Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the context of "Hajar Mountains"

The United Arab Emirates consists of seven emirates (Arabic: إمارات ʾimārāt; singular: إمارة ʾimārah), which were historically known as the Trucial States. All emirates are founding members of the union, apart from Ras Al Khaima which joined two months after the rest. There is almost always full freedom of movement between the different emirates of the UAE (an example of an exception is that during the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, there were limitations of movement between the various emirates).

The Trucial States, also known as the Trucial Coast, the Trucial Sheikhdoms, or Trucial Oman, was a group of tribal confederations to the south of the Persian Gulf (southeastern Arabia) whose leaders had signed protective treaties, or truces, with the United Kingdom between 1820 and 1892.

The Trucial States remained an informal British protectorate until the treaties were revoked on 1 December 1971. The following day, six of the sheikhdoms—Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah—formed the United Arab Emirates; the seventh, Ras Al Khaimah, joined on 10 February 1972.

Ras Al Khaimah (Arabic: رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة; /raʔs͜ ɪlˈxajma/, Emirati Arabic : [räːs͜ ɪlχe̞ːmɛ] ), often referred to its initials RAK, is an industrial port city and the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. The city had a population of 191,753 people in 2025, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain and Ajman. The city is divided by a creek into two parts: old town in the west and Al Nakheel in the east. The town is the successor to the Islamic era port and trading hub of Julfar.

The Al Qasimi (Arabic: القاسمي, spelled sometimes as Al Qassimi or Al Qassemi; plural: Al Qawasem Arabic: القواسم and, archaically, Joasmee) is an Arab dynasty and tribe that rules Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, today forming two of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. They are one of the longest reigning royal families in the Arabian peninsula. Historically, they also ruled over the town of Lengeh as sheikhs for a century until its annexation by Iran in 1887.

The Qawasem were a confederation of Sunni tribes in south eastern Gulf region surrounding the cities of Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah; and faced strong rivalry with the Omani empire for naval domination along the Persian Gulf. Due to their allegiance to the Emirate of Dir'iyah, the British Empire branded them as "pirates" and fought two major military campaigns against them in 1809 and 1819.

The Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 was an operation by the British East India Company and Royal Navy to force the Al Qasimi (plural Qawasim, referred to by the British at the time as 'Joasmees') to cease their attacks on British ships in the Persian Gulf, particularly on the Persian and Arab coasts of the Strait of Hormuz. The operation's success was limited as the British did not press their advantage when invading Ras Al Khaimah and embarked without consolidating their gains and failed to permanently suppress the strong fleets of the Qawasim of Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah. The expedition did achieve its short-term goals by destroying three Al Qasimi bases and over 80 vessels, including the largest Al Qasimi ship in the region, the converted merchant ship Minerva. Although operations continued into 1810, the British were unable to destroy every Al Qasimi vessel. By 1811, attacks had resumed, although at a lower intensity than previously.

The operation against the Qawasim was a joint campaign by the Royal Navy and the fleet of the Honourable East India Company (HEIC), with soldiers drawn from the garrison of Bombay. The expeditionary force, led by Captain John Wainwright in the Navy frigate HMS Chiffonne, was despatched to the region, following an escalation in attacks on British shipping in the Persian Gulf after the French established diplomatic missions in Muscat and Tehran in 1807. These attacks not only threatened British trade links in the region, but also placed British relations with Oman and Persia in jeopardy at a time when French aspirations against British India were a cause for concern to the British government.