Updated: May 17, 2024

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.[7][8][9] Established in the 18th century as a small fishing village, the city grew rapidly in the early 21st century with a focus on tourism and luxury,[10] having the second most five-star hotels in the world,[11] and the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, which is 828 metres (2,717 ft) tall.[12]

In the eastern Arabian Peninsula on the coast of the Persian Gulf,[13] it is also a major global transport hub for passengers and cargo.[14] Oil revenue helped accelerate the development of the city, which was already a major mercantile hub. A centre for regional and international trade since the early 20th century, Dubai’s economy relies on revenues from trade, tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services.[15][16][17][18] Oil production contributed less than 1 percent of the emirate’s GDP in 2018.[19] The city has a population of around 3.49 million (as of 2021).[20]

history
The history of human settlement in the area now defined by the United Arab Emirates is rich and complex, and points to extensive trading links between the civilisations of the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia, but also as far afield as the Levant.[24] Archaeological finds in the emirate of Dubai, particularly at Al-Ashoosh, Al Sufouh and the notably rich trove from Saruq Al Hadid[25] show settlement through the Ubaid and Hafit periods, the Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq periods and the three Iron Ages in the UAE. The area was known to the Sumerians as Magan, and was a source for metallic goods, notably copper and bronze.[26]

The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, becoming part of the city’s present coastline.[27] Pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries.[28] Prior to the introduction of Islam to the area, the people in this region worshiped Bajir (or Bajar).[28] After the spread of Islam in the region, the Umayyad Caliph of the eastern Islamic world invaded south-east Arabia and drove out the Sassanians. Excavations by the Dubai Museum in the region of Al-Jumayra (Jumeirah) found several artefacts from the Umayyad period.[29]

An early mention of Dubai is in 1095 in the Book of Geography by the Andalusian-Arab geographer Abu Abdullah al-Bakri.[citation needed] The Venetian pearl merchant Gasparo Balbi visited the area in 1580 and mentioned Dubai (Dibei) for its pearling industry.[29]

Establishment of modern Dubai

Al Fahidi fort in the 1950s
Dubai is thought to have been established as a fishing village in the early 18th century[30] and was, by 1822, a town of some 700–800 members of the Bani Yas tribe and subject to the rule of Sheikh Tahnun bin Shakhbut of Abu Dhabi.[31] In 1822, a British naval surveyor noted that Dubai was at that time populated with a thousand people living in an oval-shaped town surrounded by a mud wall, scattered with goats and camels. The main footpath out of the village led to a reedy creek while another trailed off into the desert which merged into caravan routes.[32]: 17 

In 1833, following tribal feuding, members of the Al Bu Falasah tribe seceded from Abu Dhabi and established themselves in Dubai. The exodus from Abu Dhabi was led by Obeid bin Saeed and Maktoum bin Butti, who became joint leaders of Dubai until Ubaid died in 1836, leaving Maktum to establish the Maktoum dynasty.[30]

Dubai signed the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 with the British government along with other Trucial States, following the British campaign in 1819 against the Ras Al Khaimah. This led to the 1853 Perpetual Maritime Truce. Dubai also – like its neighbours on the Trucial Coast – entered into an exclusivity agreement in which the United Kingdom took responsibility for the emirate’s security in 1892.

Al Fahidi Fort, built in 1787, houses the Dubai Museum.
In 1841, a smallpox epidemic broke out in the Bur Dubai locality, forcing residents to relocate east to Deira.[33] In 1896, fire broke out in Dubai, a disastrous occurrence in a town where many family homes were still constructed from barasti – palm fronds. The conflagration consumed half the houses of Bur Dubai, while the district of Deira was said to have been totally destroyed. The following year, more fires broke out. A female slave was caught in the act of starting one such blaze and was subsequently put to death.[34

A watchtower in Bur Dubai, c. 19th century
In 1901, Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum established Dubai as a free port with no taxation on imports or exports and also gave merchants parcels of land and guarantees of protection and tolerance.