Sharjah

Sharjah, constituent emirate of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman). Some of Sharjah’s interior boundaries are only presumptive, but its main portion is an irregularly shaped tract, oriented northwest-southeast, stretching about 60 miles (100 km) from the Persian Gulf (northwest) to the central inland region of the Musandam Peninsula (southeast). Sharjah also has three coastal enclaves on the eastern, or Gulf of Oman, side of the peninsula, which are, from north to south, Dibba (ownership of which is shared with Fujairah emirate and the Sultanate of Oman), Khor Fakkan, and Kalba. Because of the extreme political fragmentation in the region, Sharjah, including its enclaves, has common boundaries with each of the six other emirates of the union as well as with the Sultanate of Oman. The capital and chief urban settlement is Sharjah city, situated on the Persian Gulf.

Since the early 18th century, Sharjah has been ruled by the Qasimi family (also called Qawasim), then one of the principal naval powers in the Persian Gulf. Maritime disputes between the Qawasim and the British led to a series of treaties in the 19th century (beginning with the General Treaty of Peace concluded in 1820). Concerned in general with preserving the peace at sea, the treaties placed Sharjah’s foreign relations in British hands while local affairs remained untouched. Britain also did not interfere with the Qasimi family’s attempts to take Abu Dhabi (1825–31 and 1833–34).

As Sharjah was an important strategic and commercial center in the gulf at the time, Britain stationed a native agent (later succeeded by a British agent) as its “residency agent” in the Persian Gulf there from 1823. As the port at Sharjah town silted up and Dubai became the chief port of the Trucial Coast, the political agent was moved to Dubai in 1954; a separate agency was set up in Abu Dhabi in 1961, for Abu Dhabi affairs only. The entire system of British protection ended in December 1971, when Britain left the Persian Gulf and the newly independent United Arab Emirates came into being.

Prior to independence, Iran asserted its claim to the Sharjah island of Abū Mūsā, in the open gulf northwest of Sharjah town, and landed troops there. A subsequent agreement between Iran and Sharjah promised that both flags would fly over the island, settled the question of possible future oil discoveries in the area (where Sharjah had granted a concession), and provided for an Iranian subsidy to Sharjah. Nevertheless, this—and a less satisfactory settlement of the Iranian claim to the Greater Ṭunb and Lesser Ṭunb (Ṭunb al-Kubrā and Ṭunb al-Ṣughrā) islands with the neighboring Ras al-Khaimah emirate—led some Arab states to sever diplomatic relations with Iran as well as Britain.

Modernization in Sharjah has been largely confined to the capital, Sharjah city. New buildings were constructed, a deepwater port (including modern container terminals and cold-storage facilities) was built, and light industries were expanded. In addition, Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization opened in 2008. Sharjah city has an international airport and is connected by paved road with Ras al-Khaimah city and Abu Dhabi. The exclave of Khor Fakkan on the Gulf of Oman has an active trade, especially in gold smuggling to India, and it is the seat of the union’s fisheries research station. In 1964–72 a large portion of Sharjah’s revenue came from commemorative stamps, printed almost solely for philatelic purposes. Sharjah has modest oil and natural gas reserves, but the emirate’s role in industry and transport has become increasingly important in its development. Area approximately 1,000 square miles (2,600 square km). Pop. (2015) 1,405,843.