Sheikh Salim bin Sultan Al Qasimi was Ruler of

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...

, a Trucial State and now one of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

, from 1868–1883. His rule was unusually tumultuous and marked by intrigue, the secession of Sharjah's dependencies and constant conflict. He was also briefly the Ruler of

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, A ...

from 1868–1869 and its ''

wali A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by t ...

'', or governor, from 1908–1919.

Accession

Salim bin Sultan was the son of the former Ruler of Sharjah,

Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi (1781–1866) was the Sheikh of the Qawasim and ruler variously of the towns of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, Jazirah Al Hamra and Rams, all Trucial States in their time and now part of the United Arab Emirates. Br ...

. On his accession as Ruler of Sharjah, following the death of Khalid bin Sultan in 1868, his nephew Humaid bin Abdullah assumed the role of ''

'' of Ras Al Khaimah and the following year proclaimed independence from Sultan bin Saqr. The Saudi agent from

Buraimi Al Buraimi Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ٱلْبُرَيْمِي, Muḥāfaẓat Al-Buraimī) is one of the 11 governorates of Oman which was split from the Ad Dhahirah Region. Until October 2006, the area was part of Ad Dhahirah Reg ...

, who had been actively involved in a number of coastal disputes in the area, managed in April 1869 to organise a dynastic shuffle of remarkable proportions when he had Salim bin Sultan imprisoned, his brother Ibrahim bin Sultan (who had long been ''

'' of Ras Al Khaimah under Sultan bin Saqr) established as Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah and Humaid bin Abdullah of Ras Al Khaimah established as Ruler of Sharjah. This act of political prestidigitation was immediately followed by an outbreak of fighting in Sharjah and the Saudi agent was killed by gunfire. In what has been labelled an attempt to palliate the wrath of the Saudi King, Salim ceded his rule to his brother Ibrahim, but failing any reaction from

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, Literal translation, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi Arabic, Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyad ...

(and the move apparently being in name only), he reasserted his rule a few months later.

Breach of Maritime Truce

In May 1869, Salim and Ibrahim moved together against Humaid bin Abdullah at Ras Al Khaimah, landing 1,500 men from 32 boats. Humaid was supported by a force of some 500 men landed from Umm Al Qawain and fighting took place both at Jazirat Al Hamrah and in Ras Al Khaimah town. The British Resident, Colonel

Lewis Pelly Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Pelly, (14 November 1825 – 22 April 1892) was a British East India Company officer, and then an imperial army and political officer. At the end of his life, he was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Hackne ...

, on hearing of this breach of the maritime truce sailed from

Lingeh Bandar Lengeh ( fa, بندرلنگه, also Romanized as Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e-Langeh and Bandar Langeh; also known simply as Lengeh, Linja, Linjah or Lingah) is a harbour city and capital of Bandar Lengeh County, in Hormozgan province of I ...

in the ''Dalhousie'' with the gunboat ''Hugh Rose''. Arriving at Ras Al Khaimah on 12 May, Pelly then ordered Salim and Ibrahim to withdraw their forces from Ras Al Khaimah by sunset the next day. Alliances shifted quickly, however, and in 1871, Salim took advantage of Ibrahim's absence on a journey to Abu Dhabi and, with the support of Humaid bin Abdullah of Ras Al Khaimah together with the Ruler of Umm Al Qawain, he cemented his ascendancy over Ibrahim by retaking total control of Sharjah. At the same time, Humaid bin Abdullah retook the dependencies of Sha'am,

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Shimal, which had managed to secede from Ras Al Khaimah.

Sharjah Dependencies

Hamriyah, which had previously rebelled against Sharjah, now did so again and its headman Saif bin Abdulrahman Al Shamsi led a confederation of smaller Sheikhs against Sharjah in 1873. By 1875 he had played a role as mediator between the Ruler and the other Sheikhs (likely of Heera,

Khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

and

Abu Hail Abu Hail ( ar, أبو هيل) is a neighbourhood in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), located in Deira. The locality is largely residential and is bordered by the localities of Al Waheda on the east, Hor Al Anz in the south and Al Baraha on the ...

) and proclaimed the independence of Hamriyah once again. Salim appointed his younger brother Ahmed as ''wali'' of Dibba, on the East coast, in 1871, granting him the revenues from the town which were however eroded by the encroachments of the troublesome Shahiyain tribe. Salim bin Sultan was deposed in 1883 by his nephew,

Saqr bin Khalid Al Qasimi Sheikh Saqr bin Khalid Al Qasimi (1883–1914) was the Ruler of Sharjah, a Trucial State and now one of the United Arab Emirates, from 1883–1914. He took control over Sharjah in a coup during the absence of his uncle, Salim bin Sultan Al Qasim ...

, who moved against him when he was travelling to Ras Al Khaimah (and his brother, Ahmed was on the island of

Abu Musa , location = Persian Gulf , coordinates = , total_islands = 1 , area_km2 = 12.8 , highest_mount = Mount Halva , elevation_m = 110 , country = Iran , country_admin_divisions_title = Province , cou ...

, where he kept horses).

Wali of Ras Al Khaimah

Salim was appointed wali of Ras Al Khaimah in 1908 and, despite suffering from paralysis, consolidated power to the point where the emirate was in all but name independent of Sharjah. His son Muhammad managed his affairs and he renounced his position in July 1919 to allow Salim's other son, Sultan to take power. Two years later, Salim would achieve Salim's long-held dream of independence for Ras Al Khaimah when the British recognised the emirate as a Trucial State in its own right. Sheikh Salim bin Sultan died in August 1919.

References

{{Rulers of Ras Al Khaimah Sheikhs of the Emirate of Sharjah House of Al Qasimi 19th-century monarchs in the Middle East History of the United Arab Emirates Sheikhs of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah 19th-century Arabs