Bahrain

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Bahrain fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. 🇵🇹 Kingdom of Portugal1521 to 1602

   Portugal seizes Bahrain in 1521 to control the pearl trade and the Gulf's sea lanes, ruling through local governors from the fort now called Qal'at al-Bahrain. A local revolt backed by Persia ends its rule in 1602.

2. 🇮🇷 Safavid Persia1602 to 1783

   Persia takes Bahrain from Portugal in 1602 and governs it, with interruptions, for most of the next 180 years. The Al Khalifa conquest of 1783 ends Persian rule, but Iran keeps claiming the islands until 1970.

3. 🇴🇲 Sultanate of Muscat1800 to 1828

   Sayyid Sultan, ruler of Muscat, occupies Bahrain in 1800. The Al Khalifa recover it in 1801 with Saudi help, and later Omani attempts to retake the islands, the last in 1828, fail.

4. 🇶🇦 Al Thani of Qatar1867 to 1868

   After quarrels over the Qatar coast, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi sack Doha and Wakra in 1867, and the Qataris strike back. Britain intervenes in 1868, replaces Bahrain's ruler and recognises Mohammed bin Thani as leader of Qatar.

5. 🇮🇷 Pahlavi Iran1957 to 1970

   Iran never accepts the loss of Bahrain and in 1957 declares it Iran's fourteenth province. In 1970 a UN mission reports that Bahrainis want an independent state, and Iran's parliament accepts the result.

6. 🇶🇦 State of Qatar1971 to 2001

   The two neighbours dispute the Hawar Islands, the Fasht al Dibal shoal and the old town of Zubarah, and clash briefly in 1986. In 2001 the International Court of Justice splits the claims, giving Hawar to Bahrain and Zubarah to Qatar.

7. 🇮🇷 Islamic Republic of IranSince 1981Still open

   In 1981 Bahrain foils a coup plot by a group backed by Tehran. It accuses Iran of stirring unrest again after the 2011 protests and cuts diplomatic ties in 2016, a break not yet healed.

Today

Bahrain now

In 1783, the Sunni AL-KHALIFA family took power in Bahrain. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. A steady decline in oil production and reserves since 1970 prompted Bahrain to take steps to diversify its economy, in the process developing petroleum processing and refining, aluminum production, and hospitality and retail sectors.

Capital

Manama

Government

constitutional monarchy

Head of government

Salman bin Hamad, Crown Prince of Bahrain

Head of state

Hamad II of Bahrain

Languages

Arabic

Area

800 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population1.6 million2023 · 117,300 in 1950
• Life expectancy81.3 years2023 · 38.6 years in 1950
• GDP per person$38,6512022 · $3,354 in 1950
• Living in cities100%2025 · 63% in 1950
• Literacy98%2024 · 13% in 1950
• Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• Military spending3.1% of GDP2025
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.