The Al Qasimi (, spelled sometimes as Al Qassimi or Al Qassemi; plural: Al Qawasem and, archaically, Joasmee) is an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

dynasty in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

that rules

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

and

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (; ), often referred to its initials RAK, is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. The city had a population of 191,753 in 2025, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu ...

, today forming two of the seven emirates 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 ...

. They are one of the longest reigning royal families in the

Arabian peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. Historically, they also ruled over the town of Lengeh as sheikhs for a century until its annexation by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in 1887. Historically, the "Qawasim" were a confederation of

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

in south eastern Gulf region surrounding the cities of Ras al-Khaimah and Sharjah; and faced strong rivalry with the

Omani empire The Omani Empire () was a maritime empire, vying with Portugal and Britain for trade and influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. After rising as a regional power in the 18th century, the empire at its peak in the 19th century saw its i ...

for naval domination along the Persian Gulf. Due to their allegiance to the

Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

Emirate of Dir'iyah, the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

branded them as "pirates" and fought two major military campaigns against them in 1809 and 1819.

Origin

The dynasty is descended from the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, through the

Hussaini Husseini (also spelled Hussaini people's, Husaini, Hecini, Hosseini , Houssaini or Husayni, ) is an Arabic surname. Etymology It is a nisba derivation of the given name Hussein or Husain from the name of Imam Husain ibn Ali. People with the surn ...

line of Idris bin Ja’far al-Zaki bin Imam

Ali al-Hadi Ali al-Hadi (; – ) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the tenth Imamate in Shia doctrine, Imam in Twelver Shi'ism, Twelver Shia, succeeding his father, Muhammad al-Jawad (). Born in Medina in 828, Ali is known with the ti ...

. During the 18th century,

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

witnessed a revolutionary socio-political and religious transformation under the reformers of the ''

Muwahhidun The People of Monotheism may translate several Arabic terms: * (), a name the Druze use for themselves. Literally, "The People of the Unity" or "The Unitarians", from '' '', unity (of God). * () is an Arabic term meaning "the monotheists". It has ...

'' (Unitarian) movement led by

Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān al-Tamīmī (1703–1792) was a Sunni Muslim Aalim, scholar, Islamic theology, theologian, Dawah, preacher, Islamic activism, activist, religious leader, Faqīh, jurist, and reformer, who was from N ...

, often referred as "Wahhabis". Embracing his ideals, Qasimis robustly championed the doctrines of the ''Muwahhidun'' in the Gulf region and became a close ally of the

Emirate of Diriyah The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious ...

. By the early 19th century,

had begun appointing Qasimi governors to implement Wahhabi religious doctrines and defend their interests. Thus, while Dir'iyah directly sought to consolidate their Arabian territories and its economic sovereignty, Qawasim acted as Wahhabi

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s for safeguarding the maritime interests of Dir'iyah in the Persian Gulf. With the help of Wahhabis; the Qawasim emerged as a maritime power based both in Ras Al Khaimah on the Southern shore of the

and

Qishm Qeshm (Persian language: قشم) is an arrow-shaped List of islands of Iran, Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz of the Persian Gulf (), measuring roughly 1,500 square kilometres (576 square miles) in surface area. Separated from the Iranian ...

Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas (, ) is a city in the Central District of Bandar Abbas County, Hormozgan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Bandar Abbas is a port on the southern coast of the country, on the Persian ...

and Lingeh on the Persian shore in the 19th century.

Maritime power

With military and financial aid from the Emirate of Dir'iyah, Qasimis began spreading Wahhabi doctrines across the Gulf region. They had a powerful naval force and sought to end the rising European colonial infiltration on their trade and commercial routes. The British-allied

Omani Empire The Omani Empire () was a maritime empire, vying with Portugal and Britain for trade and influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. After rising as a regional power in the 18th century, the empire at its peak in the 19th century saw its i ...

, also a rival of the Emirate of Dir'iyah, had been the traditional enemy of the Qawasim over issues related to border disputes, religious differences and naval dominance in the Gulf. Al Qasimi's control of trade in the Persian Gulf area led to wars with Oman and eventually with Oman's ally, Britain, and to the Al Qasimi being labelled by the British as pirates. This led to the identification of the southern shore of the Persian Gulf as the 'Pirate Coast', although following the

General Maritime Treaty of 1820 The General Maritime Treaty of 1820 was 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 in the fol ...

and the 1853 Perpetual Maritime Peace, the various coastal emirates in the area became known as the

Trucial States The Trucial States, also known as the Trucial Coast, the Trucial Sheikhdoms, or Trucial Oman, was a group of tribal confederations to the south of the Persian Gulf (southeastern Arabia) whose leaders had signed protective treaties, or truce ...

