Julfar

Julfar (Arabic: جلفار) was an Islamic-era port, trading entrepôt and settlement, which formed a key element in the Arab trading networks that straddled East and West throughout the Islamic period until they were overrun by the Portuguese in the 16th century. It was a predecessor settlement to Ras Al Khaimah, today in the United Arab Emirates, and, although often conflated with the 17th-century emergence of the modern city of Ras Al Khaimah, represents a distinct era of human settlement and development from that of the modern city. Julfar's rise, efflorescence and fall took place between 1300 and 1650 CE.