Dhayah Fort ( ar, قلعة ضاية) is an 18th-century fortification 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 ...

, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the highest hilltop fort in the UAE and was the site of a battle during the

Persian Gulf campaign of 1819 The Persian Gulf campaign of 1819 was a British punitive expedition, principally against the Arab maritime force of the Al Qasimi in the Persian Gulf, which embarked from Bombay, India in November 1819 to attack Ras Al Khaimah. The campaign ...

, when

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

troops captured the fort after a brief siege. The fall of Dhayah was to pave the way for the signing of 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 ...

, the first of a number of treaties between the British government and the Sheikhs, or rulers, of what would become known as the

Trucial Coast 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 ...

History

The fort was the last outpost of

Al Qasimi 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 Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, today forming two of ...

to be captured by British forces in 1819, when a punitive expedition was dispatched from

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

to quell the seafaring tribe, on supposed charged of piracy against British-flagged merchantmen. Ras Al Khaimah fell to the British force on 9 December 1819.''United service magazine'' Part 1, pp. 711–15. Following this, three ships were sent to blockade the nearby village of

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety) The two 24-pound cannon from HMS ''Liverpool'' which had been used to bombard Ras Al Khaimah town from the landward side were once again pressed into use and dragged across the plain from the coast at 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. Many of the people in the fort were herders and farmers from the date groves of Dhayah who had fled there on the arrival of the British and of the 798 people who surrendered, only 177 were identified as fighting men. The British flag was briefly flown from the fort before it was demolished. British losses from the action at Dhayah included 1 officer and 3 men killed and 16 wounded. The British expeditionary force then blew up the town of Ras Al Khaimah and established a garrison there of 800 sepoys and artillery, before visiting Jazirat Al Hamra, which was found to be deserted. They went on to destroy the fortifications and larger vessels of

Umm Al Qawain 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 Khaima ...

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, i ...

, Fasht,

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 ...

Abu Hail Abu Hail ( ar, أبو هيل) is a neighbourhood in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), located in Deira. The locality is largely residential and is bordered by the localities of Al Waheda on the east, Hor Al Anz in the south and Al Baraha on the ...

, and

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 ...

. Ten vessels that had taken shelter in Bahrain were also destroyed. The Royal Navy suffered no casualties during the action. The Sheikh of Rams and Al Dhaya (named on the treaty as the 'Sheikh of Zyah'), Hassan bin Ali, was a co-signatory of the General Maritime Treaty of 1820, which established peace followed the cessation of hostilities. General Treaty for the Cessation of Plunder and Piracy by Land and Sea That treaty between the British and the Sheikhs of what was formerly known as the Pirate Coast and what would become known as the

led to the establishment of what is known today as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ground area of the fort of Dhayah

Further fortifications

A larger fortification constructed from mud bricks sits at the foot of the hill. This 'Sur' was used as a retreat for local people. A third element of fortification at Dhayah are watchtowers in the palm groves. Between the three fortifications, the area was rendered secure against interference from other Arab states, although the aged fortifications proved no match for the heavy artillery of the Royal Navy. The fort is unusual in that it is the highest hilltop fort (as opposed to tower or lookout post) in the UAE. It commands 360 degree views of the surrounding lush wadiscape and plains. Remains in the area to the base of the hill at Dhayah show the area was inhabited as far back as the Wadi Suq period. Dhayah fort as it stands today was rebuilt after 1819 and restored in the 1990s. A relatively small fortification, it lacks a natural source of water. By the time of J. G. Lorimer's survey of 1906, the area of Dhayah was uninhabited.

References

{{Reflist Forts in the United Arab Emirates History of the United Arab Emirates

History

Further fortifications

See also

References