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Chapter Three

                   were divided between two villages on the long and narrow sandbank
                   southwest of Ra’s al Khaimah. The Za'ab of Jazlrah al Hamra’  were
                   the only community of any size in Ra’s al Khaimah territory which
                   was almost exclusively dependent upon the sea; they owned only a
                   few date palms in Khatt, inland in the Jiri plain.
                     The Rulers of Ra’s al Khaimah were not often in the position to
                   appoint a wali of their own choice, but they were usually able to
                   restrict the independent ambitions of the Za’ab headman of the time
                   and make him declare his acceptance of t he Ruler’s supremacy. Thus,
                   the Shihuh and the Za'ab were often enough natural allies and
                   Jazlrah al Hamra’ was also a convenient refuge for opponents of a
                   Ruler in Ra’s al Khaimah.
                     The same may be said of Rams. This port, eight miles north of Ra’s
                   al Khaimah, is also situated beside a creek, but the harbour is not
                   nearly so deep, nor are its dale plantations inland so extensive. At the
                   turn of the century the town had 400 houses, only one shop, one
                   seagoing scinbuk and only three pearling boats. Since the inhabitants
                   were all from the settled section of the Tanaij,17 they had their own
                   tribal leaders who dealt with most affairs in their community and
                   reluctantly owed allegiance to the Ruler of Ra’s al Khaimah.10

                   Dibah
                   One of the most important of the Qasimi dependencies was Dibah, a
                   sizeable settlement on the east coast dating back to pre-Islamic times.
                     One mile north of Dibah lies its twin village of Bai'ah, inhabited by
                   Shihuh and subject to Muscat. During the early 19th century Dibah
                   usually had closer ties with Ra’s al Khaimah’s wo/is and Rulers than
                   with Sharjah.
                     In 1855 the wali of Dibah was Mashari, whose father Ibrahim bin
                   Sultan was wali at Ra’s al Khaimah at the lime. Mashari was killed in
                   that year by Shihuh tribesmen, an incident which illustrates the key
                   issue throughout the history of the Dibah dependency: that is, rivalry
                   between the inhabitants and their Shihuh neighbours. While Shaikh
                   Salim bin Sultan was Ruler of Sharjah (1868-83) his younger brother
                   Ahmad was granted in 1871 the revenues of the village of Dibah as an
                   allowance, which at that time was enough to meet his expenses. In
                   subsequent decades this was no longer the case, because “Salim bin
                   Sultan had a good influence with the Kawasims villages . . . but now
                   in the present rule of Shargah the tribe of the Shahiyain residing at
                   Baia near Deba have taken to encroach upon the revenues of Deba

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