Umm al-Quwain (
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
:
أمّ القيوين, , literally "Mother of two powers") is one of the emirates in the
United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE consists of seven states, termed emirates, which are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras...
. It is located in the north of the country. The emirate was ruled until his death by Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mu'alla, who was a member of the UAE's Supreme Council since 1981. The emirate had 62,000 inhabitants in 2003 (making it the least populous emirate in the federation) and has an area of 750 square kilometers.
Umm al-Quwain (
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
:
أمّ القيوين, , literally "Mother of two powers") is one of the emirates in the
United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE consists of seven states, termed emirates, which are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras...
. It is located in the north of the country. The emirate was ruled until his death by Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mu'alla, who was a member of the UAE's Supreme Council since 1981. The emirate had 62,000 inhabitants in 2003 (making it the least populous emirate in the federation) and has an area of 750 square kilometers. Accepted alternative spellings include
Umm al Qiwain (used on its former postage stamps) as well as
Umm al-Qawain,
Umm al-Qaywayn,
Umm el-Qiwain, and
Umm al-Qaiwain.
History
In 1775 Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, founder of the ruling Al Mualla lineage of the Al `Ali clan, established an independent sheikdom in Umm al-Quwain.
On 8 January 1820, Sheikh Abdullah I signed the General Maritime Treaty with the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, thus accepting a British
protectorateA protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of...
in order to keep the
Ottoman TurksThe Ottoman Turks were the subdivision of the Ottoman Muslim Millet that dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. Reliable information about the early history of the Ottomans is scarce. According to some sources , the leader of the Kayi tribe of the Oguz Turks, Ertugrul, left Persia in...
out. Like four of its neighbours,
AjmanAjmān is one of the seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates . With an area of just 260 square kilometres, Ajman is the smallest emirate by area...
,
DubaiDubai is one of the seven emirates and the most populous state of the United Arab Emirates . It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. The Dubai Municipality is sometimes called Dubai state to distinguish it from the emirate...
,
Ras al-KhaimahRas al-Khaimah is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It covers an area of 656 square miles . Ras Al Khaimah is in the southern part of the Persian Gulf....
and Sharjah, its position on the route to
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
made it important enough to be recognized as a
salute stateA Salute state was a princely state which the British colonial paramount ruler has granted a gun salute; i.e., the protocollary privilege for its ruler to be greeted - originally by Royal Navy ships, later also on land - with a number of gun shots, as recognition of the state's relative...
(albeit of the lowest class: only 3 guns).
On 2 December 1971, Sheikh Ahmad II joined the United Arab Emirates.
The successive rulers were:
- 1775 - 17.. Sheikh Majid Al Mu`alla
- 17.. - 1816 Sheikh Rashid I bin Majid Mu`alla
- 1816 - 1853 Sheikh Abdullah I bin Rashid Al Mu`alla
- 1853 - 1873 Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Mu`alla
- 1873 - 13 June 1904 Sheikh Ahmad I bin `Abd Allah Al Mu`alla (b. 18.. - d. 1904)
- 13 June 1904 - August 1922 Sheikh Rashid II bin Ahmad Al Mu`alla (b. 1875 - d. 1922)
- August 1922 - October 1923 Sheikh `Abdallah II bin Rashid Al Mu`alla
- October 1923 - 9 February 1929 Sheikh Hamad bin Ibrahim Al Mu`alla
- 9 February 1929 - 21 February 1981 Sheikh Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mu`alla (b. 1904 - d. 1981)
- 21 February 1981 - 2 January 2009 Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mu'alla (b. 1930 - d. 2009)
- 2 January 2009 Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu'alla
Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu'alla is the current ruler of Umm Al Quwain and also a member of Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates. He is the son of Rashid bin Ahmed Al Mu'alla...
Media in Umm Al Quwain
UAE-based newspapers