Page 66 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

42 The Origins of the United Arab Emirates
and in
,lrlri935 ic Senior Naval Officer remarked, ‘Gross in person
and
nUy .lack,nS 111 intelligence, the Shaikh has certainly
the least attractive personality on the Coast___ Despite these
!"' T,nrS| ,rcma.rks> LAhmad managed to maintain a secure and
peaceful hold on his shaykhdom.
Ahmad remained a strong and able ruler, always enjoying the
popularity of his people. He consulted a majlis before making any
major decisions, especially when they concerned foreign affairs; the
leading members of the majlis were his brothers-in-law ‘Abdallah
bin Sa‘id and ‘Abdallah bin Nasir, his brother ‘Ali bin Rashid,
and Ahmad bin Ibrahim, brother of his predecessor. He was extremely
wealthy, and as such showed himself primarily concerned with

ZAYID BIN KHALIFAH
('855->909)

1
Khalifah TAHNUN Said SAQR HAMDAN SULTAN Muhammad
(1909-12) (1926-8) (1912-22) (1922-6)

1
Muhammad Dhiyab SHAKHBUT Hazza‘ ZAYID Khalid
(1928-66) (1966- )

Figure 2 Abu Dhabi, ruling family: members involved in dynastic
struggles following the death of Zayid bin Khalifah

his investments in the pearl trade; but he was also by nature
a nervous man and rarely ventured outside the shelter ol his
of his family is sufficient to make a bolder
fort. ‘The history
man than hestnae™“*t may be appiied to the rulers of Abu Dhabi
The same
in the 1Q20S. Within a period of sixteen years, four rulers came
as a result of murder. (See Table 2 and Figure 2.)
to power
nr 7avid bin Khalifah was the starting point. The
The death " > the eldest of whom, Khalifah, did not
old ruler had seven sons, with the role of kingmaker; so
wish to succeed, Wng conWJ three years until he died peacefully.
Tahnun, the second son rule V was thc first in a
Thc next ruler, Hamdan’ put to an end violently by
number whose tenure P apparent reason for his murder
f Ts' ZtZsllM In August ,9« was his oppressiveness; he