The Eastern Region (), officially known as Al Ain Region (), is one of three

Municipal Regions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

. It forms the southeastern part of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. Its main settlement is the eponymous city of

Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...

, located on the country's border with

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, about from the city of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, the capital of the Emirate and country. Compared to the Western Region, it is also a rather remote region of the Emirate, but smaller by area, and is not known to hold reserves of gas or

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

, but is agriculturally important.

History and prehistory

The city of Al-Ain, part of a

historical region History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

which also includes the adjacent Omani town of

Al-Buraimi Al Buraimi () is an oasis city and a ''wilayah'' (province) in northern Oman, on the border with the U.A.E. It is the capital of Al Buraimi Governorate and is located approximately from the national capital Muscat. It is bordered by the U.A.E. ...

, is noted for its forts, oases, '' aflāj'' (underground water channels), and archaeological sites such as those of Hili and Rumailah. Sites outside the city include

Jebel Hafeet Jabal Hafeet (, "Mount Hafeet"; variously transcribed Jabel or Jebal and Hafit – literally "empty mountain") is a mountain in the region of Tawam, on the border of the United Arab Emirates and Oman. It is often considered an outlier of the Ha ...

and Al-A'ankah Fort.

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Eastern Region from 1946 until he became ...

had been the Ruler's Representative in this region, before becoming the

Ruler of Abu Dhabi This article lists the rulers of separate states on the territory of the United Arab Emirates, most of which became its emirates. List of rulers of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Al Nahyan of Al Abu Falah dynasty List of rulers of the Emirate of ...

and

President of the United Arab Emirates The president of the United Arab Emirates (), or the Raʾīs (), is the head of state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The president and vice presidents are ''de jure'' elected every five years by the Federal Supreme Council, and the prim ...

. In March 2017, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan renamed the region as Al Ain Region.

Demographics and settlements

As of 2009, the population of the region was estimated at 890,000. Aside from the main city, there are about 20 settlements which are governed by the region's municipal body, that is Al Ain Municipality. Most of them are estimated to have populations of no more than 10,000. They include: * Al-Faqa' (partly in the

Emirate of Dubai The Emirate of Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is the most populous emirate of the UAE. The capital of the emirate is the eponymous city, Dubai. Governance Dubai is governed as an absolute monarchy by the A ...

, on the

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

from Al-Ain to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

) * Al-Hayer * Al-Qu'a * Al-Shwaib (on the road to

Al Madam Al Madam () is an inland town of the Emirate of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. Located at the intersection of the Dubai-Hatta ( E44) and Mleiha- Shwaib (E55) roads, its development has mainly centred around these road links and the road t ...

in the

Emirate of Sharjah The Emirate of Sharjah (; ') is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates, which covers and has a population of over 1,400,000 (2015). It comprises the capital city of Sharjah, after which it is named, and other minor towns and exclave ...

) * Al-Wagan * Al-Yahar * Mezyad * Nahel * Remah * Sa'ah *

Sweihan Sweihan, also spelled Swaihan or Suwayḩān (), is a town in Al Ain Region, northwest of the city of Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in ...

References

External links

Al Ain Region to host Arab's first adventure tourism conference
{{Abu Dhabi Municipal regions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Tawam, Eastern Arabia

History and prehistory

Demographics and settlements

See also

References

External links