# Maktum ibn Buti
**Maktum ibn Buti** (مكتوم بن بطي) was the founder of the ruling line of Dubai, a shaikh of the Al Bu Falasah section of the Bani Yas confederation who led his people from [Abu Dhabi](https://www.edgepedia.org/abu-dhabi) to Dubai in 1833 and ruled the new shaikhdom until his death in 1852.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) • [2](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maktoum-dynasty) His rule established the dynasty of the Al Maktoum rulers for Dubai.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) • [4](https://www.maktoum.ae/ar/history)
| Key fact | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Tribal origin | Al Bu Falasah, a constituent tribe of the Bani Yas confederation[2](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maktoum-dynasty) |
| Migration to Dubai | 1833, from Abu Dhabi[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) |
| Joint leadership | With 'Ubaid bin Sa'id, 1833 to 1836[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) |
| Sole ruler of Dubai | From 1836[2](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maktoum-dynasty) |
| Death | 1852, while still ruling[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) |
| Successor | His brother, Sheikh Saeed bin Buti[3](https://sheikhmohammed.ae/ar-ae/Pages/History.aspx) |
## Accession and family
Maktum belonged to the Al Bu Falasah, a subsection of the Bani Yas confederation centered on Abu Dhabi. In 1833 the family was among those who left Abu Dhabi to escape feuding within its ruling Nahyan family, and a group of the Al Bu Falasah seceded and settled in Dubai, then a small fishing village at the edge of Bani Yas influence.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) • [2](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maktoum-dynasty)
The exodus had two leaders, 'Ubaid bin Sa'id and Maktum bin Buti, who remained joint leaders until 'Ubaid's death in 1836. Maktum then ruled alone.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) • [2](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maktoum-dynasty) The official Al Maktoum family history dates the family's rule of Dubai from the 1833 arrival, beginning with Sheikh Maktum ibn Buti ibn Suhail.[4](https://www.maktoum.ae/ar/history)
## Reign: policies, administration, and wars
The newly established shaikhdom had difficulty defending its independence against two stronger neighbors, Abu Dhabi and the Qasimi shaikhdom of Sharjah.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) The nineteenth-century Trucial Coast was marked by struggles between the two main tribal groupings, the Bani Yas and the Qawasim, the latter headquartered in Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah.[5](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781317244653_A26656842/preview-9781317244653_A26656842.pdf)
Maktum's characteristic policy was accommodation: he and most of his successors usually followed a policy of good understanding with the British authorities in the Gulf, probably partly as a safeguard against the obliteration of the small state.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) The official family history records that Dubai faced difficult circumstances during his period of rule, and that his brother and successor continued his policy of making Dubai a safe place for people.[4](https://www.maktoum.ae/ar/history) • [3](https://sheikhmohammed.ae/ar-ae/Pages/History.aspx)
## Political influence
Maktum's lasting institution is the dynasty itself: his rule established the dynasty of the Al Maktoum rulers for Dubai.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) • [4](https://www.maktoum.ae/ar/history) Succession within his immediate family ran through his brother rather than a son: after his death in 1852, his brother Sheikh Saeed bin Buti became ruler, continuing Maktoum's management of Dubai's affairs and working to strengthen the emirate's alliances to achieve stability.[3](https://sheikhmohammed.ae/ar-ae/Pages/History.aspx) • [6](https://www.maktoum.ae/en/history)
The trade-friendly direction of the dynasty outlasted Maktum himself: British documents on the region record that the era of later rulers saw a shift toward economic openness, including abolishing taxes on merchants, which drew wealthy merchants to migrate to Dubai or make it their trading center.[3](https://sheikhmohammed.ae/ar-ae/Pages/History.aspx) Britannica notes that the emirate remained insignificant for decades until the trade-friendly policies of later rulers transformed Dubai into a commercial center.[2](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maktoum-dynasty)
## End of the reign and succession
Maktum bin Buti ruled until he died in 1852.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) He was succeeded by his brother Sheikh Saeed bin Buti.[3](https://sheikhmohammed.ae/ar-ae/Pages/History.aspx) • [6](https://www.maktoum.ae/en/history)
## Historians' assessment
A scholarly history of the [Trucial States](https://www.edgepedia.org/trucial-states) treats Maktum as the founder of a durable ruling house whose policy of good relations with the British authorities in the Gulf, shared by most of his successors, helped preserve the small state between stronger neighbors.[1](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html) The Al Maktoum family's own office records that he came to power very young and that by his death in 1852 he had become a respected, influential authority.[7](https://ahmedmaktoum.com/al-maktoum-family/) A Palgrave Macmillan chapter devoted to the Maktums of the Al Bu Falasa treats their political culture and their relations with the British government as central to the development of Dubai.[8](https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230603493_6)
## References
1. [The Trucial States, p. 264](https://online.flipbuilder.com/kiwg/ieun/files/basic-html/page264.html)
2. [Maktoum dynasty, Encyclopaedia Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maktoum-dynasty)
3. [History, official page of the Ruler of Dubai](https://sheikhmohammed.ae/ar-ae/Pages/History.aspx)
4. [History, Al Maktoum family official site (Arabic)](https://www.maktoum.ae/ar/history)
5. [The Origins of the United Arab Emirates (book preview)](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781317244653_A26656842/preview-9781317244653_A26656842.pdf)
6. [History, Al Maktoum family official site (English)](https://www.maktoum.ae/en/history)
7. [Al Maktoum family, Office of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Obaid Al Maktoum](https://ahmedmaktoum.com/al-maktoum-family/)
8. [The Maktums (Al Bu Falasa) and the Development of Dubai, Palgrave Macmillan](https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230603493_6)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Other history › Middle East and North Africa › Arabia, Yemen, and Oman (after 661) › Gulf sheikhdoms*
*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license