United
Arab Emirates: A Country Study
U.
S. Department of State
U.S.
Department of State: Background Notes |
