Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the
Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رأس الخيمة; ) is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city of Ras Al Khaimah, abbreviated to RAK or RAK City, is the capital of the emirate and home to most of the emir ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. It is the
sixth-largest city in UAE after
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
,
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 ...
,
Al Ain
Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...
and
Ajman
Ajman ( ar, عجمان, '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ʿymān) is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Located along the Persian Gulf, it is ...
. The city is divided by a creek into two parts: old town in the west and Al Nakheel in the east.
Etymology
The name Ras Al Khaimah means "the headland of the tent".
It is reported that the city gained its named after a tent was erected there to facilitate navigation.
History
![صورة 005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9_005.jpg)
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.
Ras Al Khaimah has been the site of continuous human habitation for 7,000 years, one of the few places in the country and the world where this is the case.
Archaeological evidence has demonstrated that the settlement known as Julfar shifted location over time as harbour channels silted up. Excavations of a sizable tell, which revealed remnants of a
Sassanid era
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
fortification, indicate that early Julfar was located 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
Shimal is the name of a settlement in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is associated with the Shihuh tribe of the Northern UAE and Oman and with the foundation of the Islamic era port of Julfar, and was once the seat of the Ruler of Julfar. ...
).
One of Ras Al Khaimah's most celebrated sons,
Ibn Majid, was a hugely influential seaman, navigator and cartographer, and there is evidence in his writing that the town he came from was at that time known as Ras Al Khaimah,
that town having eclipsed Julfar as the principal port and settlement of the Shimal coast.
In the early 18th century, the
Qawasim
The Al Qasimi ( ar, القواسم, spelled sometimes as Al Qassimi or Al Qassemi; plural: Al Qawasem ar, القواسم and, archaically, Joasmee) is an Arab dynasty in the Persian Gulf that rules Emirate of Sharjah, Sharjah and Emirate of Ras ...
(singular Al Qasimi) established themselves in Ras Al Khaimah and
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 ...
on the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, 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.
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
(Tonb-e Bozorg or Tonb-e Kuchak) ar, طنب الكبرى وطنب الصغرى (Tunb el-Kubra and Tunb el-Sughra)
, location = Persian Gulf
, coordinates = Greater: Lesser:
, archipelago =
, total_islands = 2
, major_is ...
islands, administered by the Al Qasimi.
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.
Following the 1809 campaign, an 1815 arrangement was made between the British and the Al Qasimi.
[ ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the ]public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
.'' 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
General Sir William Keir Grant, KCB, GCH (born William Keir; 25 May 1771''Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950'' – 7 May 1852) was a British Army general during the first half of the 19th century.
He was born in Fife, Scotland,''1 ...
.
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.
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.
![Dhayah_Fort_showing_hilltop_location](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Dhayah_Fort_showing_hilltop_location.jpg)
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.
In January 1820, the British imposed the
General Maritime Treaty of 1820
The General Maritime Treaty of 1820 was a treaty initially signed between the rulers of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Great Britain in January 1820, with the nearby island state of Bahrain acceding to the treaty i ...
signed by
Sheikh Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi
Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi (1781–1866) was the Sheikh of the Qawasim and ruler variously of the towns of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, Jazirah Al Hamra and Rams, all Trucial States in their time and now part of the United Arab Emirates. Br ...
of Sharjah who was reinstated by the British in Ras Al Khaimah after the deposition of
Hassan bin Rahma Al Qasimi
Hassan bin Rahma Al Qasimi was the Sheikh (ruler) of Ras Al Khaimah from 1814–1820. He was accused by the British of presiding over a number of acts of maritime piracy, an assertion he denied. Despite signing a treaty of peace with the British i ...
. The treaty stipulated the end of piracy and slavery, and laid the foundation for the
British protectorate over the
Trucial States
The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had s ...
that lasted until December 1971.
A British protectorate from this point forward, as one of the
Trucial States
The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had s ...
, in 1869, Ras Al Khaimah became fully independent from neighbouring
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 ...
. From September 1900 to 7 July 1921, it was re-incorporated into Sharjah; the last governor became its next independent ruler.
