[3] It comprises the capital city of Sharjah, after which it is named, and other minor towns and exclaves such as Kalba', Al Dhaid, Dibba Al-Hisn and Khor Fakkan.

[10] The first in a long series of maritime skirmishes between the Al Qasimi and British vessels took place in 1797, when the British-flagged snow the Bassein was seized and released two days later.

On 8 January 1820, Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi signed the General Maritime Treaty with Britain, accepting protectorate status in order to resist Ottoman domination.

A British marine survey of 1830 found 'three to four hundred boats' fishing in the season, earning the ruler 100,000 Maria Theresa Dollars.

[13] In 1932, Imperial Airways established a regular air service through Sharjah, which was an overnight stop on the Eastern British Empire route.

On 2 December 1971, Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi joined Sharjah to the United Arab Emirates.

[14] On 24 January 1972 however, the former ruler Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi staged a leftist coup.

Saqr was arrested and Khalid's brother, Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, an author and historian, came to power.

Then-UAE President Zayed denounced the coup, and a deal was reached for Sultan to be restored, while Abdulaziz would become the deputy ruler.

[16][17] In 1999, the Crown Prince (Sultan's eldest son) died of a drug overdose while on vacation in their palace in England.

The emirate covers 2,590 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi) which is equivalent to 3.3 per cent of the UAE's total area, excluding the islands.

Sharjah City borders Dubai to the south and Ajman to the north, and the three form a conurbation.

These are Kalba, Dibba Al-Hisn, and Khor Fakkan, which provide Sharjah with a major east coast port.

The emirate also encompasses some important oasis areas, the most famous of which is the fertile Dhaid region, where a range of vegetables and fruits are cultivated.

[23] Sharjah has devolved some authority of local decisions to Emiri Diwans (Ruler's Courts) in areas such Kalba and Khor Fakkan.

The state-backed authority is responsible for, among other things, creating policies for local and international exhibitions and marketing Sharjah to attract foreign investment and tourists.

Sharjah also maintains the strictest decency laws in the UAE, introduced in 2001, with a conservative dress code required for both men and women.

Over 51% of the population were in the 20-39 age group, and Sharjah was the largest settlement with 1.6 million residents, followed by Khor Fakkan with 53,000 and Kalba with 51,000.

The Hamriyah Free Zone Authority was established by an Emiri decree issued on 12 November 1995 and consists of a port and associated logistics and trade facilities.

These stamps, luridly illustrated and irrelevant to the actual emirates they purported to come from (editions included 'Space Research' and 'Tokyo Olympic Games') became known as 'dunes'.

The project is slated for completion in 2015, by which time the airport aims to be handling eight million passengers annually.

Sharjah International Airport is the main base of Air Arabia, the Middle East's largest low-cost carrier.

The city of Sharjah contains the main administrative and commercial centres, as well as a number of cultural institutions including several museums.