Prior to the construction of the metalled road between Fujairah City and Masafi in the 1970s, traffic to the interior from the coast passed through the bed of the wadi, controlled by Bithnah Fort, which has through the ages been a keenly contested strategic holding and was to form a key mainstay in the fortunes of the Sharqiyin through the 18th and early 19th centuries.

As such, it has long been a flashpoint in the region's conflicts, not least of which was that between the Qawasim of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah and the Na'im of Buraimi ranged against the Saidi Sultan of Muscat.

In 1745, the Qawasim together with the Na’im attempted to fight their way through the Wadi Ham to take the east coast and its great prize, the port of Sohar.

[1] The conflict rumbled on until, in 1762, a newly resurgent Ahmed bin Said (he had by now unified the querulous Omani tribes) blockaded Julfar, while the Qawasim moved against Rustaq.

Ahmed bin Said's forces, triumphant, also sacked the important port town of Dibba by sea, killing many members of the Naqbiyin and Sharqiyin tribes.

[4] The Qawasim found a new ally against their traditional enemy in Oman when the Saudis established a presence in Buraimi, zealous with the new message of their Wahhabi faith.

However, when the Qawasim Sheikh, Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, resisted Saudi dominance and pressure to harry shipping in the Gulf, he was removed from power and control over the forts of Fujairah, Bithnah and Khor Fakkan was placed in the hands of Saudi-backed forces.

His arrival coincided with growing exasperation on the part of Oman's ally, the British, with the Qawasim of Ras Al Khaimah and their constant raids on Omani and other locally flagged shipping.

Giving the British further casus belli, Sultan's presence at Muscat helped to inspire the 1809 Persian Gulf Campaign against the Qawasim at Ras Al Khaimah.

[6] This effectively saw Muscat cede the Shamaliyah to Sharjah, recognising Sultan bin Saq's de facto rule over the area.

After over a century of contested ownership of the east coast, or Shamaliyah, it was nominally under Qawasim control as Sultan bin Saqr consolidated his rule.

[7] However, the influence of the Qawasim was weakened following Sultan bin Saqr's death in 1866, his successor killed in single combat by Zayed the Great of Abu Dhabi.

Muscat stayed away and Saqr bin Khalid lost effective control over the whole of the east coast Al Qasimi possessions, from Dibba down to Kalba.

Control over the coastal town and trading post of Khor Fakkan, which could only be approached by land via Fujairah or Dibba at the time, was lost by default.