Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1905–89)

Three-quarter length standing portrait of Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan outside Qasr Al Hosn fort in Abu Dhabi.Wilfred Thesiger first met Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan at Qasr Al Hosn Fort during the spring of 1948, just after his Second Crossing of the Empty Quarter. Then Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Shakhbut and his brothers Sheikh Hazaa bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Nahyan welcomed Thesiger and his Rashid Bedouin companions into the city of Abu Dhabi. For the next few weeks, Thesiger and his Rashid Bedouin companions stayed on as guests of the Al Nahyan family in Abu Dhabi.

Photographs of Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan