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121-586: The flagpole consists of 12-metre sections of steel tube fitted together by crane. The design phase for the flagpole began in July 2009. Fabrication of the pole's sections was completed in Dubai in October 2010. The sections were then shipped to Dushanbe, where construction of the flagpole began on November 24, 2010, Tajikistan's National Flag Day. The final assembly and erection took place during April and May 2011, with

242-878: A clay sealing with a cord impression that might have come from rope spun from wool fibers. The animal bone assemblage at this site had a large percentage of domesticated sheep/goat, with changes in the assemblage suggesting that the production of secondary products (such as wool and milk) became more important toward the late Ubaid and the Uruk period. The spindle whorls from Kosak Shamali, and also those from Telul eth-Thalathat II (northern Iraq), gradually decreased in weight, which could indicate that more and more finer-quality or softer fibers were spun. At Tell Surezha (Iraqi Kurdistan), evidence from animal bones also suggests that wool production may have been important. Stamp seals had been in use in Upper Mesopotamia since

363-529: A tropical , hot desert climate ( Köppen BWh). Summers in Dubai are extremely hot, prolonged, windy, and humid, with an average high around 40 °C (104 °F) and overnight lows around 30 °C (86 °F) in the hottest month, August. Most days are sunny throughout the year. Winters are mild to warm, with an average high of 24 °C (75 °F) and overnight lows of 14 °C (57 °F) in January,

484-558: A wetland environment . As a result of changes in sea-level, the shoreline of the Persian Gulf during the Ubaid was different from that of today. At the beginning of the Ubaid, around 6500 BC, the shoreline at Kuwait may have run slightly further south. During the subsequent 2.5 millennia, the shoreline moved further northward, up to the ancient city of Ur around 4000 BC. Date palms were present in southern Mesopotamia since at least

605-518: A construction boom that brought a massive influx of foreign workers, mainly Asians and Middle Easterners. Between 1968 and 1975, the city's population grew by over 300%. As part of the infrastructure for pumping and transporting oil from the Fateh field, located offshore of the Jebel Ali area of Dubai, two 500,000-gallon storage tanks were built, known locally as "Kazzans", by welding them together on

726-423: A council of one's peers, were no longer sufficient for the needs of the local community. Ubaid culture originated in the south, but still has clear connections to earlier cultures in the region of middle Iraq. The appearance of the Ubaid folk has sometimes been linked to the so-called Sumerian problem, related to the origins of Sumerian civilisation . Whatever the ethnic origins of this group, this culture saw for

847-442: A distinctive fine quality buff or greenish colored pottery decorated with geometric designs in brown or black paint. Tools such as sickles were often made of hard fired clay in the south, while in the north stone and sometimes metal were used. Villages thus contained specialised craftspeople, potters, weavers and metalworkers, although the bulk of the population were agricultural labourers, farmers and seasonal pastoralists. During

968-420: A domestic activity to a more specialized activity carried out by dedicated craftspeople . This may have been associated with the introduction of Canaanean blade technology, which became common in the 4th millennium BC and may itself have been linked to increased mass-production and intensification of agricultural strategies. Evidence for metallurgy comes from several sites in Upper Mesopotamia, all dating to

1089-487: A high degree of cultural continuity is evident throughout the Ubaid and Uruk periods, and it seems that there is some agreement that "the relation between three categories, linguistic, racial and ethnic, is exceedingly complex in Mesopotamia and still far from being sufficiently investigated". Scarce DNA analysis of human skeletal material from various archaeological sites in Upper Mesopotamia (none of which dated to

1210-647: A mud wall, scattered with goats and camels. The main footpath out of the village led to a reedy creek while another trailed off into the desert and merged into caravan routes. In 1833, following tribal feuding, members of the Al Bu Falasah tribe seceded from Abu Dhabi and established themselves in Dubai. The exodus from Abu Dhabi was led by Obeid bin Saeed and Maktoum bin Butti , who became joint leaders of Dubai until Ubaid died in 1836, leaving Maktoum to establish

1331-480: A natural inlet, Dubai Creek , which has been dredged to make it deep enough for large vessels to pass through. Dubai also has multiple gorges and waterholes, which dot the base of the Western Al Hajar mountains. A vast sea of sand dunes covers much of southern Dubai and eventually leads into the desert known as The Empty Quarter . Seismically , Dubai is in a very stable zone—the nearest seismic fault line,

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1452-518: A negative financial impact on the city, with depositors and traders withdrawing money and trade. However, Dubai rebounded in a changing political climate and prospered. In the late 1990s, various foreign trading communities—initially from Kuwait , during the Gulf War, and later from Bahrain , amidst the Shia unrest—relocated their businesses to Dubai. Dubai served as refuelling base for allied forces at

1573-402: A new airport terminal building was constructed which included Dubai's first duty-free shops . Throughout the 1960s Dubai was the centre of a lively gold trade, with 1968 imports of gold at some £56 million. This gold was, in the vast majority, re-exported – mainly to customers who took delivery in international waters off India . The import of gold to India had been banned and so the trade

1694-481: A pipeline from wells at Awir and a series of storage tanks and, by 1968, Dubai had a reliable supply of piped water. On 7 April 1961, the Dubai-based MV Dara , a five thousand ton British flagged vessel that plied the route between Basra (Iraq), Kuwait , and Bombay (India), was caught in unusually high winds off Dubai. Early the next morning in heavy seas off Umm al-Quwain, an explosion tore out

1815-652: A precursor of the beveled rim bowl from the Uruk period. As with many other aspects of Ubaid material culture, it is possible to distinguish different geographical traditions in the production of the coba bowl during the Ubaid period. Flint was widely available in Mesopotamia and could be sourced from outcrops in the Zagros and the Jebel Sinjar , from limestone and river terraces in northern Mesopotamia and from alluvial deposits in southern Mesopotamia. Different qualities of flint were used, depending on what kind of tool

