The Naqbiyin (, singular Al Naqbi) is a tribe of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They are mostly settled within the emirates of

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

and

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 have long been influential in the tribal politics of both emirates. By the turn of the 20th century, the Naqbiyin had mostly settled in the emirate of Sharjah and were to be found in

Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan () is a city and an exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fujairah. The city, the second largest on ...

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 ...

as well as Dibba and Fahlain (today a suburb of Ras Al Khaimah). They had also settled at

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 ...

and Daftah in the Wadi Ham. Altogether, the settled population at that time was mostly involved in agriculture and numbered some 1,800 people.

Ras Al Khaimah

The tribe's settled territory included the

Wadi Naqab Wadi Naqab is a seasonal watercourse, or wadi, in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. An area of outstanding natural beauty and a popular hiking destination, the wadi cuts into the Yanas Mountain and has been the scene of nu ...

in Ras Al Khaimah, to which the tribe gave its name. The tribe dispersed from the agriculturally rich wadi after a series of disputes with pre- Al Qawasim local rulers. The tribe has traditionally been considered close to the Qawasim. Khatt and Fahlain, two villages on the

Jiri plain The Jiri plain is an area of gravel plain extending across areas of Southern Ras Al Khaimah, Eastern Sharjah and Western Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The area, some 15 miles in length and 8 miles in breadth, is triangulated with the villa ...

where the Naqbiyin dominate the population, formed part of the Sheikhdom of the 19th century Qawasim ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, Hassan bin Rahma, who signed the

General Maritime Treaty of 1820 The General Maritime Treaty of 1820 was initially signed between the rulers of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Great Britain in January 1820, with the nearby island state of Bahrain acceding to the treaty in the fol ...

with the British. In the 1819 expedition from Bombay, British forces sacked Ras Al Khaimah and Hassan bin Rahma signed a preliminary agreement to cede Ras Al Khaimah town, which became the British garrison. He signed the 1820 treaty as "Sheikh of Hatt and Falna, formerly of Ras Al Khaimah". Hatt is modern Khatt, while Falna is Fahlain. In 1903, '' Lorimer'' noted the village of Fahlain consisted of 60 Naqbiyin houses and 2,000 date palms. Khatt was populated in the main by members of the 'Awanat, Sharqiyin, and Naqbiyin tribes – today the Al Naqbi Tower still stands in the village. The settlement of the Naqbiyin here is said to have taken place over a period of 300 years.

Shamaliyah

On the East coast, the area known as the Shamailiyah, the Naqbiyin were frequently in conflict with their neighbours, the

Sharqiyin The Sharqiyin (, singular Al Sharqi ) is a tribe of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Sharqiyin were long the dominant tribe along the East coast of the Trucial States (and the second most numerous in the area around the start of the 19th c ...

. The Naqbiyin were the 'powers behind the throne' when Kalba became independent of Sharjah in 1937, with the accession of the deposed former Ruler of Sharjah,

Khalid bin Ahmad Al Qasimi Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

, as Ruler of Kalba. Considered to have been present in Khor Fakkan prior to the Portuguese sack of that town under

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

in 1506, the Naqbiyin were settled in strategic locations, given lands by the Al Qasimi, as a protection against the Sharqiyin. The almost constant outbreaks of squabbling and disputes between Kalba and neighbouring

Fujairah Fujairah City () is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Em ...

(itself only recognised as a Trucial State by the British in 1952) broke out into open fighting over a land dispute after the UAE was founded in 1971 and, in 1972 the newly founded Union Defence Force was called in to take control of the fighting which, by the time the UDF moved in, had killed 22 and seriously injured a dozen more. The dispute was finally settled after mediation between Sheikh Rashid of Dubai and other Rulers and a statement announcing the settlement sent out on 17 July 1972.

References

{{Arab tribes in the United Arab Emirates Arabic-language surnames Arab ethnic groups Tribes of Arabia Tribes of the United Arab Emirates