House of Al Thani House of Al Thani The House of Thani () is the ruling family of Qatar, whose origins can be traced back to Al-Maadeed of the Banu Tamim tribal confederation. The Al Thanis can be traced back to Mudar bin Nizar, who settled at Gebrin oasis in southern Najd (present-day Saudi Arabia) before he moved to Qatar. Around the 17th century, the tribe lived in Ushayqir, a settlement north-east of Riyadh. They settled in Qatar around the 1740s. Their first settlement in Qatar was in the southern town of Sikak, and from there they moved north-west to Zubarah and Al Ruwais.
Dusit Thani Dusit Thani Dusit Thani () was a miniature city and micronation project created by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) of Siam (Thailand) in Dusit Palace (later moved to Phaya Thai) in the 1910s–1920s. The project explored aspects of democracy, as members of the court were to be "citizens" owning property in the model city. Elections were held, a constitution written, and two newspapers regularly published for the fictional country. Although critics have dismissed the project as nothing more than the king playing with dollhouses, others regard it as the first trial of a constitutional government in Thailand. Dusit Thani was a