Book review: 'Tale of a City', by Dr. Sheikh Sultan

Dubai - With sources and notes marking the end of each chapter, a detailed preface, a trilogy of appendices, an index of names and plate photographs, Sheikh Sultan's book is based on documented records of the time.

In his historic account of what is now the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, details some of the city's most important milestones in his book 'Tale of a City' published by Bloomsbury in 2017, adding to his previous chronicles, 'Under the Flag of Occupation' and 'My Early Life'.

Through this series of six chapters, Sheikh Sultan provides a full description of the events and circumstances which shaped the city from 1866 to 1932. He begins with the conflict of two brothers, Sheikh Khalid and Sheikh Ibrahim, who fought for control of Sharjah and describes the intricate politics, diplomacy, alliances and betrayals that involved. 'Tale of a City' describes in great detail many of the family feuds which dictated Sharjah's destiny in so many ways.

With sources and notes marking the end of each chapter, a detailed preface, a trilogy of appendices, an index of names and plate photographs, Sheikh Sultan's book is based on documented records of the time.

From the first page, the book establishes the characters, tribes and families and explains their degrees of influence. It also tells of the British imperialists who largely ruled the Arabian Gulf at the time and, through a combination of diplomacy and brute strength, monitored the politics of the Trucial States, which became the UAE when the British departed in 1971. Sheikh Sultan also describes the foreign interest in Sharjah from neighbours including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, setting the scene for further political unrest.

Sheikh Sultan includes a true snapshot of community living in the form of a unique census of many of the towns and villages that make up what are now the Emirates of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah. The survey, carried out at the turn of the 20th century, features the number of tribes, a headcount of the tribesmen, the names of their chiefs and main sources of income. His Highness even notes that as the survey was conducted in winter, many of the Bedouin dwellers would have travelled and were not included.

In another important portrayal of Sharjah through some of its most formative years, a series of 12 photographs ranging from 1907 to 1932 shows the city's leaders and landmarks in the forms of portraits and views from across the all-important creek and from the air. A map from 1933 also shows Sharjah's boundaries at the time and another illustrates where the British were searching in order to establish an airport - one of the most important episodes in Sharjah's development.

His Highness's account of the British threat to bombard Sharjah's fort is meticulous in its detail. A deadline of midnight on 2nd March, 1931 was given to the Ruler of Sharjah to bring 100 rifles and 2,000 rupees by way of a fine for not surrendering Abdulrahman bin Muhammad, an activist accused of leading a siege on the ambassador's house. There is a constant countdown in the book of how the deadline nears while exhaustive efforts are made to pay the fine and prevent the attack, which the city does with only minutes remaining.

At just nine pages, chapter six is the shortest in this book, but His Highness's assessment of the negotiations and eventual agreement of the Sharjah Air Station makes it one of the most significant, concluding in the British guarantee of the independence of Sharjah and non-interference in its affairs.

His Highness includes both the Sharjah Air Station Agreement and the Letter of Assurance in Appendices Two and Three.

• Sharjah