Shat Fink

After meeting an Abu Dhabi Sheikh at the weekend i got talking to a taxi driver the about how many Sheikhs there are in Abu Dhabi. He said that there were 5 major Sheikhs and reckoned there were hundreds of Sheikhs below them.

Anyone got any ideas how many and how they all fit into the Royal family and what are the duties if any of the lower level Sheikhs?

MacScot

Strawberry, banana, vanilla sheikhs etc....

Try googling "Abu Dhabi Royal Family" !

busybee2

i think there are 19 sons.... and loads of mini sheiks etc, the girls get forgotten

weescot

There are "a lot" as one Emirati just told me, but there is no such thing as a "low level" Sheikh - although they may have a low profile and lead a "normal" life by local standards.

The most significant Sheikhs serve on the Executive Council, chaired by HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi):

http://gsec.abudhabi.ae/Sites/GSEC/N...e-gallery.html

Desert Dweller

More than you can sheikh a stick at.

Aikman7981

do they all get palaces? There are heaps of "palaces" here in Al Ain with gates and gaurds and the whole deal but no way of knowing if that means it is a royal's house or just some excessively wealth Emirati.

Cry haddock

I was told at a few days ago that sh zayed had 72 kids, but who knows!

Roadking

The kids certainly don't!

Grace O Malley

That does not include all the ones living in Pakistan!

Sabriyyah

In Gulf terms the word Sheikh means a man of the royal family and Sheikha is a woman likewise so all Sheikhs and Sheikhas in Abu Dhabi have the family name Al Nahyan, in Dubai it's Al Maktoum, in Qatar Al Thani etc. In other countries a Sheikh is a revered senior member of the community (or someone who just fancied being called 'Sheikh' as with lots of Indian Muslims). So, to answer your point, they are all members of the royal family but some are more distant from the current ruler and therefore less prominent. Hope this helps.

shiva

[QUOTE=Sabriyyah;7565571]In Gulf terms the word Sheikh means a man of the royal family and Sheikha is a woman likewise so all Sheikhs and Sheikhas in Abu Dhabi have the family name Al Nahyan, in Dubai it's Al Maktoum, in Qatar Al Thani etc. QUOTE]


Not true at all, tribal leaders are usually sheikhs, remember the nahyans, maktoums etc are tribal leaders who also happen to be rulers of emirates but the term sheikh isnt exclusive to the ruling/royal family.

eg Sheikh Mohammed Bin Butti Hamid Al Hamid is governer of the western region of Abu Dhabi, he is a sheikh but not a nahyan. (as far as I know)

There are many different tribes here in the UAE maybe as many as 70 and the power plays, distinction etc are way beyond me, to name a couple, Bani Yas, Awamir, Manasir, Anazah, Shammar,Al Shamsi,Al Rashidi, etc etc. Although not all will have sheikhs and some will have sheikhs but they wont be recognised by other sheikhs as being sheikhs, some will be entitled to have sheikhs but wont have any and some wont be entitled to have sheikhs but will.
There are also tribes who are in both the UAE and Oman who may have sheikhs in Oman but not the UAE or visa versa, this doesnt include the many iranian tribes who nobody recognises as being tribes or having rulers/leaders.
Also many of these tribes are split into sub tribes and not eveyone will use his tribal name as his last name, this is further confused when tribes have joined so the names are not often related to the tribal affiliation, eg the Al Shamsi and Na' im who are technically the same tribe but not named as such.

I hope that clears things up


for further info this is a good starting point
http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_mi...ectives/04.pdf

edit: i should point out that the Nahyans and Maktoums are both sub sets of the Bani Yas, arguably the largest and most powerful tribe in the UAE, as to how many sheikhs are in Abu Dhabi, **** knows, I doubt even the government really knows.

n.b. The Maktoums are of the Al bu Falasah who are of the Bani Yas, the Bani Yas are a a federation of the Al Bu Falasah, the Al hawamil, the Al Maharibah, Al Mazari, the Al Sudan, the Al Bu Mauhair, the Al Rimithat, the Al Qibaisat and the Al Mahar.
The Al Nahyans are also of the Al Bu Falasah

shiva

if anyone can work out what i just wrote could they email me
[email protected]

Eva

Perfectly clear to me.

shiva

thats a relief cos i had started to confuse myself

Roadking

I think the simple answer is; Too fewking many.

Except at weekends when they are all partying in Dubai!