Beginning from 1804, there emerged a spike in Wahhabi-Qasimi naval attacks on

British fleet The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from th ...

and trading ships. Following decades of incidents where British shipping had fallen foul of the aggressive Al Qasimi, a first British expeditionary force embarked for Ras Al Khaimah in 1809, the

Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 The Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 was an operation by the British East India Company and Royal Navy to force the Al Qasimi to cease their attacks on British ships in the Persian Gulf, particularly on the Persian and Arab coasts of the Strait ...

. This campaign led to the signing of a peace treaty between the British and Hussan Bin Rahmah, the Al Qasimi leader. ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

.'' This treaty broke down in 1815 and, in 1819, the British mounted a second, altogether more successful, punitive campaign against the Al Qasimi in

under William Keir Grant. The case against the Al Qasimi has been contested by the historian, author and current Ruler of Sharjah, Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi in his book ''The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf'', in which he argues that the charges amount to a 'casus belli' by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, which sought to limit or eliminate the 'informal' Arab trade with India, and presents a number of internal communications between the Bombay Government and its officials, which shed doubt on many of the key charges made by British historian J.G. Lorimer in his seminal history of the affair. At the time, the Chief Secretary of the Government of Bombay, F. Warden, presented a minute which laid blame for the piracy on the

influence on the Al Qasimi and the interference of the

in native affairs. Warden also successfully argued against a proposal to install the Sultan of Muscat as Ruler of the whole peninsula. Warden's arguments and proposals likely influenced the shape of the eventual treaty concluded with the Sheikhs of the Gulf coast. That 1820 treaty asserted, 'There shall be a cessation of plunder and piracy by land and sea on the part of the Arabs, who are parties to this contract, for ever.' It then goes on to define piracy as being any attack that is not an action of 'acknowledged war'. The 'pacificated Arabs' agreed, on land and sea, to carry a flag being a red rectangle contained within a white border of equal width to the contained rectangle, 'with or without letters on it, at their option'. This flag was to be a symbol of peace with the British government and each other. The treaty having been signed by Keir Grant and all of the Trucial Rulers, the Government in Bombay made clear that while it was happy with Grant's management of the military expedition, it was most dissatisfied with his leniency over the coastal tribes and desired, 'if it were not too late, to introduce some conditions of greater stringency'. Grant's response was spirited, pointing out that to have enforced extreme measures would have meant pursuing the chiefs into the interior rather than accepting their voluntary submission. This would have contravened Grant's instructions. In the end, Bombay allowed the treaty to stand. Alongside their stronghold in the Persian Gulf & Gulf of Oman the Qawasem were active both militarily and economically in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

and as far west as the

Mocha Mocha may refer to: Places * Mokha, a city in Yemen * Mocha Island, an island in Biobío Region, Chile * Mocha, Chile, a town in Chile * Mocha, Ecuador, a city in Ecuador * Mocha Canton, a government subdivision in Ecuador * Mocha, a segmen ...

on the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

. They had numerous commercial ties with the

Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...

, leading vessels from Ras Al Khaimah and the

to regularly attend trade fairs in the large ports of

Berbera Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of t ...

and

Zeila Zeila (, ), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. In the Middle Ages, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela identified Zeila with the Biblical location of Havilah. Most modern schola ...

. In the 1830s the Isaaq Sultan Farah Guled and Haji Ali penned a letter to

Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi (1781–1866) was the Sheikh of the Qawasim and ruled the towns of Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Jazirah Al Hamra and Rams; all within the then Trucial States and now part of the United Arab Emirates. Briefly a ...

requesting military assistance and joint religious war against the British.

The Al Qasimi rulers

# Sheikh Rahma bin Matar Al Qasimi (1722–1747) # Sheikh

Rashid bin Matar Al Qasimi Sheikh Rashid bin Matar Al Qasimi was Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah from 1747–1777, as head of the Al Qasimi maritime federation. Rashid bin Matar ruled at a time when maritime violence was prevalent throughout the Persian Gulf, followin ...

(1747–1777) # Sheikh Saqr bin Rashid Al Qasimi (1777–1803) # Sheikh

(1803–1808) # Sheikh

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 Britis ...

(1814–1820) # Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi (1820–1866) # Sheikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi (1866–1867)

List of Ras Al Khaimah rulers

# Sheikh Ibrahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi (1866 – May 1867) # Sheikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi (May 1867 – 14 April 1868) # Sheikh

Salim bin Sultan Al Qasimi Sheikh Salim bin Sultan Al Qasimi was Ruler of Sharjah, a Trucial State and now one of the United Arab Emirates, from 1868–1883. His rule was unusually tumultuous and marked by intrigue, the secession of Sharjah's dependencies and constant c ...

(14 April 1868 – 1869) # Sheikh

Humaid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi Sheikh Humaid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi was Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah from 1869 to 1900. He survived an attempt to unseat him by the Ruler of Sharjah, with whom he later allied. He re-united Ras Al Khaimah with its secessionist dependencies. Access ...

(1869 – August 1900) # Sheikh

Khalid bin Ahmad Al Qasimi Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

(1914–1921) # Sheikh

Sultan bin Salim Al Qasimi His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Salim Al Qasimi was Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah from 1921–1948. His long and turbulent rule was characterised by internecine family and tribal disputes and he was finally removed as Ruler in a 1948 coup. Accession ...

(19 July 1921 – February 1948) # Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qassimi (February 1948 – 27 October 2010) # Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi (27 October 2010 – present)

List of Sharjah rulers

# Sheikh

(1803–1866) # Sheikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi (1866 – 14 April 1868) # Sheikh

(14 April 1868 – March 1883) # Sheikh Ibrahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi (1869 – 1871) # Sheikh

Saqr bin Khalid Al Qasimi Sheikh Saqr bin Khalid Al Qasimi (1883–1914) was the Ruler of Sharjah, a Trucial State and now one of the United Arab Emirates, from 1883–1914. He took control over Sharjah in a coup during the absence of his uncle, Salim bin Sultan Al Qasi ...

(March 1883 – 1914) # Sheikh

Khalid bin Ahmad Al Qasimi Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

(13 April 1914 – 21 November 1924) # Sheikh

Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II Sheikh Sultan II bin Saqr Al Qasimi was the Ruler of Sharjah, a Trucial State and now one of the United Arab Emirates, from 1924 to 1951. His father having ceded the rule of Sharjah to Khalid bin Ahmad Al Qasimi, Sultan found himself dispossess ...

(21 November 1924 – 1951) # Sheikh

Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi Saqr III bin Sultan Al Qasimi (1924 – 9 November 1993) was the ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, a Trucial State and now one of the United Arab Emirates, from May 1951 to 24 June 1965. Saqr was the eldest son of Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II, ...

(May 1951 – 24 June 1965) - first time ruling # Sheikh

Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi (1931 – 25 January 1972) was an Emirati royal, politician, and a founder of the United Arab Emirates who served as the ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, from 1965 until his assassination in 1972. Biography S ...

(24 June 1965 – 24 January 1972) # Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi (25 January 1972 – 1972) - second time ruling # Sheikh

Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi (; born 2 July 1939) is an Emirati royal, politician, author, historian, and the current and 11th ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah and a member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates sin ...

(1972 – 17 June 1987) - first time ruling # Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al Qasimi (17–23 June 1987) removed previous sheikh during coup in Sharjah # Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi (23 June 1987 – present) - second time ruling after being restored

Family tree

Current Al Qasimi rulers

Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi (; born 2 July 1939) is an Emirati royal, politician, author, historian, and the current and 11th ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah and a member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates s ...

, ruler of the emirate of

, UAE * Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, ruler of the emirate of

, UAE

Historical flags

File:Qawasim Flag.svg, Flag of the Al Qawasim prior to 1820. Flown after 1820 during war time only. The motto reads "''A victory from Allah and an imminent conquest''". File:Flag of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.svg, Flag of the Al Qawasim proceeding the General Maritime Treaty of 1820.

External links

Al Qasimi Family TreePhoto of current Al Qasimi rulers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qasimi Emirati Sunni Muslims Arab dynasties Wahhabi dynasties Tribes of Arabia Tribes of the United Arab Emirates Husaynids