Zayed was born in 1918 and named after his grandfather, Shaikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, who has the longest reign in the emirate's history, ruling Abu Dhabi from 1855 to 1909. His grandfather is also known as “
Zayid The Great” and “Zayed the First”, and had played a large role in forging unity between the tribes of Oman and leading the
Bani Yas tribe.
Zayed's father, Shiekh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ruled Abu Dhabi between 1922 and 1926. Then Zayed's uncle, Shaikh Saqr bin Zayed Al Nayhan, reigned followed by by Zayed's eldest brother, Sheikh Shakhbut in 1928. After his father died in 1927, Zayed moved to the oasis of Al Ain, approximately 160 kilometers east of the island of Abu Dhabi, where he spent the rest of his youth. There he underwent religious education, and learned the Noble Quran and was deeply moved by the biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
At that time, the seven emirates, known then as the seven Trucial States, had been under British influence since 1820. Abu Dhabi was poor and undeveloped and its economy was based upon fishing and pearl diving along the coast. The economy suffered when the market for Gulf pearls collapsed in the 1930s after Japanese scientists invented the cultured pearl. At this point, the first oil company teams came to carry out geological surveys, and Zayed was appointed to guide them around the desert.
