ABU DHABI

Arabic Abu Zaby constituent emirate of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman). Though its international boundaries are disputed, it is unquestionably the largest of the country's seven constituent emirates with more than three-fourths of the area of the entire federation. Its rich oil fields, both onshore and in the Persian Gulf, make it, with neighbouring Dubayy, one of the nation's two most prosperous emirates. Abu Dhabi fronts the Persian Gulf on the north for about 280 miles (450 km). The desolate coast has many areas of sabkhah ("salt marsh") and numerous offshore islands. Abu Dhabi borders Qatar (west), Saudi Arabia (south), and Oman, formerly Muscat and Oman (east). Internally it half surrounds Dubayy and has a short frontier with ash-Shariqah. Since the 18th century the Al bu Falah clan of the Bani Yas has been in power; their earliest seat was in the Liwa (al-Jiwa') oasis district. In 1761 they found wells of potable water at the site of Abu Dhabi town on the coast and made their headquarters there from 1795. Because Abu Dhabi's traditional rivals were the Qawasim pirates of Ra's al-Khaymah and ash-Shariqah sheikhdoms and because the pirates were hostile to the sultanate of Muscat and Oman, Abu Dhabi's rulers at first allied themselves with the sultanate. In the 19th century, however, territorial conflicts developed between Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Oman, and the expanding power of the Wahhabi of Najd, ancestors of the present ruling dynasty of Saudi Arabia. These conflicts led to border disputes, most still unsettled. Though not considered a pirate state, Abu Dhabi signed the British-sponsored General Treaty of Peace (1820), the maritime truce (1835), and the Perpetual Maritime Truce (1853). By the terms of the Exclusive Agreement of 1892, its foreign affairs were placed under British control. During the long rule of Sheikh Zayd ibn Khalifah (1855-1908), Abu Dhabi was the premier power of the Trucial Coast, but in the early 20th century it was outpaced by ash-Shariqah and Dubayy. When Britain proposed withdrawal from the Persian Gulf (1968), Abu Dhabi, together with the other Trucial States, Bahrain, and Qatar, negotiated to form a nine-member federation. The latter two states, however, became separately independent (1971); Britain abrogated its earlier treaties with the Trucial States, and the new United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is a leading member, came into being. Abu Dhabi town was made the provisional capital of the United Arab Emirates for five years; its status was extended several times until it was made the permanent national capital in the early 1990s. Abu Dhabi's economic base rests almost entirely on crude-oil production. Petroleum was discovered in 1958 at the submarine field of Umm ash-Shayf, about 75 miles (125 km) offshore at a depth of almost 9,000 feet (2,750 m). This oil is pumped through a submarine pipeline to previously desolate Das Island, about 20 miles (32 km) west, where the emirate's main offshore tanker terminal was built, with airstrip, gas-liquefaction plant, and ancillary facilities; exports began in 1962. Principal onshore production is from the Murban and Bu Hasa fields, the centres of which are in the central part of the state, 25 to 40 miles (40 to 65 km) from the coast. Pipelines connect these with a coastal terminal to the northwest at Mount az-Zannah (Danna). Other offshore fields are at the az-Zakum shoal, northwest of Abu Dhabi town and connected by submarine pipeline to Das Island, and at Umm ad-Dalkh, north of Abu Dhabi town. The state's total oil reserves are estimated to be about one-tenth of the world's total reserves. Abu Dhabi's revenues from oil royalties give it one of the world's highest per capita incomes. In addition to internal modernization, Abu Dhabi has lent some of its wealth to its less-prosperous sister states in the United Arab Emirates, to other countries in the Arab world, and to developing countries elsewhere. An Arid Lands Research Centre located at al-'Ayn in the interior seeks improved methods of vegetable growing. Area 28,210 square miles (73,060 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 798,000. Arabic Abu Zaby, town, capital of Abu Dhabi emirate, one of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman), and the national capital of that federation. The town occupies most of a small triangular island of the same name, just off the Persian Gulf coast and connected to the mainland by a short bridge. Abu Dhabi was formerly an undeveloped town of only local importance, but the emirate's oil revenues have enabled it to develop into a modern city with a fully developed infrastructure. No settlement existed at Abu Dhabi town before 1761, when tribesmen of the Al bu Falah clan of the Bani Yas, rulers of Abu Dhabi then as now, settled there. They moved their headquarters to this coastal islet from the inland Liwa (al-Jiwa') oases in 1795. Through most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the town, though capital of one of the chief sheikhdoms of the Trucial Coast, yielded pride of place in trade and economic importance to Dubayy town and ash-Shariqah town, capitals of neighbouring Trucial sheikhdoms. At the beginning of the 20th century, Abu Dhabi town's population was estimated at 6,000; pearl diving from the rich offshore banks and some local trade (chiefly in the hands of Iranians and Hindus) sustained the economy. Pearling declined with the development of the Japanese cultured-pearl industry and the worldwide economic depression beginning in 1929. The discovery (1958) and commercial production (since 1962) of the rich oil fields of Abu Dhabi emirate revolutionized the political and economic position of Abu Dhabi town. Great Britain, as the protecting power of the then Trucial States, established a separate Political Agency at the town in 1961, removing the sheikhdom from dependence on the political agent at Dubayy town. As capital of the chief oil-producing state in the region, Abu Dhabi town had large sums available for urban development. The town modernized slowly, however, because of the extremely conservative policies of Sheikh Shakhbut ibn Sultan (reigned 1928-66). In the latter year, he was deposed in favour of his younger brother Zayd ibn Sultan, former governor of the Abu Dhabi-controlled portion of al-Buraymi oasis. Sheikh Zayd began developing a road network radiating from Abu Dhabi town and had a seawall built along the northern end of the island containing the town. Under an ambitious five-year development plan, inaugurated in 1968, the town was thoroughly modernized. Electricity, running water, and a central sewage system were installed; modern government buildings, hotels, housing projects, and a new port extension were built. An oil refinery on nearby Umm an-Nar Island began production in 1976. Abu Dhabi's international airport is at the south end of the island. Light industry is concentrated at nearby Musafah. Motor roads link Abu Dhabi town with Dubayy town (northeast), al-'Ayn (al-Ain) oasis (east), and Qatar (west). When Britain finally left the Persian Gulf and when the United Arab Emirates achieved political independence (December 1971), a compromise decision made Abu Dhabi town the provisional national capital. It was made the permanent capital of the United Arab Emirates in the early 1990s. Pop. (1989 est.) 363,432.