Dubai
Prehistory
The Arabian Gulf coast comes under the influence of the civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Indus River. With East-West trade routes passing along the Gulf, goods from India and China reach the coastal communities and travel on to the interior by camel caravan.
18th century
The lower Gulf falls under Persian rule from 1720 to 1740. Decline of the Persian and Omani dynasties leads to a political vacuum which the British seek to fill.
20th century
The British leave India in 1947, weakening their need for a military presence east of Suez. In the 1960s vast oil revenues begin to flow in. In 1968 the British announce their intention to leave the region and the UAE is formed in December 1971. It comprises Abu Dhabi (capital and largest of the seven, with 85 per cent of the overall territory, and the only real oil state), Dubai, Sharjah (the main port of entry for tourists), Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah (the only emirate without a coastline on the Gulf). Within its total area of 83,600 sq km (32,300 sq miles) there is a population of 2.3 million, of whom 75 per cent are expatriate workers, mainly from the Indian sub-continent, South-East Asia and Europe.
Dangers such as the fundamentalist regime in Iran and the Iran-Iraq war prompt the UAE, together with Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, to form the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981 to strengthen the security of the region and promote economic cooperation. In the 1991 Gulf War the UAE stands firm with the UN coalition against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
