History

The History of Dubai can be traced back to the earliest recorded mention of Dubai in 1095 CE, in the Arabic book Mojam Ma Ostojam men Asmae Al belaad wal Mawadhea  by Abdullah Bin Abdu Aziz Al Bakri Al Andalasi. He refers to 'Dubai' as a vast place. Later, in 1587, the Venetian pearl merchant Gaspero Balbi mentions the name of Dubai as one of the places where Venetians worked as pearl divers.

The Al-Fahidi Fort was built in 1787, in what is now part of Dubai. It is preserved as the Dubai Museum.

There are records of the town of Dubai from 1799. Early in the 18th century the Al Abu Falasa lineage of Bani Yas clan established itself in Dubai, which remained a dependent of the settlement of Abu Dhabi until 1833. On 8 January 1820, the sheikh of Dubai was a signatory to the British sponsored "General Treaty of Peace" (the General Maritime Treaty).

In 1833, the Al Maktoum dynasty of the Bani Yas tribe left the settlement of Abu Dhabi and took over the town of Dubai, "without resistance". From that point on, Dubai, a newly independent emirate was constantly at odds with the emirate of Abu Dhabi. An attempt by the Qawasim to take over Dubai was thwarted. In 1835, Dubai and the rest of the Trucial States signed a maritime truce with Britain and a "Perpetual Maritime Truce" about two decades later. Dubai came under the protection of the United Kingdom (keeping out the Ottoman Turks) by the Exclusive Agreement of 1892. Like four of its neighbors, Abu Dhabi, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain, its position on the route to India made it an important location.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia