THE GULF STATE OF BAHRAIN

I was going to write a nice, detailed, historical blog about the Southern European nation of Albania. A small little Muslim-majority country nestled between the Southern Slavic nations and Greece along the Adriatic Sea, Albania will be the first of 20 nations (As of the end of 2026) that I have a personal experience with via a day long visitation in October of 2024. But upon finishing my previous article on Zimbabwe, a war broke out between the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States, and Israel. As part of this war, Iran has been lobbing missiles at various Gulf States that are close allies with the West. Specifically, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the oil rich small, city-state like nations of Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The fourth nation, Bahrain, will be the focus of this nation state evaluation. Bahrain is currently the headquarters for the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet and has come under ballistic missile attack with apparent significant damage being  done to the base since the war began. This article will evaluate the history of the area, its current economic and political structure and what the future may look like for this tiny island in the Persian Gulf.

Bahrain is one of the tiniest countries in the world. Totaling anywhere between 304 to 309 square miles depending on factors related to water reclamation and natural ocean movement, Bahrain is an archipelago of around 30 islands in which 7/8th of the country is Bahrain Island, the largest of the 30 and the majority of the nation’s landmass. The country has a unique history dating back over 2500 years and like today, was often seen as the jewel of the Persian Gulf. A place where economics reigned through international trade and its natural beauty has kept the island’s population protected from the horrors of war. Manama became the nation’s capital in 1971. The population of the capital is approximately 769,000. Being a small island, it is densely populated with a total population approximating 1.67 million.

Not many traces of ancient civilizations can be found inside Bahrain. So much of its history has been notated by foreign nations or empires that lived nearby. The first traces of its occupation were notated by the Sumerians who linked the island to an ancient civilization known as the Dilmun. It was known as an important trading hub that linked Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley specializing in important commodities at the time like copper and wool. Dilmun was recognized as a Holy Place by the Sumerians and the Indus:

“Dilmun was particularly noted for cleanliness and purity, and it was a water god who played a leading role in the religion of the two lands.”

Bahrain in ancient times had multiple rulers from the Bible’s infamous Babylonians to the Sumerians, to the Assyrians, and eventually, to the Achaemenid Persians (Who Alexander the Great conquered). The Greeks called the island Tylos and it was known to them as a mercantile center specializing in pearls and clothing. Per the notations of Nearchus, one of Alexander’s military commanders on ancient Bahrain and its impressive trading markets:

“On the island of Tylos, situated in the Persian Gulf, are large plantations of cotton tree, from which are manufactured clothes called sindones, with very different degrees of value, some being costly, others less expensive. The use of these is not confined to India but extends to Arabia.”

From 3rd BC onto the 7th Century AD, Bahrain was a key hub for multiple Persian empires. During the 7th Century, the Islamic Caliphate inspired by Mohammed’s teachings took control of Bahrain and conquered Persia. According to the history of the Island up to this point, the island was occupied by a combination of “Christianized Arabs, Aramaic-speaking farmers, Persian Zoroastrians and a small number of Jews.” Islamic texts claim the island was filled with Zoroastrians and Mohammed taxed them via the system of “Jizya” at the time. The island became Islamic during this Century.

Being an island nation, Bahrain has not been isolated from the often-crazy utopian ideals of human beings. The Qarmatians created a small empire on the island of Bahrain in the 9th Century. This group was a radical sect of the Shi’a Muslim religion that rejected many of the ideas behind Sharia Law. Their society had an anarchist feel being very egalitarian with no taxes, the promotion of social equality, and made worshiping at a mosque an optional activity which attracted many Muslims from the lower sects. During the height of this proto-anarcho-communist society, they raided Mecca and killed many devout pilgrims. The Qarmatians stole the holy black stone of Kabaa that resided in Mecca often considered one of the holiest trinkets in Islamic culture and owned it for over 20 years before returning it in the mid-10th Century by throwing it into the Great Mosque of Kufa and shattering it into seven pieces. This unique civilization thrived until 976 AD when the Abbasid Caliphate defeated them, beginning a decline where their civilization was wiped from the island by the 11th Century.

As various caliphates hung onto the island until the 16th Century, Bahrain also became famous for being the first non-European colony that was fully conquered by a European nation. In 1521, Antonia Correia conquered the island and the Portuguese effectively hung onto it until 1602 when an uprising effectively kicked the Portuguese off the island. The island went through multiple invasions and different conquerors in the 1600 to 1700s leading to its darkest historical period. In 1783, the Bani Utbah tribe led by Ahmed Al-Fateh, conquered the island. Under constant Iranian and Omani bombardment for decades, the Al-Khalifa family signed a treaty with the British for control over the island in 1820. At the time, the British had complete maritime control over the Persian Gulf. Despite various issues with the colonizing Brits inside of Bahrain, the Al-Khalifa family remained the kings of the land (And still are at present) including guiding the nation to independence in 1971. One of the biggest political problems inside Bahrain is the ruling family of dictators are Sunni Muslims while a large majority of the population is Shi’a which has led to accusations of discrimination by the people, often brutal and violent repression by the government especially during the Arab Spring, and constant political unrest due to the large disparity of wealth in the nation. Iran has claimed the island as their territory for over a century, but no one has recognized their historical claim. After the British left the region, the Al-Khalifa’s maintained close ties with the Saudis and the United States who based their Naval Fifth Fleet there. Bahrain is a current member of the Gulf Cooperation Council formed in 1981 and helped the United States attack Iraq in the early 1990s and 2003 during both those wars.

Bahrain is considered a high-income, wealthy nation, frequently ranking within the top 30-40 richest economies globally per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), with a 2025 estimated GDP (PPP) per capita of approximately 69,270. It is a top-ranking Arab nation, often cited as one of the tops in the region for financial attractiveness.
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Next week: Back to Albania!