Qatar's municipality is Al Shamal. Its capital is known as "Madinat ash Shamal," and despite its small population of 7,975, it's area is 898.8 km2, it is considered one of Qatar's main cities. The name of the seat translates to "city of the north".
Ras Rakan, the northernmost point of the Qatar Peninsula, is included in the municipality and, as such, is bordered by the Persian Gulf in all directions save the south. It is bounded by the municipality of Al Khor. There are three major zones in the municipality.
Al Shamal Municipality was founded in July 1972, along with Qatar's other four founding municipalities.
Al Shamal is the country's least populous municipality. Because it is located in the country's northernmost region, its historical significance is ascribed to its more temperate climate and proximity to Bahrain.
Its residents' traditional means of subsistence were fishing and pearling. Al Huwailah, on the east coast of Al Shamal, functioned as Qatar's major town as early as the 16th century. It was later surpassed by Al Zubarah, a town in the municipality's western sector that developed to be the largest and most significant community in Qatar during the 18th century.
Historically, a unique collaboration structure between coastal and inland settlements existed. Due to seawater intrusion, groundwater would be extremely difficult to acquire from settlements positioned directly on the coast. Thus, coastal villages would trade coveted maritime resources such as fish for commodities exclusively available inland, such as freshwater and crops. Examples of past alliances include the Fuwayrit-Zarqa alliance and the Al Ghariyah-Al 'Adhbah alliance. Another method used by villages to collect freshwater was to excavate rawdas in order to construct small reservoirs that would fill during the rainy season.
Following the discovery of oil, the majority of Al Shamal's people relocated to Doha, the capital. The region saw major population outflow in the mid-twentieth century due to upper aquifer salinization caused by the usage of diesel-powered water pumps. Nonetheless, after Qatar began to profit from its oil extraction activities, many northern communities repopulated as it became possible to carry water over greater distances.
Until the 1970s, when the Qatari government adopted a plan to create Madinat ash Shamal between these two settlements, Abu Dhalouf and Ar Ru'ays were the largest communities on the northern coastline. To connect the three communities, a road system and a port were created throughout the 1970s. The expansion of Madinat ash Shamal continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, while urban developments in the neighboring villages of Abu Dhalouf and Ar Ru'ays began in the 2000s. At the moment, these three communities serve as the municipality's business and administrative hubs.
The majority of Al Shamal's settlements are rural, with small villages and farms dominating. The municipality contains the majority of Qatar's archaeological sites, abandoned settlements, and protected areas. The three adjacent villages of Madinat ash Shamal, Abu Dhalouf, Ar Ru'ays, and Ain Sinan have seen the most growth, with Madinat ash Shamal receiving the most attention.
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