House of Thani
Qatar, 1825–1971. Draft, not yet reviewed
The House of Thani ... is the ruling family of Qatar, with origins tracing back to the Adnanite Banu Tamim tribe. The Al Thani family settled in Doha in the 19th century under their leader Mohammed bin Thani. In 1868 the Al Thanis received British recognition of their rule, but still faced some opposition from other clans. In 1916 the Al Thanis achieved a stronger treaty with the British Empire.
Seat of power: Doha
Rulers
Muhammad ibn Thani
Emir of the State of Qatar, 1851–1878
Mohammed bin Thani was the first ruler from the House of Thani to rule the whole Qatari Peninsula, recognized by the British in September 1868 after a meeting with British representative Lewis Pelly. It was not until Mohammed bin Thani and his family moved from Fuwayrit to Al Bidda in 1848 that he began to exert influence over the peninsula.
Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani
Emir of the State of Qatar, 1878–1913
Al Thani sought to turn Qatar into a single unified and independent entity. Under his leadership, Qatar emerged as a coherent and stable country.
Portrait of Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani: House of Thani, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Ahmed bin Muhammed Al Thani
Emir of the State of Qatar, 1898–1905
Multiple sources state that Sheikh Jassim abdicated in favor of his brother in 1898. Sheikh Ahmed was noted as a clever man with a remarkable personality by the Political Agent in Bahrain at that time.
Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani
Emir of the State of Qatar, 1913–1914
Mohammed bin Jassim reigned for 10 months and abdicated in favour of his brother, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani.
Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani
Emir of the State of Qatar, 1914–1949
Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire recognised Sheikh Abdullah and his successors' right to rule over the whole of the Qatari Peninsula. On 3 November 1916, Britain, to bring Qatar under its Trucial System of Administration, signed a treaty with Sheikh Abdullah. Oil was discovered in Qatar for the first time during his rule.
Portrait of Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani: عبدالوهاب بن نشمي بن مقرن العتيبي, CC0, file
Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani
Emir of the State of Qatar, 1949–1960
His reign saw the establishment of the first regular school for boys, the first regular school for girls, the funding of university places and the construction of the first permanent hospital. During his reign, Sheikh Ali oversaw the first shipment of onshore Qatari oil from the port city of Mesaieed on 31 December 1949, marking Qatar's entry into the oil age.
Portrait of Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani: Atomicbomba 30, CC0, file
Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani
Emir of the State of Qatar, 1960–1972
He took the throne on 24 October 1960 after his father abdicated in his favor. Sheikh Ahmad then assumed throne and became the emir through the final years of dependency, overseeing the nation's independence from Great Britain in 1971.
Culture
- Qatar's geography and relatively short history meant a weak merchant class and hardly any religious establishment, and other local tribes lost almost all power.
- The discovery and exploitation of oil made the rule of the Al Thanis even more undisputed (and the Al Thanis came to be the only family allowed to name themselves sheikhs), but also increased tensions within the family.
- To address the widespread illiteracy prevalent at the time, Al Thani established traditional schools known as kuttabs.
Picture
Al Zubarah is a ruined town on the northwestern coast of the Qatar peninsula, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
Image: Rafeek Qatar, CC BY-SA 2.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.