1936-533: A result of downward social mobility . Morton Fried and Elman Service have hypothesised that Ubaid culture saw the rise of an elite class of hereditary chieftains , perhaps heads of kin groups linked in some way to the administration of the temple shrines and their granaries, responsible for mediating intra-group conflict and maintaining social order. It would seem that various collective methods, perhaps instances of what Thorkild Jacobsen called primitive democracy , in which disputes were previously resolved through

2057-411: A site as, for example, purely Ubaid or purely Halaf. In northern Mesopotamia, Ubaid characteristics only start to appear in Ubaid 2-3, i.e. toward the end of the sixth millennium BC, so that the entire Ubaid period would be much shorter. For Syria , a range of 5300-4300 BC has been suggested. However, some scholars have argued that the interaction between the originally southern Mesopotamian Ubaid and

2178-451: A slender body, long, reptilian head with incised eyes and mouth and a threedimensional small nose. This particular rendering of the face may be a representation of a mask or possibly headshaping . The hands are placed before the stomach, sometimes with incised fingers. They are thought to be naked. Paint is sometimes used to indicate hair or other details. The majority of these figures is female, but male and sexless figurines exist as well. In

2299-569: A time when the tribes of the interior were also experiencing poverty. In a letter to the Sultan of Muscat in 1911, Butti laments, "Misery and poverty are raging among them, with the result that they are struggling, looting and killing among themselves." In 1910, in the Hyacinth incident , the town was bombarded by HMS Hyacinth , with 37 people killed. Dubai's geographical proximity to Iran made it an important trade location. The town of Dubai

2420-444: A town centre, all of which could feasibly be built with the limited financial resources at the time. 1959 saw the establishment of Dubai's first telephone company, 51% owned by IAL (International Aeradio Ltd) and 49% by Sheikh Rashid and local businessmen and in 1961 both the electricity company and telephone company had rolled out operational networks. The water company (Sheikh Rashid was chairman and majority shareholder) constructed

2541-411: Is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia . The name derives from Tell al-'Ubaid where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially in 1919 by Henry Hall , Leonard Woolley in 1922-1923, and later by Pinhas Delougaz in 1937. In South Mesopotamia the period is the earliest known period on the alluvial plain although it is likely earlier periods exist obscured under

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2662-464: Is complex and not yet fully understood, including how and when exactly the Ubaid started to appear in northern Mesopotamia. To resolve these issues, modern scholarship tends to focus more on regional trajectories of change where different cultural elements from the Halaf, Samarra, or Ubaid - pottery, architecture, and so forth - could co-exist. This makes it increasingly hard to define an occupation phase at

2783-407: Is extremely rare. The "Burnt Village" at Tell Sabi Abyad could be suggestive of destruction during war but it could also have been due to other causes, such as wildfire or accident. Ritual burning is also possible since the bodies inside were already dead by the time they were burned. A mass grave at Tepe Gawra contained 24 bodies apparently buried without any funeral rituals, possibly indicating it

2904-600: Is situated on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates and is roughly at sea level (16 m or 52 ft above). The emirate of Dubai shares borders with Abu Dhabi in the south, Sharjah in the northeast, and the Sultanate of Oman in the southeast. Hatta , a minor exclave of the emirate, is surrounded on three sides by Oman and by the emirates of Ajman (in the west) and Ras Al Khaimah (in

3025-428: Is unclear. There is some evidence for emerging wool production in the fifth millennium BC, i.e. late Ubaid. Some of the earliest evidence comes in the form of an animal figurine from Iran dated to c. 5000 BC with incised decorations that might possibly represent wool. At Kosak Shamali , an Ubaid site in northern Syria, indirect evidence for wool production has been found in the form of spindle whorls , clay scrapers, and

3146-646: The Al Qawasim tribe) to Dubai. An indicator of the growing importance of the port of Dubai can be gained from the movements of the steamer of the Bombay and Persia Steam Navigation Company, which from 1899 to 1901 paid five visits annually to Dubai. In 1902 the company's vessels made 21 visits to Dubai and from 1904 on, the steamers called fortnightly – in 1906, trading 70,000 tones of cargo. The frequency of these vessels only helped to accelerate Dubai's role as an emerging port and trading hub of preference. Lorimer notes

3267-530: The Jebel Ali port, a deep-water port accommodating larger ships, marked a significant development. Initially facing challenges, Sheikh Mohammed initiated the JAFZA ( Jebel Ali Free Zone ) around the port in 1985, facilitating unrestricted import of labour and export of capital for foreign companies. Simultaneously, Dubai airport and the aviation industry continued their expansion. The Gulf War in early 1991 had

3388-715: The Maktoum dynasty . Dubai signed the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 with the British government along with other Trucial States , following the British campaign in 1819 against Ras Al Khaimah . This led to the 1853 Perpetual Maritime Truce . Dubai also – like its neighbours on the Trucial Coast – entered into an exclusivity agreement in which the United Kingdom took responsibility for

3509-760: The Shahrizor Plain and the Hamrin area further south were stronger than those with the north. Mesopotamia does not have local, high-resolution climate proxy records such as the Soreq Cave . This makes it difficult to reconstuct the region's past climate. Even so, it is known that the environment during the sixth and fifth millennium BC was not the same as today. A more temperate climate settled in around 10,000 BC. Marshy and riverine areas transformed into floodplains and finally river banks with trees. The area south of Baghdad may have been inhabitable by humans in

3630-481: The Taipei 101 and officially gaining its title as the tallest skyscraper in the world. Dubai's smart city initiatives, which include smart tourism, play a key role in advancing the city’s growth ambitions, primarily through its Smart Dubai project. In 2016, the world's first functioning 3D-printed office building was opened in Dubai, as part of a drive to boost the Persian Gulf's main tourism and business hub. Dubai

3751-834: The Tigris . In general, copper objects seem to be very rare, and gold has not been found at Ubaid sites either. The Ubaid period provides the first evidence for boating in the ancient Near East. Ceramic boat models have been recovered from numerous sites across Mesopotamia, from Zeidan and Tell Mashnaqa in modern-day northern Syria to Eridu and 'Oueili in the south and Abada in the Hamrin. These models date from Ubaid 1-4 but become more common from Ubaid 3 onwards. The models indicate that different boat types may have been in use, including reed boats , and boats with masts. It has been noted that no evidence for boats has been recovered from Halaf sites in northern Mesopotamia, and that Ubaid 3, from which more boat models have been recovered, coincides with

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3872-659: The alluvium . In the south it has a very long duration between about 5500 and 3800 BC when it is replaced by the Uruk period . In Northern Mesopotamia the period runs only between about 5300 and 4300 BC. It is preceded by the Halaf period and the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period and succeeded by the Late Chalcolithic period . The excavators of Eridu and Tell al-'Ubaid found Ubaid pottery for

3993-546: The "Sumerian problem" or "Sumerian question". The starting point of this debate was that the oldest cuneiform tablets were written in Sumerian, and that earlier pictographical tablets from the Late Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods (3200-3000 BC) were likely written in the same language. Based on this evidence, Henri Frankfort proposed in the 1930s that the people who wrote and presumably spoke Sumerian, originally came from

4114-424: The 7th millennium BC. By the time of the Ubaid period, a wide range of motifs had developed, including geometric patterns and depictions of animals and occasional humans. The Ubaid period saw the first depictions of ibex-headed and bird-headed humans. The majority of Ubaid figurines represented various animals, including sheep, cattle and dogs. Human figurines were already present in previous periods. Those from

4235-684: The Act of Union to form the United Arab Emirates . The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the UAE on 10 February 1972, following Iran 's annexation of the RAK-claimed Tunbs islands. In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency: the UAE dirham . In that same year, the prior monetary union with Qatar was dissolved and the UAE dirham was introduced throughout

4356-544: The British government resulted in a cessation of hostilities. Despite a lack of oil, Dubai's ruler from 1958, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum , used revenue from trading activities to build infrastructure. Private companies were established to build and operate infrastructure, including electricity, telephone services, and both the ports and airport operators. An airport of sorts (a runway built on salt flats)

4477-471: The British withdrawal would leave behind. The principle of union was first agreed upon between the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan , and Sheikh Rashid of Dubai on 18 February 1968 meeting in an encampment at Argoub Al Sedirah, near Al Semeih, a desert stop between the two emirates. The two agreed to work towards bringing the other emirates, including Qatar and Bahrain, into

4598-525: The Emirates. Throughout the 1970s, Dubai experienced continued growth fueled by revenues generated from oil and trade, even as the city witnessed an influx of immigrants fleeing the Lebanese civil war . Border disputes between the emirates persisted even after the formation of the UAE; it was only in 1979 that a formal compromise was reached, putting an end to disagreements. In 1979, the establishment of

4719-513: The Eridu and Hajji Muhammed styles were not distinct at all. Instead, they were part of the greater Ubaid phenomenon. She proposed a chronological framework that divides the Ubaid period in 4 phases. Other scholars later proposed phases 0 and 5. Scholars in the 1930s only knew a few Ubaid sites. These included the type site of Tell al-'Ubaid itself, Ur , and Tepe Gawra in the north. Since then, archaeologists found Ubaid material culture all over

4840-655: The Gulf coast, notably the sites in Kuwait. Conversely, there is also evidence for Arabian Neolithic material in southern Mesopotamia. It has been noted that certain types of flint arrowheads found at Ur show clear resemblance with the Arabian Bifacial Tradition. Arabian Coarse Ware has been found at the sites of 'Oueili and Eridu. As at the sites in Kuwait, it may have been possible that Arabian Neolithic groups lived in southern Mesopotamia. The Ubaid period

4961-594: The Iranian highlands and settled Mesopotamia at the start of the Ubaid period. Speiser , on the other hand, thought that the Sumerians entered Mesopotamia during the Uruk period and interpreted the regional styles that existed before that time, i.e. Ubaid, Hassuna, Halaf, as evidence of distinct ethnic groups . More recent discussion has taken a more careful approach, taking pains not to equate pots with people or language with ethnicity. Archaeologists have stressed that

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5082-533: The Jebel Ali Free Zone during the Gulf War and again during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq . Subsequent significant increases in oil prices prompted Dubai to maintain its focus on free trade and tourism. In the early 2000s, construction of artificial islands on the coast of Dubai, known as the Palm Islands and The World Islands , began. The Burj Khalifa was opened in Dubai in 2010, surpassing

5203-518: The Persian Gulf. In 1937 an oil exploration contract was signed which guaranteed royalty rights for Dubai and concessionary payments to Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum . However, due to World War II , oil would not be struck until 1966. In the early days since its inception, Dubai was constantly at odds with Abu Dhabi . In 1947, a border dispute between Dubai and Abu Dhabi on the northern sector of their mutual border escalated into war. Arbitration by

5324-424: The Persian Gulf. By then, amenities in the town grew and a modern quarter was established, Al Bastakiya . Dubai was known for its pearl exports until the 1930s; the pearl trade was damaged irreparably by the 1929 Great Depression and the innovation of cultured pearls . With the collapse of the pearling industry, Dubai fell into a deep depression and many residents lived in poverty or migrated to other parts of

5445-528: The Ubaid Period (5000–4000 BC), the movement towards urbanization began. "Agriculture and animal husbandry [domestication] were widely practiced in sedentary communities". There were also tribes that practiced domesticating animals as far north as Turkey, and as far south as the Zagros Mountains . The Ubaid period in the south was associated with intensive irrigated hydraulic agriculture , and

