James Onley

James Onley is a leading historian of the Gulf and Middle East, currently Ahmed Seddiqi Chair inGulf & Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of History at the American University of Sharjah. Formerly Director of Historical Research at Qatar National Library and head of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter, he is internationally recognised for his work on Gulf history, British-Arab relations, and Indo-Arab connections.

A graduate of Oxford University, he is the author of the acclaimed The Arabian Frontier of the British Raj and founding editor of the Journal of Arabian Studies. He has also advised major cultural and academic institutions in Britain and the Gulf.