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History
History
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Pre-Islamic
Bahrain is the Arabic term for "two seas", referring to the freshwater springs that are found within the salty seas surrounding it.
Bahrain's strategic location in the Persian Gulf has brought rule and influence from the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and the Arabs, under whom the island became Islamic.
Bahrain may have been associated with Dilmun which is mentioned by Mesopotamian civilizations.
During its history it was called by different names such as Awal, then Mishmahig, when it was a part of the Persian Empire.
From the 3rd to 6th century BC, Bahrain was included in Persian Empire by Achaemenians, an Iranian dynasty.
From the 3rd century BC to the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD, Bahrain was controlled by two other Iranian dynasties of Parthians and Sassanids.
By about 250 BC, Parthian dynasty brought the Persian Gulf under their control and extended their influence as far as Oman.
Because they needed to control the Persian Gulf trade route, the Parthians established garrisons in the southern coast of Persian Gulf.
In the 3rd century AD, the Sasanids succeeded the Parthians and held the area until the rise of Islam four centuries later.
Ardashir, the first ruler of Iranian Sassanians Dynasty marched forward Oman and Bahrain, and defeated Sanatruq.
At this time, Bahrain incorporated in the southern Sassanid province covering over the Persian Gulf's southern shore plus the archipelago of Bahrain.
The southern province of Sasanids was subdivided into three districts of Haggar (now al-Hafuf province, Saudi Arabia), Batan Ardashir (now al-Qatif province, Saudi Arabia), and Msihmahig (In Middle-Persian/Pahlavi means "ewe-fish").
Until Bahrain adopted Islam in 629 AD, it was a center of Nestorian Christianity.
Early Islamic sources describe it as being inhabited by members of the Abdul Qays, Tamim, and Bakr tribes, worshiping the idol Awal.
Islamic
In 899 CE, a millenarian Ismaili sect, the Qarmatians, seized the country and sought to create a utopian society based on reason and the distribution of all property evenly among the initiates.
The Qarmatians caused disruption throughout the Islamic world; they collected tribute from the caliph in Baghdad, and in 930 CE sacked Mecca and Medina, bringing the sacred Black Stone back to their base in Ahsa, in medieval Bahrain where it was held to ransom.
According to the historian Al-Juwayni, the Stone was returned twenty-two years later, in 951, under somewhat mysterious circumstances; wrapped in a sack, it was thrown into the Friday Mosque of Kufa accompanied by a note saying "By command we took it, and by command we have brought it back." The Black Stone's abduction and removal caused further damage, breaking the stone into seven pieces.
The Qarmatians were defeated in 976 AD by the Abbasids.
The final end of the Qarmatians came at the hand of the Arab Uyunid dynasty of al-Hasa, who took over the entire Bahrain region in 1076.
They controlled the Bahrain islands until 1235, when the islands were briefly occupied by the ruler of Fars.
In 1253, the bedouin Usfurids brought down the Uyunid dynasty and gained control over eastern Arabia, including the islands of Bahrain.
In 1330, the islands became tributary to the rulers of Hormuz, though locally the islands were controlled by the Shi'ite Jarwanid dynasty of Qatif.
Until the late Middle Ages, "Bahrain" referred to the larger historical region of Bahrain that included Ahsa, Qatif (both now within the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia) and the Awal Islands (now the Bahrain Islands).
The region stretched from Basrah to the Strait of Hormuz in Oman.
This was Iqlīm al-Bahrayn "Bahrayn Province".
The exact date at which the term "Bahrain" began to refer solely to the Awal archipelago is unknown.
In the mid-15th century, the islands came under the rule of the Jabrids, a bedouin dynasty that was also based in al-Ahsa and ruled most of eastern Arabia.
The Portuguese invaded Bahrain in 1521 in alliance with Hormuz, seizing it from the Jabrid ruler Migrin ibn Zamil, who was killed in battle.
Portuguese rule lasted for nearly 80 years, during which they depended mostly on Sunni Persian governors.
The Portuguese were expelled from the islands in 1602 by Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, who instituted Shi'ism as the official religion in Bahrain.
The Iranian rulers retained sovereignty over the islands, with some interruptions, for nearly two centuries.
For most of that period, they resorted to governing Bahrain indirectly, either through Hormuz or through local Sunni Arab clans, such as the Huwala.
During this period, the islands suffered two serious invasions by the Ibadhis of Oman in 1717 and 1738.
In 1753, the Huwala clan of Al Madhkur invaded Bahrain on behalf of the Iranians, restoring direct Iranian rule.
This article is part of the series on: .
History of Bahrain .
In 1783, Nasr Al-Madhkur lost the the islands of Bahrain to Bani Utbah tribe whom which Shaikh Isa Bin Tarif, Chief of Al Bin Ali belongs to.
Shaikh Isa Bin Tarif was a desecendant of the original uttoobee conquereres of Bahrain This took place after the defeat of Nasr Al-Madhkur to the Bani Utbah in the battle of Zubarah that took place in the year 1782 between the Al Bin Ali from the Bani Utbah Tribe and the Army of Nasr Al-Madhkur Ruler of Bahrain and Bushire.
The Al Bin Ali were the Arabs that were occupying Zubarah , they were the original dominant group of Zubara .
The Islands of Bahrain wasn't something new to the Bani Utbah, they were always connected to this Island , whether by settling in it during summer season or by purchasing date palm gardens.
The Al Bin Ali were a politically important group that moved backwards and forwards between Qatar and Bahrain .
The Bani Utbah had been present in the banks of Bahrain in the seventeenth century .
During that time, they started purchasing date palm gardens in Bahrain.
One of th Documents which belongs to Shaikh Salama Bin Saif Al Utbi one of the Shaikh's of the Al Bin Ali backs this statement about the presence of the Bani Utbah in Bahrain in the seventeenth century.
It states that Mariam Bint Ahmed Al Sindi, a shia women has sold a Palm Garden in the Island Of Sitra at Bahrain to Shaikh Salama Bin Saif Al Utbi dating to the year 1699 - 1111 Hijri before the arrival of Al-Khalifa to Bahrain by more than 90 years.
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1783 Bani Utbah liberation of Bahrain
After the Bani Utbah Liberation of Bahrain in 1783, the Al Bin Ali were a practically independent status in Bahrain as a self governed tribe.
They carried a distinguished flag with four red stripes with three white stripes called the Al-Sulami flag as they call it in Bahrain, Qatar , Kuwait , and Eastern province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.It was raised on their ships during wartime and in the pearl season and on special occasions such as weddings and during Eid and in the “ Ardha of war ” .
Al Bin Ali were known for their courage, persistence, and abundant wealth .
Later, different arab families and tribes mostly from Qatar moved to Bahrain to settle there since the persians have been expelled from the Island.
These families and tribes were Al Khalifa , Al-Ma'awdah, Al-Fadhil, Al-Mannai, Al-Noaimi, Al-Sulaiti, Al-Sadah, Al-Thawadi, and other families and tribes.
Most of these tribes settled in Muharraq, the capital of Bahrain and the center of power at that time since the Al Bin Ali lived there.
There is a neighourhood in Muharraq city named Al Bin Ali and it is the oldest and biggest neighborhood in Muharraq, members of this tribe lived in this area for more than three centuries.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
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