5566-443: The Ubaid period) provides some evidence for genetic links with other regions, but also provides evidence for continuity in Mesopotamia itself. Most importantly, the dating of genetic influxes that have been detected, has not been refined up to the point that it can be assigned to the Ubaid period - or any other period earlier than the one from which the skeletal material came. In other words, this genetic influx could have happened during

5687-606: The Ubaid period. It has been interpreted as a marker for socio-cultural group affiliation during the Ubaid. Labrets and/or ear-spools were likewise recovered from many archaeological Ubaid sites across Mesopotamia and its border regions. In at least one case from southwestern Iran, a labret was found in situ in a burial, located at the mandible of the buried individual and with associated tooth wear indicating that it had been worn. Labrets were absent from Halaf sites in northern Mesopotamia, again indicating that they may have been important markers of socio-cultural identity during

5808-411: The Ubaid than during the preceding Halaf period and the subsequent Uruk period. Obsidian could be transported over hundreds of kilometers. For example, obsidian tools found along the Gulf coast at sites such as Dosariyah ( Saudi Arabia ) and Wadi Debayan ( Qatar ) came from sources in southeastern Turkey. The Ubaid may have witnessed a shift in the production of flint tools from being carried out as

5929-465: The Ubaid. Their use seems to have declined again during the Uruk period. The modern excavations at Tell Zeidan have revealed a wealth of information on the subsistence economy of a large northern Mesopotamian Ubaid settlement. Cultivated species included barley , wheat , lentil , ervil , and flax . There is some evidence that the inhabitants of Zeidan practiced a form of floodwater irrigation on agricultural lands. The excavators have suggested that

6050-474: The Zagros Fault, is 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the UAE and is unlikely to have any seismic impact on Dubai. Experts also predict that the possibility of a tsunami in the region is minimal because the Persian Gulf waters are not deep enough to trigger a tsunami. The sandy desert surrounding the city supports wild grasses and occasional date palms. Desert hyacinths grow in the sabkha plains east of

6171-610: The ancient Near East. There are now Ubaid sites in the Amuq Valley in the northwest all the way to the Persian Gulf coast in the southeast. Important research includes the many excavations in the Hamrin area in the 1970s. There, archaeologists found a complete Ubaid settlement at Tell Abada , and a really well-preserved house at Tell Madhur . The excavation at Tell el-'Oueili in the 1980s revealed occupation layers that were older than those from Eridu . This discovery pushed back

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6292-536: The animal bone assemblage from Zeidan changed considerably from the Halaf to the Ubaid period. During the Halaf, some 50% of the animal bones came from wild species (indicative of hunting), whereas during the Ubaid over 90% represented domesticated species (indicative of herding and keeping animals). Common animals were sheep, goat, cattle, and pigs. A comparison with other Ubaid sites in northern Mesopotamia showed that, in general, pastoralism became more important and reliance on wild fauna decreased somewhat, but this pattern

6413-570: The area in 1580 and mentioned Dubai ( Dibei ) for its pearling industry. Dubai is thought to have been established as a fishing village in the early 18th century and was, by 1822, a town of some 700–800 members of the Bani Yas tribe and subject to the rule of Sheikh Tahnun bin Shakhbut of Abu Dhabi . In 1822, a British naval surveyor noted that Dubai was at that time populated with a thousand people living in an oval-shaped town surrounded by

6534-684: The beach and then digging them out and floating them to drop onto the seabed at the Fateh field. These were constructed by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company , which gave the beach its local name (Chicago Beach), which was transferred to the Chicago Beach Hotel, which was demolished and replaced by the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in the late 1990s. The Kazzans were an innovative oil storage solution which meant supertankers could moor offshore even in bad weather and avoided

6655-475: The capital of the Emirate of Dubai , the most populated of the country's seven emirates . The city has a population of around 3.79 million (as of 2024), more than 90% of which are expatriates . Beginning in the early 20th century, Dubai developed into a significant regional and international trade hub, emphasizing on tourism and luxury. Dubai has been a center for regional and international trade since

6776-550: The central Gulf coast at sites like Ain Qannas , suggesting that the pottery may have been traded and valued in and of itself, rather than just being a container for some other commodity. This suggestion is reinforced by locally-produced pottery imiting Ubaid wares found at Dosariyah. It is unclear which products were exchanged for the pottery. Suggestions include foodstuffs (dates), semi-precious materials, jewellery (made from pearl and shell ), animal products, and livestock. Notably,

6897-596: The city, the salt-crusted coastal plains, known as sabkha , give way to a north–south running line of dunes. Farther east, the dunes grow larger and are tinged red with iron oxide . The flat sandy desert gives way to the Western Hajar Mountains , which run alongside Dubai's border with Oman at Hatta. The Western Hajar chain has an arid, jagged and shattered landscape, whose mountains rise to about 1,300 metres (4,265 feet) in some places. Dubai has no natural river bodies or oases; however, Dubai does have

7018-503: The city, while acacia and ghaf trees grow in the flat plains within the proximity of the Western Al Hajar mountains. Several indigenous trees such as the date palm and neem as well as imported trees such as the eucalyptus grow in Dubai's natural parks. The MacQueen's bustard , striped hyena , caracal , desert fox , falcon, and Arabian oryx are common in Dubai's desert. Dubai is on the migration path between Europe, Asia, and Africa, and more than 320 migratory bird species pass through

7139-704: The civilisations of the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia , and even as far afield as the Levant . Archaeological finds in the emirate of Dubai, particularly at Al-Ashoosh , Al Sufouh , and the notably rich trove from Saruq Al Hadid show settlement through the Ubaid and Hafit periods, the Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq periods, and the three Iron Ages in the UAE. The area was known to the Sumerians as Magan and