The last of the Trucial States to join the newly independent United Arab Emirates, on 10 February 1972, Ras Al Khaimah, under the leadership of Sheikh
Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi
Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi ( ar, صقر بن محمد القاسمي; c. 1918–1920 – 27 October 2010) was the Ruler of Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah from 1948 to 2010. On 10 February 1972, under his leadership, Ras Al Khaimah become ...
, joined the United Arab Emirates following the Iranian
seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs
The seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by the Imperial Iranian Navy took place on 30 November 1971, shortly after the withdrawal of British forces from the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, all located in ...
.
Population
The population of the city is around 115,949 (2021) and it is the largest city in the
Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رأس الخيمة; ) is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city of Ras Al Khaimah, abbreviated to RAK or RAK City, is the capital of the emirate and home to most of the emir ...
. It is the
6th most populous city in the UAE.
Areas
*
Sidroh
*
Al Rams
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
*
Khuzam
*
Digdaga
*
Al Seih
*
Al Dhait North
*
Al Dhait South
*
Al Mamourah
*
Al Nakheel
*
Al Qurm
*
Al Qusaidat
Al Qusaidat is a suburb of the city of 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-lar ...
Education
Other than Arabic government-funded schools, the city is home to
Ras Al Khaimah Academy and
Wellspring School, and other Indian schools. It also has
Higher Colleges of Technology
The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT; ar, ) was established in 1988 and is the largest applied, higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). During the 2019–2020 academic year, there were 14,246 female and 6,744 male stu ...
campus,
Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University,
American University of Ras Al Khaimah
The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) is a higher education university located in the city of Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab of Emirates. Founded in 2009, AURAK is an independent not for profit public university, accredited to UAE Minist ...
and many other colleges.
Economy
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. The zone services businesses ranging from freelancers to
SMEs
Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) systems store energy in the magnetic field created by the flow of direct current in a Superconductivity, superconducting coil which has been Cryogenics, cryogenically cooled to a temperature below ...
and start-ups across 50 industries. RAKEZ is divided into six dedicated zones:
* Al Ghail Industrial Zone
* Al Hamra Industrial Zone
* RAKEZ Academic Zone
* Al Hulaila Industrial Zone
* Al Nakheel Business Zone
* Al Hamra Business Zone
Ceramics industry
The city is the headquarters of
RAK Ceramics, a global ceramics manufacturer. The company produces 123 million square meters of tiles and 5 million pieces of sanitaryware every year. It employs 12,000 employees and is listed on the
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (A.D.X.; formerly Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM); ar, سوق أبو ظبي للأوراق المالية) is a stock exchange in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Listed companies by sector
List provided by ...
in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
and on the
Dhaka Stock Exchange
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ( bn, ঢাকা স্টক এক্সচেঞ্জ ''Dhaka stôk ekschenj''), located in Nikunja, Dhaka, is one of the two stock exchanges of Bangladesh, the other being the Chittagong Stock Exchange. I ...
in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. Its annual turnover is estimated at $1 billion.
Pharmaceutical industry
Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries is a pharmaceutical manufacturer operating in the
MENA
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
region and headquartered in the city of Ras Al Khaimah. The company, also known under the name of
Julphar
Julphar is an Emirati pharmaceutical manufacturer in the Middle East. Headquartered in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, the company employs more than 5,000 people and distributes its pharmaceutical products internationally. The company has ...
, employs 5,000 people and distributes its products to 50 countries. It divides its activities between three units: Julphar Diabetes Solutions, General Medicines and Julphar Life. The company became a producers of raw ingredients for
insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
in 2012.
Sports
The city is home to
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
teams
Emirates Club
Emirates Club ( ar, نادي الإمارات) is a professional football club based in the city of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. They play in the UAE Pro League after being promoted from the UAE First Division League. They play thei ...
and
Ras Al Khaimah Club, which have both competed in the
UAE Top Division.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cities in the United Arab Emirates
Populated coastal places in the United Arab Emirates
Populated places in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah