Unique New Book Reveals the First Complete History of the Emirates

A new human history of the United Arab Emirates, written by author and media consultant Alexander McNabb, reveals for the first time the full wealth and colour of the Emirates’ history and heritage. The book, Children of the Seven Sands, is unique in that it tells the story of the land of the Emirates from the emergence of anatomically modern man from Africa through to the present day in a single volume. A resident of the UAE for over 30 years, McNabb’s study stands as a unique combination of research and tacit experience of the area it celebrates.

“Children of the Seven Sands is a remarkable book that uncovers the enormous sweep of history in which the United Arab Emirates is rooted, for the first time,” said Ian Fairservice, Managing Partner of Motivate Media Group. “Although we have published many historical works before, I have never seen a title that brings it all together and tells the full story of the people of the Emirates in an accessible and lively narrative in this way.”

The book launches with a session at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on Saturday 1^st February 2025, at 4pm and will be available from all UAE retailers as well as online at booksarabia.com, amazon and other online booksellers.

Children of the Seven Sands pulls together the results of modern archaeological research and unexplored archival material to tell the story of the Emirates in a totally new way. It traces the UAE’s story back to the Garden of Eden, the mythical floods of the Old Testament and the very foundation of the Sumerian civilisation.

Known to the Sumerians as Magan, a key source of the copper that sparked the metallurgical revolution that swept Europe, the land of the Emirates was home to a Bronze Age trading entrepôt linking Mesopotamia, Persia and the Indus Valley civilisation. This then transformed through the Iron Age into a locus for agricultural and social innovation, welcoming new religions and seeing great pre-Islamic cities blossom in the sands – from Mleiha in Sharjah’s desert interior through to Ed-Dur on the coast of Umm Al Quwain.

Children of the Seven Sands shows how the region emerged from the pre-Islamic age to become a commercial centre that dominated the fabulous wealth of the trade monopoly between Asia and Europe. Its people traded throughout the seven seas until the arrival of the Portuguese triggered a series of clashes with expansionist European empires that went on to impose the Pax Britannica on the Trucial States, the coastal city-states that eventually came together to found the United Arab Emirates when the British protectorate finally ceased in December 1971.

McNabb, has lived, worked and travelled in the Middle East for almost four decades in a career dedicated to the region’s media and publishing industries. In bringing together the history of the Emirates, he was guided by Consulting Editor Peter Hellyer, who sadly passed away in 2023.

“It was while I was researching articles for magazines in the 1990s that I first started to appreciate there was a depth of history here that was being neglected,” said McNabb. “Over time, pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together and I came to realise that the whole story is simply dazzling – this place where we live is home to such an amazing and dramatic heritage. That’s the story I set out to unravel in the book, a story of amazing bravery, courage, tragedy, conflict and passion that goes back thousands of years to the very dawn of humanity. Peter, widely respected for his seminal work in the archaeology and history of the Emirates, was a guiding light in this effort and we miss him tremendously.”

Children of the Seven Sands explores the enormous influence of trade networks stretching back over 5,000 years but also details the Arab trading monopoly with Asia, which fed the wealth of Byzantium, Genoa and Venice. From ports such as Julfar – the precursor to modern Ras Al Khaimah – dhows sailed to India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and China, bringing back ceramics, silks, spices and precious metals before the arrival of the Portuguese and other European powers. Children of the Seven Sands tells the story of the Trucial States, challenging accepted narratives regarding the collapse of the pearl trade and charting the emergence of new global trade networks in the 20^th Century that have fuelled the rise of the UAE into the economic powerhouse it is today’.

“This book will make you see the Emirates with new eyes, that much I promise you,” said McNabb. “Buildings and locations you drive by without a thought will take on new meaning: areas you may have known for years will be revealed as key to the magnetic, compelling story of the Emirates. There’s barely a rock in the wild landscape that hasn’t at one time or another been involved in the most amazing history of this place.”