7260-494: The complete body. During Ubaid 4, some 80% (adults) and 94% (infants) of the burials consisted of primary inhumations. The dead were often accompanied by personal adornments such as beads, necklaces, and headdresses. Pots (presumably) containing foodstuffs were also common. Pieces of red ochre have also been recovered from graves. Burials have been excavated at many Ubaid sites, with exceptionally large numbers coming from Tell Abada (127 infant burials) and Eridu (193 burials). By

7381-500: The construction of a jet airport... More and more European and Arab firms are opening up and the future looks bright." In 1962, with expenditure on infrastructure projects already approaching levels some thought imprudent, Sheikh Rashid approached his brother-in-law, the Ruler of Qatar , for a loan to build the first bridge crossing Dubai Creek . This crossing was finished in May 1963 and

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7502-439: The coolest month. Dubai summers are also known for the very high humidity level, which can make it very uncomfortable for many with exceptionally high dew points, which can exceed 30 °C (86 °F) in summer. Heat index values can reach over 60 °C (140 °F) at the height of summer. The highest recorded temperature in Dubai is 49.0 °C (120.2 °F). Ubaid period The Ubaid period (c. 5500–3700 BC)

7623-580: The date for the earliest human occupation of southern Mesopotamia. Excavations along southcoast of the Persian Gulf provided a lot of evidence for contacts with Mesopotamia. The site of H3 in Kuwait , for example, provided the earliest evidence in the world for seafaring. The explosion of archaeological research in Iraqi Kurdistan since the 2010s also led to a lot of new data on the Ubaid. For example, this research showed that cultural links between

7744-455: The degree of cultural interaction between the Ubaid and local Neolithic communities is much stronger in the area of Kuwait than further south, up to the point that it has been suggested that Mesopotamians may have actually lived (part of the year) at sites like H3 and Bahra 1. Small objects such as labrets, tokens, clay nails and small tools that may have had cosmetic use, and that are known from southern Mesopotamian sites also occur on sites along

7865-427: The earlier Ubaid, ophidian figures were only used in domestic contexts, whereas in Ubaid 3-4, they appear in graves as well, indicating a shift in how these figures were used. The rarity of ophidian figures as grave gifts may indicate differential treatment of the dead, possibly based on age, kinship or social standing. The most common burial practice during the Ubaid seems to have been primary inhumation; i.e. burial of

7986-531: The earliest evidence for actual boats in Western Asia , and the earliest evidence for seagoing vessels in the world. Evidence for the production of wool is ambiguous and mostly indirect. Wool-bearing sheep have been clearly attested in Uruk-period sites, and the domestication of sheep and goat started in the ninth millennium BC, but exactly when wool-production emerged between those two fixed points

8107-504: The early 20th century, and its economy relies on revenues from trade, tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services. Oil revenue helped accelerate the development of the city. However, oil production contributed less than 1 percent to the emirate's GDP in 2018. Due to financial secrecy, low taxes, and valuable real estate, Dubai is an appealing destination for money launderers, criminals, corrupt political figures and sanctioned businesspeople to launder or hide money. Dubai has

8228-498: The early Ubaid reflect a continuation of earlier traditions. A single, painted figurine from the Ubaid 0 levels at Tell el-'Oueili has been interpreted as an early representation of the so-called "ophidian figurines", which became common in the later Ubaid. Both seating and standing figurines were made, with paint being used to detail body parts, clothing, or body modifications . "Ophidian figures" have been exclusively found at various southern Mesopotamian sites. They are characterised by

8349-400: The eleventh millennium BC, predating the earliest evidence for domesticated dates from Eridu by several millennia. Date palms require a perennial water source, again indicating that this period may have been wetter than today. Similarly, oak was present from the eighth millennium, but disappeared at around the same time that Ubaid material culture spread outward from southern Mesopotamia during

8470-441: The eleventh millennium BC. Humans could have lived south of Uruk as early as the eighth millennium BC. This is much earlier than the oldest evidence of human occupation in this area. The oldest known site in southern Mesopotamia (Tell el-'Oueili) dates to the Ubaid 0 period. Archaeobotanical research in the Ubaid 0 levels at 'Oueili (6500-6000 BC) has indicated the presence of Euphrates poplar and sea clubrush , both indicative of

8591-414: The emirate in spring and autumn. The waters of Dubai are home to more than 300 species of fish, including the hammour . The typical marine life off the Dubai coast includes tropical fish, jellyfish, coral, dugong , dolphins, whales, and sharks. Various types of turtles can also be found in the area including the hawksbill turtle and green turtle , which are listed as endangered species. Dubai features

8712-537: The emirate's security in 1892 . In 1841, a smallpox epidemic broke out in the Bur Dubai locality, forcing residents to relocate east to Deira . In 1896, fire broke out in Dubai, a disastrous occurrence in a town where many family homes were still constructed from barasti – palm fronds. The conflagration consumed half the houses of Bur Dubai, while the district of Deira was said to have been totally destroyed. The following year, more fires broke out. A female slave

8833-418: The expansion of the Ubaid towards the north and into the Persian Gulf. At the site of H3 in modern-day Kuwait, a ceramic boat model and a ceramic disc with an image of a two-masted boat were recovered. The latter is the oldest evidence for the use of masts and sails. At the same site, pieces of bitumen with barnacles attached to one side and reed-impressions on the other sides were recovered. These pieces are

8954-462: The fifth millennium BC, children and adults were given differential treatment in death. The available evidence indicates that infants were primarily buried inside the settlement, often near larger, presumably more important dwellings, and often in pots. The association of children's burials with larger buildings is well-illustrated at the sites of Tell Abada and Tepe Gawra. It has been suggested that this pattern of children's burials near larger dwellings

9075-401: The final stages of the Ubaid period. At Mersin , Level XVI (5000-4900 BC), unalloyed copper pins and chisels were found. At southeastern Anatolian sites like Değirmentepe and Norşuntepe , metallurgical production was practiced during the Ubaid 3, as evidenced by furnaces, and related finds. At late fifth millennium Tell Nader , northern Iraq, kilns were excavated that may have been used for

9196-523: The first major projects Sheikh Rashid embarked upon when oil revenue started to flow was the construction of Port Rashid , a deep-water free port constructed by British company Halcrow. Originally intended to be a four-berth port, it was extended to sixteen berths as construction was ongoing. The project was an outstanding success, with shipping queuing to access the new facilities. The port was inaugurated on 5 October 1972, although its berths were each pressed into use as soon as they had been built. Port Rashid

9317-423: The first test flight of the flag of Tajikistan taking place on May 24, 2011. The flagpole cost $ 3.5 million and was part of $ 210 million worth of projects celebrating the 20th anniversary of Tajik independence . 38°34′44″N 68°46′48″E  /  38.5790°N 68.7801°E  / 38.5790; 68.7801 Dubai Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates and

9438-521: The first time a clear tripartite social division between intensive subsistence peasant farmers, with crops and animals coming from the north, tent-dwelling nomadic pastoralists dependent upon their herds, and hunter-fisher folk of the Arabian littoral, living in reed huts. Stein and Özbal describe the Near East oecumene that resulted from Ubaid expansion, contrasting it to the colonial expansionism of

9559-459: The first time in the 1910-20s. In 1930, the attendees at a conference in Baghdad defined the concept of an "Ubaid pottery style". This characteristic pottery of this style was a black-on-buff painted ware. This conference also defined the Eridu and Hajji Muhammed styles. Scholars at this conference thought that these pottery styles were so different that "[...] they could not have developed out of

9680-422: The later Uruk period . "A contextual analysis comparing different regions shows that the Ubaid expansion took place largely through the peaceful spread of an ideology, leading to the formation of numerous new indigenous identities that appropriated and transformed superficial elements of Ubaid material culture into locally distinct expressions." There is some evidence of warfare during the Ubaid period although it

9801-403: The most common patterns. The slow potter's wheel became in use during Ubaid 3-4, which may have played a role in the decrease in decoration. The coarse, plant-tempered coba bowl , found at many Late and Post-Ubaid sites in northern Mesopotamia from, has been interpreted as some kind of vessel for handing out rations or as evidence of more specialized production, and as such may have been

9922-481: The need to pipe oil onshore from Fateh, which is some 60 miles out to sea. Dubai had already embarked on a period of infrastructural development and expansion. Oil revenue flowing from 1969 onwards supported a period of growth with Sheikh Rashid embarking on a policy of building infrastructure and a diversified trading economy before the emirate's limited reserves were depleted. Oil accounted for 24% of GDP in 1990 but had fallen to 7% of GDP by 2004. Critically, one of

10043-503: The north started already during Ubaid 1-2. Ubaid pottery started to appear along the Persian Gulf coast toward the end of the sixth millennium BC, reaching a peak around 5300 BC and continuing into the fifth millennium. Coastal sites where Ubaid pottery has been found include Bahra 1 and H3 in Kuwait, Dosariyah in Saudi Arabia, and Dalma Island in the United Arab Emirates . Ubaid pottery has also been found further inland along

10164-405: The north). The Persian Gulf borders the western coast of the emirate. Dubai is positioned at 25°16′11″N 55°18′34″E  /  25.2697°N 55.3095°E  / 25.2697; 55.3095 and covers an area of 1,588 sq mi (4,110 km ), which represents a significant expansion beyond its initial 1,500 sq mi (3,900 km ) designation due to land reclamation from

10285-430: The old, as is the case with the Uruk ware after the al-'Ubaid ware [...]". For many attendants of the conference, "this sequence based largely on pottery represented a series of different 'ethnic elements' in the occupation of southern Mesopotamia." These ideas about the nature of the Ubaid phenomenon did not last. The term Ubaid itself is still used, but its meaning has changed over time. Joan Oates showed in 1960 that

10406-484: The origin of the word "Dubai". One theory suggests the word used to be the souq in Ba. An Arabic proverb says " Daba Dubai " ( Arabic : دبا دبي ), meaning "They came with a lot of money." According to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAE's history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word dabba ( Arabic : دب ) (a past tense derivative of yadibbu ( Arabic : يدب ), which means "to creep"), referring to

10527-465: The production of both pottery and metal. Copper objects are also known from the Ubaid levels at Tepe Gawra (XVII-XII) and Tell Arpachiyah . Copper objects were absent in the Ubaid levels at Eridu and 'Oueili, possibly indicating that copper use spread southwards from the north. However, copper may have been traded, as it was present in elite burials of the Susa I (terminal Ubaid) necropolis at Susa east of

10648-782: The region, the Umayyad Caliph of the eastern Islamic world conquered south-east Arabia and drove out the Sassanians . Excavations by the Dubai Museum in the region of Al-Jumayra ( Jumeirah ) found several artefacts from the Umayyad period. An early mention of Dubai in 1095 is in the Book of Geography by the Andalusian - Arab geographer Abu Abdullah al-Bakri . The Venetian pearl merchant Gasparo Balbi visited

10769-465: The rulers of the Eastern Gulf, the result of a treaty signed in 1892 named the "Exclusive Agreement". This was to change with Prime Minister Harold Wilson 's announcement, on 16 January 1968, that all British troops were to be withdrawn from "East of Aden". The decision was to pitch the coastal emirates, together with Qatar and Bahrain , into fevered negotiations to fill the political vacuum that

10890-512: The same phenomenon. Some of these styles, such as Hajji Muhammed (previously thought to be Ubaid 2) are now known to occur in Ubaid 3 contexts as well, thereby limiting their value as chronological markers. The relative chronology is based on the long stratigraphic sequences of sites such as Ur, Eridu and Tepe Gawra. The absolute chronology is harder to establish, mainly due to a lack of abundant radiocarbon dates coming from southern Mesopotamia. (after Pournelle 2003 / after Harris 2021) In

