The Za'ab () (singular Za'abi ) is an Arab tribe of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, principally in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. The Zaab originally settled the coastal village of Jazirat Al Hamra, where at the turn of the 20th century they had established some 500 houses. They also settled in

Kalba Kalba () is a city in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an exclave of Sharjah lying on the Gulf of Oman coast north of Oman. Khor Kalba (Kalba Creek), an important nature reserve and mangrove swamp, is located south ...

, where some 150 families resided, and maintained date palms in the inland village of

Khatt Khatt is a mountainous village south-east of the city of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. Famous for its hot springs, there is evidence that Khatt has been a site of constant human settlement since the stone age – a record of over 5,000 y ...

on the Jiri plain, where they would decamp to avoid the humidity and heat of the coast during the summer date harvest. At the time, the tribe was some 3,300 strong. The Sheikh of Jazirat Al Hamra in 1820, Rajib bin Ahmed Al Zaabi, was one of four independent signatories to the original 1820 treaty between the Trucial States and the British, following the 1819 punitive expedition mounted against Ras Al Khaimah by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. In the treaty, the sheikhdom was named as 'Jourat Al Kamra'. By the time of the

Perpetual Maritime Truce The Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853 was a treaty signed between the British and the Rulers of the Sheikhdoms of the Lower Gulf, later to become known as the Trucial States and today known as the United Arab Emirates. The treaty followed the effect ...

of 4 May 1853, Jazirat Al Hamra had become part of

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (; ), often referred to its initials RAK, is 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 in 2025, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu ...

and the treaty was signed by Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi as 'Chief of the Joasmees', to whom the Zaab had become dependents. Jazirat Al Hamra has also been called Jazirah Al Zaab, after the tribe. A tidal island, it was split into two sections, the small northern quarter of Umm Awaimir and the southern Manakh. Although the Zaab had some 500 sheep and 150 cattle at the time, there were no palm groves, although the tribe tended a number of groves at

( J. G. Lorimer notes there were some 20,000 trees around the village). The Zaab maintained a fleet of some 25 pearling boats at Jazirat Al Hamrah, the principal source of income for the tribe until the crash of the pearl market in the late 1920s. Following an agreement between Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad Al Qasimi of Sharjah and Sheikh Sultan bin Salim Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaimah in 1914, the town became part of Ras Al Khaimah, but was often in dispute with the Ruler. This led, in 1968, to a dispute with Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaimah, which resulted in the majority of the tribe accepting an offer from

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Eastern Region from 1946 until he became ...

to move to

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. This movement left behind an almost completely abandoned village which had housed some 2,500 people. As a result of this movement, the tribe gives its name to an area in Abu Dhabi, Al Zaab.

References

Arabic-language surnames Tribes of Arabia Tribes of the United Arab Emirates {{UnitedArabEmirates-stub