Al Mualla

{{Infobox noble house

|surname = Al Mualla

|native_name =

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|coat of arms = 200px

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|type = Royal house

|country = United Arab Emirates

|estates =

|parent house = Al Ali

|titles = Emir
Sheikh

|styles = His/Her Highness

|founded = {{Start date and age|1768}}

|founder = Rashid bin Majid Al Mualla

|final ruler =

|current head = Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla

|motto =

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The Al Mualla ({{langx|ar|المعلا}}) family is the ruling royal family of Umm Al Quwain, one of the seven emirates that together comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The family was traditionally at the head of the Al Ali tribe. The Al Ali (singular, Aliyi), were some 6,750 strong at the turn of the 19th century{{Cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf|last=Lorimer|first=John|publisher=British Government, Bombay|year=1915|pages=1432}} and were almost all settled either at Umm Al Quwain (1,000 families) or the inland town of Falaj Al Ali (later to be known as Falaj Al Mualla). Some 200 settled Al Ali families lived in Sharjah and 150 in Ras Al Khaimah, although there was also a small Bedouin section of some 140 families who roamed a dar between Jazirat Al Hamra and Falaj Al Ali. There was a Persian group of Al Ali, who referred to the Umm Al Quwain section as 'Al Mualla'. The tribe originated in Nejd.{{Cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol. II. Geographical and Statistical|last=Lorimer|first=John|publisher=British Government, Bombay|year=1915|pages=62}}

Founding Umm Al Quwain

The first known head of the Al Ali when they settled at Umm Al Quwain was Sheikh Rashid bin Majid Al Mualla. Sheikh Rashid was responsible for the construction of Umm Al Quwain Fort in the town in 1768,{{Cite web|url=http://ahd.uaq.ae/en/about-us/museums/fort-al-ali.html|title=Umm Al Qawain Museums|access-date=22 October 2018|archive-date=8 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808005156/https://ahd.uaq.ae/en/about-us/museums/fort-al-ali.html|url-status=dead}} today home to Umm Al Quwain museum.{{Cite news|url=https://gulfnews.com/culture/uae-museum-umm-al-quwain-museum-1.100259|title=UAE museum: Umm Al Quwain Museum|first=Nasouh|last=Nazzal|date=2008-11-02|work=GulfNews|access-date=2018-10-14}}

The fort and its watchtower were built after the Al Ali tribe moved from the island of Sinniyah to the mainland after water supplies on the island were exhausted.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/heritage/in-uaq-old-town-past-and-present-collide-1.448929|title=In UAQ Old Town, past and present collide|work=The National|access-date=2018-10-14|language=en}}

Rulers

The successive Al Mualla Rulers of Umm Al Quwain were:{{Cite book|title=The Origins of the United Arab Emirates : a Political and Social History of the Trucial States.|last=Said.|first=Zahlan, Rosemarie|date=2016|publisher=Taylor and Francis|isbn=9781317244653|pages=36|oclc=945874284}}

1768 – 1820: Sheikh Rashid bin Majid Al Mualla
1820 – 1853: Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla
1853 – 1873: Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Mualla
1873 – 1904: Sheikh Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mualla (b. 1844 – d. 1904)
1904 – 1922: Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mualla (b. 1876 – d. 1922)
1922 – 1923: Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla II
1923 – 1929: Sheikh Hamad bin Ibrahim Al Mualla
1929 – 1981: Sheikh Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mualla (b. 1904 – d. 1981)
1981 – 2009: Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mualla II (b. 1932 – d. 2009)
2009 – present: Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla (b. 1952)

Deputy rulers

The successive Al Mualla Deputy Rulers of Umm Al Quwain were:{{Cite news|url=https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/umm-al-quwain-ruler-dies-1.43071|title=Umm Al Quwain ruler dies|work=Gulf News|access-date=2020-04-15|language=en}}

20 April 2004 – present: Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla III (b. 1971)

References

Category:Middle Eastern royal families

Category:Tribes of the United Arab Emirates

Category:Arab dynasties