11011-469: The sea . Dubai lies directly within the Arabian Desert . However, the topography of Dubai is significantly different from that of the southern portion of the UAE in that much of Dubai's landscape is highlighted by sandy desert patterns, while gravel deserts dominate much of the southern region of the country. The sand consists mostly of crushed shell and coral and is fine, clean and white. East of

11132-409: The second class cabins and started fires. The captain gave the order to abandon ship but two lifeboats capsized and a second explosion occurred. A flotilla of small boats from Dubai, Sharjah , Ajman , and Umm al-Quwain picked up survivors, but 238 of the 819 persons on board were lost in the disaster. The construction of Dubai's first airport was started on the northern edge of the town in 1959 and

11253-464: The second-most five-star hotels in the world and the tallest building in the world , the Burj Khalifa , which is 828 metres (2,717 ft) tall. Located in the eastern Arabian Peninsula , on the coast of the Persian Gulf , it is a major global transportation hub for passengers and cargo. In 2023, Dubai was the third most-visited city in the world . Many theories have been proposed as to

11374-625: The sixth millennium BC. It has been suggested that acquisition of high-quality wood may have played a role in this expansion. The available evidence in northern Mesopotamia points to a cooler and drier climate during the Hassuna and Halaf periods. During the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional (HUT), Ubaid and early Uruk periods, this developed into a climate characterised by stronger seasonal variation , heavy torrential rains and dry summers. Ubaid and Ubaid-like material culture has been found over an immense area. Ubaid ceramics have shown up from Mersin in

11495-402: The slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, but to its alternative meaning of "baby locust " ( Arabic : جراد ) due to the abundance of locusts in the area before settlement. The history of human settlement in the area now defined by the United Arab Emirates is complex and extensive. It points to extensive trading links between

11616-434: The south, corresponding to the area that would later be known as Sumer , the entire Ubaid spans an immense period from ca. 6500 to 3800 BC. It is here that the oldest known Ubaid site - Tell el-'Oueili - was found. In southern Iraq , no archaeological site has yet yielded remains older than Ubaid, However, this might be more a result of the fact that such ancient settlements are now buried deep under alluvial sediments. This

11737-554: The terminal building opened for business in September 1960. The airport was initially serviced by Gulf Aviation (flying Dakotas , Herons, and Viscounts ) but Iran Air commenced services to Shiraz in 1961. In 1962 the British Political Agent noted that "Many new houses and blocks of offices and flats are being built... the Ruler is determined, against advice [from the British authorities] to press on with

11858-576: The transfer from Lingeh "bids fair to become complete and permanent", and also that the town had by 1906 supplanted Lingeh as the chief entrepôt of the Trucial States. The "great storm" of 1908 struck the pearling boats of Dubai and the coastal emirates towards the end of the pearling season that year, resulting in the loss of a dozen boats and over 100 men. The disaster was a major setback for Dubai, with many families losing their breadwinners and merchants facing financial ruin. These losses came at

11979-554: The union. Over the next two years, negotiations and meetings of the rulers followed—often stormy—as a form of union was thrashed out. The nine-state union was never to recover from the October 1969 meeting where British intervention against aggressive activities by two of the Emirates resulted in a walk-out by Bahrain and Qatar. They dropped out of talks, leaving six of the seven "trucial" emirates to agree on union on 18 July 1971. On 2 December 1971, Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi, Sharjah , Ajman , Umm al-Quwain , and Fujairah joined in

12100-439: The unpredictability of this type of irrigation may have been a factor in increasing social complexity. The relative absence of animal dung , and the common presence of charred wood remains, suggests that wood was used as fuel. At Surezha, dung was commonly used for fuel, and there is some evidence that cattle were used as traction animals for plowing fields. Tell Zeidan again provides a wealth of information. The composition of

12221-412: The use of the plough, both introduced from the north, possibly through the earlier Choga Mami , Hadji Muhammed and Samarra cultures . The Ubaid period as a whole, based upon the analysis of grave goods , was one of increasingly polarized social stratification and decreasing egalitarianism . Bogucki describes this as a phase of "Trans-egalitarian" competitive households, in which some fall behind as

12342-609: The west to Tepe Ghabristan in the east, and from Norşuntepe and Arslantepe in the north to Dosariyah in the south along the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia . In this area, researchers have discerned considerable regional variation, indicating that the Ubaid was not a monolithic culture through time and space. The Ubaid period is most commonly divided in 6 phases, called Ubaid 0-5. Some of these phases equate with pottery styles that were, in earlier publications, considered to be distinct from Ubaid, but that are now considered to be part of

12463-566: Was $ 35 an ounce but its market price in India was $ 68 an ounce – a healthy markup. Estimates at the time put the volume of gold imports from Dubai to India at around 75% of the total market. After years of exploration following large finds in neighbouring Abu Dhabi , oil was eventually discovered in territorial waters off Dubai in 1966, albeit in far smaller quantities. The first field was named "Fateh" or "good fortune". This led to an acceleration of Sheikh Rashid's infrastructure development plans and

12584-421: Was a mass grave from violence. Copper weapons were also present in the form of arrow heads and sling bullets, although these could have been used for other purpose; two clay pots recovered from the era have decorations showing arrows used for the purpose of hunting. A copper axe head was made in the late Ubaid period, which could have been a tool or a weapon. During the late Ubaid period around 4500–4000 BC, there

12705-401: Was a source of metallic goods, notably copper and bronze. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, becoming part of the city's present coastline. Pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries. Prior to the introduction of Islam to the area, the people in this region worshiped Bajir (or Bajar ). After the spread of Islam in

12826-606: Was also found at the site. Fish may have been a local commodity that was traded for the Mesopotamian pottery that has been found at sites along the Persian Gulf. Ubaid culture is characterized by large unwalled village settlements, multi-roomed rectangular mud-brick houses and the appearance of the first temples of public architecture in Mesopotamia, with a growth of a two tier settlement hierarchy of centralized large sites of more than 10 hectares surrounded by smaller village sites of less than 1 hectare. Domestic equipment included

12947-494: Was also in use during the Ubaid, although the percentage of obsidian tools that was found at archaeological sites fluctuates widely across Mesopotamia. At sites along the middle Euphrates, only few pieces were usually found, and the number of obsidian artefacts was also limited in southern Mesopotamian sites. At sites along the Khabur and the upper Tigris , obsidian was more common. Also, obsidian seems to have been less common during

13068-400: Was an important port of call for foreign tradesmen, chiefly those from Iran, many of whom eventually settled in the town. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was an important port. At that time, Dubai consisted of the town of Dubai and the nearby village of Jumeirah , a collection of some 45 areesh (palm leaf) huts. By the 1920s, many Iranians settled in Dubai permanently, moving across

13189-602: Was caught in the act of starting one such blaze and was subsequently put to death. In 1901, Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum established Dubai as a free port with no taxation on imports or exports and also gave merchants parcels of land and guarantees of protection and tolerance. These policies saw a movement of merchants not only directly from Lingeh, but also those who had settled in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah (which had historical links with Lingeh through

13310-468: Was characterized as smuggling, although Dubai's merchants were quick to point out that they were making legal deliveries of gold and that it was up to the customer where they took it. In 1966, more gold was shipped from London to Dubai than almost anywhere else in the world (only France and Switzerland took more), at 4 million ounces. Dubai also took delivery of over $ 15 million worth of watches and over 5 million ounces of silver. The 1967 price of gold

13431-463: Was detected, it was all of the same type, i.e. one- or two-band circumferential headshaping, which results in an elongated shape of the head. Different types of headshaping were practiced prior to and after the Ubaid period across the Near East, but it seems that the specific technique of circumferential headshaping may have originated in Iran, east of the area of Ubaid influence, and reached its peak during

13552-581: Was established in Dubai in the 1950s and, in 1959, the emirate's first hotel, the Airlines Hotel, was constructed. This was followed by the Ambassador and Carlton Hotels in 1968. Sheikh Rashid commissioned John Harris from British architectural construction firm Halcrow , to create the city's first master plan in 1959. Harris imagined a Dubai that would rise from the historic centre on Dubai Creek, with an extensive road system, organised zones, and

13673-440: Was first distinguished on the basis of its painted pottery. Ceramics continue to be a main characteristic to determine the chronology and geographical distribution of the period. The paint varies from black to brown, purple and dark green and the pottery fabric itself usually has a buff to red/green brown color. Ubaid 1-2 pottery had dense, geometric and abstract decoration. Later pottery was less decorated, with bands and swags being

13794-558: Was made from it. For example, blades were made from a higher quality flint than other tools, and they may have been produced off-site, indicating that not only raw materials but also finished products were transported over larger distances. Flint was used for a variety of tools, including arrowheads, sickle blades, hoes (which are sometimes considered a hallmark of the Ubaid) and a variety of tools for piercing and drilling. Flint assemblages display both regional and temporal variation. Obsidian

13915-585: Was not as evident at other sites as it was at Zeidan. There was no indication at Zeidan that there was spatial differentiation across the site in how animal products were consumed, suggesting that food stuffs weren't a means to express social differentiation. The Ubaid-related sites along the Persian Gulf coast provide evidence for fishing. The range of species recovered at H3, for example, indicates that fishing probably mainly took place in shallow coastal waters. Tuna, which cannot be caught in Kuwait Bay anymore,

14036-484: Was paid for by a toll levied on the crossing from the Dubai side of the creek to the Deira side. BOAC was originally reluctant to start regular flights between Bombay and Dubai, fearing a lack of demand for seats. However, by the time the asphalt runway of Dubai Airport was constructed in 1965, opening Dubai to both regional and long haul traffic, a number of foreign airlines were competing for landing rights. In 1970,

14157-510: Was related to increasing social differentiation between kin groups . Adults, on the other hand, were buried at the edge of the settlement in communal burial grounds in pit burials or inside clay boxes. Such burial grounds have for example been excavated at Eridu. These burial practices represent a clear break from those of the preceding Late Neolithic period. During the Late Neolithic, burials were often secondary and burial treatment

14278-555: Was some increase in social polarization, with central houses in the settlements becoming bigger. But there were no real cities until the later Uruk period . The languages that were spoken during the Ubaid period cannot be determined. Despite the fact that the Ubaid period is prehistorical , it has featured prominently in discussions on the origin and presence of the Sumerian and Akkadian languages in Sumer . This debate has been called

14399-636: Was the case, for example, of the site of Hadji Muhammed , which was discovered only by accident. In central and northern Iraq, the Ubaid was preceded by the Hassuna and Samarra cultures. The Ubaid may have developed out of the latter. In northern Syria and southeastern Turkey, the Ubaid follows upon the Halaf period , and a relatively short Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period (HUT) dating to c. 5500-5200 BC has been proposed as well. HUT pottery assemblages displayed both typically Ubaid and Halaf characteristics. The relations between these periods - or cultures -

14520-451: Was to be further expanded in 1975 to add a further 35 berths before the larger port of Jebel Ali were constructed. Port Rashid was the first of a swath of projects designed to create a modern trading infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals. Dubai and the other " Trucial States " had long been a British protectorate where the British government took care of foreign policy and defence, as well as arbitrating between

14641-413: Was very diverse. The Ubaid witnessed a marked shift toward primary burial, less diverse burial customs, and less diversity in burial gifts. This shift has been interpreted as a reflection of changing perceptions of personhood . Evidence for cranial modification , i.e. deliberate headshaping, among both men and women, has come from many archaeological sites throughout wider Mesopotamia. Where headshaping

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