Clockwise from top: Mangroves are seen from Al Qawasim corniche flagpole, Ras Al Khaimah creek, Rotana resort in Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah fort museum, Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Ras Al Khaimah
The name Ras Al Khaimah translates to "the headland of the tent".[5] Khaimah means tent but also refers to the palm frond houses or areesh that were common in the area.[6]
Ras Al Khaimah has been the site of continuous human habitation for 7,000 years, with archaeological finds dating back to the Neolithic.[7] The northern area of the city today known as Ras Al Khaimah was previously the location of the important Islamic era settlement and port of Julfar.[8] Archaeological evidence has demonstrated that Julfar shifted location over time as harbour channels silted up. Excavations of a sizable tell, which revealed remnants of a Sassanid era fortification, indicate that early Julfar was located at the settlement of Kush in the north of the present city of Ras Al Khaimah, not far from other sites of historical and archaeological interest such as the Pre-Islamic fort, 'Sheba's Palace' (Shimal Fort).
One of Ras Al Khaimah's most celebrated sons, Ibn Majid, was a hugely influential seaman, navigator and cartographer,[9][10] and there is evidence in his writing that the town he came from was at that time known as Ras Al Khaimah,[5] that town having eclipsed Julfar as the principal port and settlement of the Shimal coast.
In the early 18th century, the Qawasim (singular Al Qasimi) established themselves in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah on the Arabian Peninsula, growing to become a significant maritime force with holdings on both the Persian and Arabian coasts that frequently came into conflict with British flagged shipping.[11]
In the aftermath of a series of attacks against shipping sailing under Omani flags and following 1809 monsoon season, the British mounted the Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 against Ras Al Khaimah, in which the Al Qasimi fleet was largely destroyed. The British operation continued to Lingeh on the Persian coast which was, like the Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands, administered by the Al Qasimi.[11][12]
By the morning of 14 November, the military expedition was over and the British forces returned to their ships, having suffered light casualties of five killed and 34 wounded. Arab losses are unknown, but were probably significant, while the damage done to the Al Qasimi fleets was severe: a significant portion of their vessels had been destroyed.[13]
Following the 1809 campaign, an 1815 arrangement was made between the British and the Al Qasimi.[14] However, by 1819 it was clear the arrangement had broken down and so in November of that year, the British embarked on a second expedition against the Al Qasimi at Ras Al Khaimah, led by Major-General William Keir Grant.[15]
The force gathered off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah on 25 and 26 November and, on 2 and 3 December, troops were landed south of the town and set up batteries of guns and mortars and, on 5 December, the town was bombarded from both land and sea for a period of four days, until, on 9 December, the fortress and town of Ras Al Khaimah were stormed and found to be practically deserted. On the fall of Ras Al Khaimah, three cruisers were sent to blockade Rams to the North and this, too was found to be deserted and its inhabitants retired to the 'impregnable' hill-top fort of Dhayah.[16]
The British landed a force at Rams on 18 December, which fought its way inland through date plantations to Dhayah Fort on the 19th. There, 398 men and another 400 women and children held out, without sanitation, water or effective cover from the sun, for three days under heavy fire from mortars and 12-pound cannon.[17]
The hilltop fort of Dhayah
The two 24-pound cannon from HMS Liverpool which had been used to bombard Ras Al Khaimah from the landward side were once again pressed into use and dragged across the plain from Rams, a journey of some four miles. Each of the guns weighed over 2 tonnes. After enduring two hours of sustained fire from the big guns, which breached the fort's walls, the last of the Al Qasimi surrendered at 10.30 on the morning of 22 December.[17]
A British protectorate from this point forward, as one of the Trucial States, in 1869, Ras Al Khaimah became fully independent from neighbouring Sharjah. From September 1900 to 7 July 1921, it was re-incorporated into Sharjah; the last governor became its next independent ruler.[19]
The city of Ras Al Khaimah is home to the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) that helps connect investors and international markets. It operates an online client portal called Portal 360.[28] The zone services businesses ranging from freelancers to SMEs and start-ups across 50 industries. RAKEZ is divided into six dedicated zones:[29][30]
Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries is a pharmaceutical manufacturer operating in the MENA region and headquartered in the city of Ras Al Khaimah.[35] The company, also known under the name of Julphar, employs 5,000 people and distributes its products to 50 countries.[36] It divides its activities between three units: Julphar Diabetes Solutions, General Medicines and Julphar Life. The company became a producer of raw ingredients for insulin in 2012.[37][38]
Gaming industry
In 2022, Ras Al Khaimah announced a $3.9 billion project, Wynn Al Marjan Island, which is likely to open in 2027. The resort was being established in collaboration with Wynn Resorts, whose CEO Craig Billings confirmed that it will include a 224,000 sq. ft. “casino component”. For its 40% stake, Wynn Resorts contributed $900 million, while the remaining amount was financed by the Ras Al Khaimah government. The UAE has no laws to legalize gaming or gambling equipment. However, the country established the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), in September 2023. The GCGRA granted a “Commercial Gaming Facility Operator” license to Wynn Resorts, in October 2024. Given the country’s Sharia laws, gambling is completely prohibited for local citizens. But, the project was quietly progressing to target foreign travelers and reshape the region’s tourism.[39][40][41]
^Zacharias, Anna (2012-11-24). "'Lion of the Sea' - 500 years ago may be the new face of tourism". The National. Abu Dhabi. Archived from the original on 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2020-03-21. Ahmed bin Majid was a navigator, poet and scholar of such respect that he is known among mariners as "the Lion of the Sea" more than five centuries after his death.
^Lunde, Paul (2005-08-01). "The Navigator: Ahmad Ibn Majid". Aramco World. Vol. 56, no. 4. Houston, Texas. pp. 45–48. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
^ abal-Qāsimī, ibn Muḥammad (1986). The myth of Arab piracy in the Gulf. London: Croom Helm. ISBN0709921063. OCLC12583612.
^Lorimer, John (1915). Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. British Government, Bombay. pp. 653–674.
^Marshall, John (1823). "Samuel Leslie Esq.". Royal Naval Biography. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green. pp. 88–90. Archived from the original on 2023-02-19. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
^Said Zahlan, Rosemarie (2016). The Origins of the United Arab Emirates : a Political and Social History of the Trucial States. Taylor and Francis. p. 51. ISBN9781317244653. OCLC945874284.
^Kourosh Ahmadi, Islands and International Politics in the Persian Gulf: The Abu Musa and Tunbs in Strategic Context (Routledge, 2008) p96
^Gazetteer of the United Arab Emirates. Washington, D.C. : Defense Mapping Agency, 1987.
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