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- Emirate of the UAE
- absolutist monarchy
- own name: Imārat Raʾs al-Khaima
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• Meaning/Origin of the Flag
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• History
• Origin of the Country's Name
National and state flag,
ratio = 1:2,
Source, by: Flags of the World, Wikipedia (EN)
to 1820, Al-Qawasim, in:,
Ras Al Khaimah,
Source: Limghadar, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
1820, "The White Pierced Red",
Flag of the maritime peace treaty,
ratio = 1:1,
Source, by: Flags of the World
1820–1936,
Flag of the maritime peace treaty,
ratio = 1:2 & 1:3...,
Source, by: Flags of the World
The flag history of the country begins with the piracy of Arab tribes, who were able to develop into very successful pirates in the region due to the confrontation between the major naval powers in the Napoleonic Wars and the recovery in world trade after Napoleon's defeat. The most important representatives of piracy were the tribal organisations of the Hinawi (Sheikdom of Abu Dhabi, later also Dubai and Fujairah) and of the Ghafiri (in the sheikhdoms of Umm Al Quwain and Ajman) and the powerful Al-Qawasim dynasty, which ruled in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and later in Sharjah too. The Hinawi and Ghafiri used single-coloured red flags without defined side lengths. The Al-Qawasim, as a powerful naval power, already had a more modern flag. It was horizontally striped green-white-red with an Arabic inscription in the centre "Nassr min Allah wa fatah karib" → "By Allah to victory and total subjugation". United Kingdom, as the major naval power, decided to take military action against piracy and defeated the Arab tribes of the region, who were forced to sign a maritime peace treaty in 1820 to end piracy. The Arabs were bound to peace, but their ships were given freedom of movement in trade and were allowed to call at British harbours unhindered. To do so, however, they had to use the treaty flag of the maritime peace treaty on land and at sea, the "White Pierced Red" used in the British navy, apparently a previous square signalling flag. It was square white with a red square in the centre, one-ninth the size of the total area of the flag. However, in times of war, all signatories were allowed to revert to their previous flags. The treaty flag, the "White Pierced Red", was not very popular with the pacified Arabs, and when it was used, its shape was changed to an elongated form common in the region. However, the Al-Qawasim adopted the design as the flag of their emirates and it is still used there today. Initially only in Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah only came into being in 1869 through the division of inheritance after the death of Sultan ibn Saqr. Ras Al Khaimah adopted the flag of the maritime peace treaty unchanged as its national and state flag in 1936.
Source:
Wikipedia (EN),
Flags of the World,
World Statesmen,
Volker Preuß
Coat of arms of Ras Al Khaimah,
Source: Original: Government of Ras al-Khaimah Vector: Siirski,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Source: by UAE_en-map.png: Chumwa [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons
Area: 650 square miles
Inhabitants: 345.000 (2015)
Density of Population: 531 inh./sq.mi.
Capital: Ras Al Khaimah, 263.000 inh. (2015)
official Language: Arabic
other Languages: English, Hindi, Urdu, Farsi
Currency: 1 VAE-Dirham (Dh., AED) = 100 Fils
Time Zone: GMT + 4 h
Source: Wikipedia (DE)
4th millennium B.C. · first settlement
ca. 1st millennium B.C. · settlement by Arabs
4th to 7th century A.D. · the area of the today's emirates belongs to the Persian Sassanid Empire
630 · introduction of Islam
632 · apostasy
634 · the area of the today's emirates is conquered by the Arab Caliphate, re-Islamization
middle ages · the area of the today's emirates belongs to Oman
16th century · military and commercial operations of the Portuguese
ca. 1650 · under the control of the Ottoman Empire
ca. 1750 · conquest by Bedouins, Beginning of piracy, the area is called "Pirate Coast", establishing the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah by the Qawasim Clan of the Huwayla Tribe
1806–1819 · actions of the British navy against the pirates
1819–1821 · Ras Al Khaimah is occupied by British troops
1820 · Peace Treaty for the end of piracy
1834 · renewal of the peace treaty
1853 · renewal of the peace treaty, "Perpetual Maritime Truce", Ras Al Khaimah becomes part of the "Trucial Oman", also called "Trucial States"
1869 · death of Sultan ibn Saqr of Ras al-Khaimah, division by heritage, establishing of the Emirate of Sharjah (incl. Khor Fakkan)
1892 · United Kingdom establishes its protectorate over the emirates
1900–1921 · Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah are temporarily reunited
2nd of December 1971 · United Kingdom grants independence to the emirates, establishing of the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai and Umm Al Quwain)
10th of February · accession of Ras Al Khaimah
Source:
Wikipedia (EN),
World Statesmen,
Volker Preuß
The emirate is named after its capital: "Ras Al Khaimah". This translates as "tip of the tent". Another interpretation of the name sees it as the "tip of the headland", which could refer to the northernmost position of Ras Al Khaimah compared to the other emirates on the Musandam peninsula (Ruus Al Jibal). The Arabic pronunciation is represented very differently in Latin script, so that there are different spellings, as: Ras Al Khaimah, Ras al-Khaimah, Ra's al-Khaymah, Ra's al-Chaima, Ra's al-Chaimah, Ras al-Kheimah, Ra's al-Kheymah, Ra's al-Cheima, Ra's al-Cheimah. In the history of the city, the name "Julfar" plays a certain role, an ancient influential city, which is now located in the urban area of Ras Al Khaimah.
Source: Wikipedia (EN), Volker Preuß