The Al Mualla ( ar, المعلا) family is the ruling royal family of

Umm Al Quwain Umm Al Quwain is the capital and largest city of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates. The city is located on the peninsula of Khor Al Bidiyah, with the nearest major cities being Sharjah to the southwest and Ras Al Khaim ...

, one of the seven emirates that together comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The family was traditionally at the head of the Al Ali tribe. The Al Ali (singular, Aliyi), were some 6,750 strong at the turn of the 19th century and were almost all settled either at Umm Al Quwain (1,000 families) or the inland town of Falaj Al Ali (later to be known as

Falaj Al Mualla Falaj Al Mualla is the inland oasis town of Umm Al Quwain, one of the seven emirates which comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Originally called Falaj Al Ali, after the Al Ali tribe which settled Umm Al Quwain, Falaj Al Mualla is located s ...

). Some 200 settled Al Ali families lived in

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...

and 150 in

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...

, although there was also a small

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

section of some 140 families who roamed a ''dar'' between Jazirat Al Hamra and Falaj Al Ali. There was a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

group of Al Ali, who referred to the Umm Al Quwain section as 'Al Mualla'. The tribe originated in

Nejd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...

Founding Umm Al Quwain

The first known head of the Al Ali when they settled at Umm Al Quwain was Sheikh Rashid bin Majid Al Mualla. Sheikh Rashid was responsible for the construction of

Umm Al Quwain Fort Umm Al Quwain Fort, also known as the Al Ali Fort, is located in the city of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was the seat of the rulers of Umm Al Quwain and the centre of government in the emirate until 1969. It was used as a ...

in the town in 1768, today home to Umm Al Quwain museum. The fort and its watchtower were built after the Al Ali tribe moved from the island of Sinniyah to the mainland after water supplies on the island were exhausted.

Rulers

The successive Al Mualla Rulers of Umm Al Quwain were: * 1768–1820: Sheikh Rashid bin Majid Al Mualla * 1820–1853: Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla * 1853–1873: Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Mualla * 1873–1904: Sheikh Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mualla (b. 18?? – d. 1904) * 13 June 1904 – 1922: Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mualla (b. 1876 – d. 1922) * 1922 – October 1923: Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla II * October 1923 – 9 February 1929: Sheikh Hamad bin Ibrahim Al Mualla * 9 February 1929 – 21 February 1981: Sheikh Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mualla (b. 1904 – d. 1981) * 21 February 1981 – 2 January 2009: Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mualla II (b. 1932 – d. 2009) * 2 January 2009 – present: Sheikh

Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla ( ar, سعود بن راشد المعلا; born 1 October 1952; referred to as Sheikh Saud) is the ruler and head of state of the emirate of Umm Al Quwain since 2009 and a member of the Federal Supreme Council of t ...

(b. 1952)

Deputy rulers

The successive Al Mualla Deputy Rulers of Umm Al Quwain were: * 20 April 2004 – present: Sheikh

Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla III Sheikh Abdulla Bin Rashid Al Mualla (Arabic: الشيخ عبدالله بن راشد المعلا; born 12 December 1971) is the deputy ruler of Umm Al Quwain emirate since April 2004, He is the son of late Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mualla II, R ...

(b. 1971)

References

{{Rulers of Umm Al Quwain Middle Eastern royal families Tribes of the United Arab Emirates Arab dynasties History of the United Arab Emirates