| Tawam | |
| Other Name: | Tuwwam Tu'am Al-Buraimi Oasis |
| Native Name: | Arabic: تَوَام|Tawām Arabic: وَاحَة ٱلْبُرَيْمِي|Wāḥat Al-Buraymī |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| Parts: | Al-Ain Al-Buraimi |
Tawam (Arabic: تَوَام|Tawām),[1] also Tuwwam,[2] [3] or Tu'am, is a historical oasis region in Eastern Arabia that stretched from, or was located between, the Western Hajar Mountains to the Persian Gulf coast, nowadays forming parts of the United Arab Emirates and western Oman. Although associated with the Buraimi Oasis (Arabic: وَاحَة ٱلْبُرَيْمِي|Wāḥat Al-Buraymī),[4] [5] by historians working from documentary sources available in the 1950s and 60s, Tu'am is now thought to refer to the Christian patriachate of St Thomas the Apostle of the East and the location of the principal city and pearling centre on Siniyah island in modern Umm Al Quwain on the Western seaboard of the UAE.[6]
It is marked by the twin settlements of Al Ain and Al-Buraimi on the UAE-Omani border, with the former in the UAE and the latter in Oman,[7] and with Siniyah on the Western seaboard of the UAE.
Al-Ain is the main settlement[8] [9] in the Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, located on the country's eastern border with Oman, where the adjacent town of Al-Buraimi is located. The region is located to the west of the Western Hajar Mountains[10] and the Gulf of Oman,[7] and in the vicinity of the Rub' al-Khali Desert.[3] On the coast of the Arabian or Persian Gulf lies Jumeirah in the Emirate of Dubai, which was probably part of this region,[1] [11] as well as the major pearling town and early religious site now being uncovered at Siniyah.
The word 'Tawam' means 'twins' in Arabic, and was thought to refer to a pair of alfaj (water channels) in the Buraimi region, as identified from the works of people like Salil ibn Raziq in the 19th century, Al-Tabari and Al-Muqaddasi[3] in the 10th century. However, contemporary archaeological and archival research has strongly identified Tu'am with Thomas the Apostle, particularly after the recent archaeological work carried out at Siniyah by Timothy Power, an archaeologist and professor based in Abu Dhabi who helped to found the Buraimi Oasis Landscape Archaeology Project.
See also: Bidaa Bint Saud, Buraimi Dispute, Hafit period, History of Oman, History of the United Arab Emirates, List of Ancient Settlements in the UAE, List of cultural property of national significance in the United Arab Emirates, List of oldest continuously inhabited cities and Umm al-Nar culture.
Archaeological remains dating to the Bronze Age and beyond, like at Al-Rumailah, Hili and Jebel Hafeet,[12] [13] have been found in this region. In ancient times, the region was reportedly used by Arabs as a place of gathering,[4] [1] and like Dibba, it was taxed by Al-Julanda, who were clients of the Sasanians, who reported to the Persian marzban (military governor), who was based at Al-Rustaq in what is now Oman.[11]
Like Dibba and present-day Ras Al Khaimah, the region witnessed events relevant to the history of Islam during the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid eras.[3] [11]
Around the Islamic Golden Age in the Middle Ages, the region, with its capital at 'Tawam', was an important sphere of influence for Arabs. Ceramics and other materials found here were believed to have been imported from Mesopotamia, India and China. At this time, Sohar, located to the east of this region, was of such prominence as a trading port on the coast of the Gulf of Oman that it was considered to be the "Dubai or Singapore of its day". A mosque, considered to be the oldest in the country, was found in the vicinity of the Sheikh Khalifa Mosque in Al-Ain by Dr Walid Al Tikriti, besides a falaj, a group of houses, and a village dating to the 9th or 10th century.[1]
Being strategically located near the Western Hajar, the area was an important stop for people and caravans traveling between the mountains and other parts of Arabia, such as Al-Hasa. Not only was the area, being rich in date palms, important for trade, but it was also used by certain people for smuggling slaves, women or children, years before the foundation of the UAE.[10]