General Information » United Arab Emirates Overview » History

The south-western coast of the Arabian, or Persian, Gulf was an important trading post as far back as the Kingdom of Sumer in 3000BC. Sumer, located in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in present-day Iraq, is believed to be the birthplace of modern civilisation. This great kingdom had influence, if not control, over trading points throughout the Gulf, and probably further. Deira/Dubai was one of these key positions, a safe haven before entering the narrow Straits of Hormuz and the open sea.

Development of Islam

Dubai’s further existence is closely linked to the arrival and development of Islam in the greater Middle East region. Islam developed in modern-day Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the seventh century AD with the revelations of the Quran being received by the Prophet Mohammed. Military conquests of the Middle East and North Africa enabled the Arab empire to spread the teachings of Islam from Mecca and Medina to the local Bedouin tribes. Following the Arab Empire came the Turks, the Mongols, and the Ottomans, each leaving their mark on local culture and all championing the Islamic religion.

The Trucial States

After the fall of the Muslim empires, both the British and Portuguese became interested in the area due to its strategic position between India and Europe, and also in order to control the activities of numerous pirates based in the area, which earned it the title the ‘Pirate Coast’. In 1820 the British defeated the pirates and a general treaty was agreed by the rulers of the region, denouncing piracy. The following years witnessed a series of maritime truces, with Dubai and the other emirates accepting British protection in 1892. In Europe, the area became known as the Trucial Coast (or Trucial States), a name it retained until the departure of the British in 1971.

A Growing Trade

In the late 1800s Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum, granted tax concessions to foreign traders, encouraging many to switch their bases of operation from Iran and Sharjah to Dubai. By 1903, a British shipping line had been persuaded to use Dubai as its main port of call in the area, giving traders direct links with British India and other important trading ports in the region.

Dubai’s importance as a trading hub was further enhanced by Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, father of the current ruler of Dubai, who ordered the creek to be dredged, thus providing access to larger vessels. The city came to specialise in the import and re-export of goods, mainly gold to India, and trade became the foundation of this emirate’s wealthy progr...