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Now part of the
The name Trucial States arose from treaties made with Great Britain in 1820 which ensured a condition of truce in the area and the suppression of piracy and slavery. The treaty expired on 31 December 1966. The decision to form the UAE was made on 18 July 1971 and the federation was founded on 1 August 1972, although the inaugural UAE postage stamps were not issued until 1 January 1973.
The first Abu Dhabi stamps were a definitive series of 30 March 1964 depicting Sheikh Shakhbout bin Zayed Al Nahyan. There were eleven values under the Indian 
Despite the introduction of these definitives, the British agency stamps remained valid in both Abu Dhabi and Das Island until the end of 1966 when they were withdrawn.
A post office was opened on Das Island on 6 January 1966 and this ended the Bahrain service. Mail from Das Island was now handled within Abu Dhabi.
When the treaty with Great Britain expired at the end of 1966, Abu Dhabi introduced a new currency of 1000 fils = 1 dinar and took over its own postal administration, including the Das Island office. The earlier issues were subject to surcharges in this currency and replacement definitives were released depicting the new ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Issues continued until the introduction of UAE stamps in 1973.
In all, Abu Dhabi issued 95 stamps from 1964 to 1972, the final set being three views of the Dome of the Rock in
Encyclopaedia of Postal History
* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986.
Abu Dhabi Stamps website
{{PostalhistoryAsia Culture in Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi History of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
Now part of 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 t ...
, Abu Dhabi was formerly the largest of the seven sheikdoms which made up 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 ...
on the Pirate Coast of eastern Arabia
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 Plat ...
between Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
and Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
. The Trucial States as a whole had an area of some 32,000 square miles (83,000 km²) of which Abu Dhabi alone had 26,000 (67,000 km²). The capital was the town of Abu Dhabi which is on an offshore island and was first settled in 1761.
Background
The name Trucial States arose from treaties made with Great Britain in 1820 which ensured a condition of truce in the area and the suppression of piracy and slavery. The treaty expired on 31 December 1966. The decision to form the UAE was made on 18 July 1971 and the federation was founded on 1 August 1972, although the inaugural UAE postage stamps were not issued until 1 January 1973.
Postal services
In December 1960, postage stamps of British postal agencies in Eastern Arabia were supplied to the construction workers on Das Island but the postal service was administered via the agency office inBahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
. The mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...
was also postmark
A postmark is a postal marking made on an envelope, parcel, postcard or the like, indicating the place, date and time that the item was delivered into the care of a postal service, or sometimes indicating where and when received or in transit ...
ed Bahrain so there was no clear indication that a letter
Letter, letters, or literature may refer to:
Characters typeface
* Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet.
* Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
had come from Das Island.
On 30 March 1963, a British agency was opened in Abu Dhabi and issued the agency stamps after the sheikh objected to the use of the Trucial States definitives. Mail from Das Island continued to be administered by Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
but was now cancelled by an Abu Dhabi Trucial States postmark.
The first Abu Dhabi stamps were a definitive series of 30 March 1964 depicting Sheikh Shakhbout bin Zayed Al Nahyan. There were eleven values under the Indian currency
A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins.
A more general ...
that was used of 100 naye paise = 1 rupee. The range of values was 5 np to 10 rupees.
Despite the introduction of these definitives, the British agency stamps remained valid in both Abu Dhabi and Das Island until the end of 1966 when they were withdrawn.
A post office was opened on Das Island on 6 January 1966 and this ended the Bahrain service. Mail from Das Island was now handled within Abu Dhabi.
When the treaty with Great Britain expired at the end of 1966, Abu Dhabi introduced a new currency of 1000 fils = 1 dinar and took over its own postal administration, including the Das Island office. The earlier issues were subject to surcharges in this currency and replacement definitives were released depicting the new ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Issues continued until the introduction of UAE stamps in 1973.
In all, Abu Dhabi issued 95 stamps from 1964 to 1972, the final set being three views of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
See also
* Postage stamps and postal history of Sharjah * Postage stamps and postal history of the United Arab Emirates * Revenue stamps of the United Arab EmiratesReferences
Sources
* Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various cataloguesEncyclopaedia of Postal History
* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986.
Further reading
* *External links
Abu Dhabi Stamps website
{{PostalhistoryAsia Culture in Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi History of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi