Shakhbut bin Dhiyab Al Nahyan


Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab Al Nahyan was the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, now part of the United Arab Emirates.

Political career

Shakbut's father, Dhiyab bin Isa, had sent a hunting party from Liwa in 1761 which tracked a gazelle to a brackish spring on the island. Dhiyab ordered Shakbut to move to the island in 1793; he did, and built a village and fort there near a freshwater spring. The fort, Qasr Al-Hosn, became the palace of the sheikhs. It housed the Centre for Documentation and Research for several years, and is now a museum. By Shakhbut's reign, Abu Dhabi had expanded to some 400 houses.

Successors

He was followed by his sons Mohammed bin Shakhbut Tahnun bin Shakhbut Khalifa bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan, but co-ruled throughout all their reigns. Hilal and Yafoor are identified as his sons in the 1845 Memoranda on the Tribes of the Arabian Shores of the Persian Gulf of Lieutenant AB Kembal, Assistant Resident at Bushire.

Legacy

He has been described as legendary, and having a notable amount of sons. He was deposed by his son.