RA'S AL-KHAYMAH

also spelled Ras Al-khaimah, constituent emirate of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman). It consists of two irregularly shaped tracts on the Oman Promontory, oriented north-south. The northern section shares the Ru'us al-Jibal peninsula with the sultanate of Oman and has a coastline of approximately 35 miles (56 km) on the Persian Gulf. A southern inland tract is separated from the northern by a projection of Al-Fujayrah emirate. Political fragmentation in the region is so extreme that Ra's al-Khaymah's two parts have borders with 10 political units; eight belong to five of the six other emirates in the federation, and the other two are with Oman and its exclave on the Ru'us al-Jibal. Ra's al-Khaymah's estimated total area is 660 square miles (1,700 square km); the capital and only settlement of urban pretensions is Ra's al-Khaymah town. Ra's al-Khaymah was not one of the original Trucial States but was part of Ash-Shariqah emirate for most of its history. Its rulers were the Qawasim pirate sheikhs, and Ra's al-Khaymah town was long their most important base. In the late 16th century, Portugal had a fort, called Julfa, or Julfar, on or near the site; the Persians expelled the Portuguese in 1622. The Dutch had begun their commercial penetration of the region, but they withdrew in the mid-18th century. By the 19th century, Britain had become the chief Western power in the Persian Gulf. Pirates based in Ra's al-Khaymah town became increasingly daring and captured British ships; they sometimes put the crews to death and often held them for ransom. Sultan ibn Saqr (reigned 180366) was the chief pirate leader. In 1819 Ra's al-Khaymah town was besieged and captured, after several ineffectual punitive expeditions, by a British force; in 1820 the British made Sultan, as sheikh of Ash-Shariqah, sign the General Treaty of Peace. Together with the other Gulf rulers, he also signed the later Trucial agreements. In 1869 Ra's al-Khaymah became a separate state under Hamayd ibn 'Abd Allah, a grandson of Sultan, but upon his death (1900) it reverted to Ash-Shariqah and was not finally recognized by Britain as a separate Trucial state until 1919. When Britain finally left the Persian Gulf in late 1971, a dispute arose over the small islands of Greater and Lesser Tunb, in the Gulf about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Ra's al-Khaymah town; these islands had long been claimed by both Ra's al-Khaymah and Iran. On Nov. 30, 1971, Iranian troops landed on Greater Tunb and met armed resistance from Ra's al-Khaymah police. Iran, however, remained in possession of the islands. Ra's al-Khaymah emirate is unique in the region in that agriculture is extensively practiced, employing about one-half of the labour force. Truck crops (cabbages, onions, tomatoes), dates, tobacco, and fruits, especially bananas and citrus fruits, are grown along the coast around Ra's al-Khaymah town for local consumption and for export to other states of the federation, mainly Dubayy. Elsewhere along the coast, employment opportunities declined with the decline of the pearling industry, and much depopulation has occurred. The Shihuh people of the Ru'us al-Jibal sell surpluses of dates and raise goats. Petroleum exploration both onshore and offshore has produced no results. The emirate has received aid from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as well as from its sister states Abu Dhabi and Dubayy. From 1964 to 1972 much of Ra's al-Khaymah's revenue came from commemorative stamps, printed for sale to philatelists. Ra's al-Khaymah town's name means the tent point, after a large tent erected as an aid to navigation by an early chief. The town, a port from ancient times, has developed only recently in the 20th century; it now has a hotel with a casino. Industries include cement factories, a lime factory, and an explosives plant. Ra's al-Khaymah town is connected by a paved road to Dubayy town and Ash-Shariqah town and has an international airport. Pop. (1985) 116,470.