Portal:Bahrain

The Bahrain Portal

Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain	Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in the eastern part of Arabian Peninsula in West Asia. Situated near the western shore of the Persian Gulf, the country comprises a small archipelago of 33 natural islands and an additional 50 artificial islands, centred on Bahrain Island, which makes up around 80 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. The population is 1,588,670 as of 2024, of whom 739,736 (46.6% of the population) are Bahraini nationals, and 848,934 are expatriates (53.4% of the population). Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.

The area that straddles the present-day territory of Bahrain was once the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation. It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam, during the lifetime of Muhammad in 628. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah Abbas the Great of the Safavid Iran. In 1783, the Bani Utbah and allied tribes captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur. It has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.

In the late 19th century, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a semi-constitutional monarchy in 2002, and Article 2 of the constitution made sharia a principal source for legislation. In 2011, the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring. The ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa royal family has been criticised for violating the human rights of groups including dissidents, political opposition figures, and its Shia Muslim population.

Bahrain is known as one of the first post-oil economies in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades of investing in the banking and tourism sectors. Many of the world's largest financial institutions have a presence in Manama, but oil revenues still constitute a significant part of its government budget. It is recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy. Bahrain is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is a Dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (Full article...)

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The House of Khalifa (Arabic: آل خليفة, romanized: Āl Khalīfah) is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. They follow the Maliki school of Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe. Some members of this tribe joined the Utub alliance which migrated from Najd in central Arabia to Kuwait, then ruled all of Qatar, more specifically Al Zubarah, which they built and ruled over before conquering Bahrain in 1783. The Khalifa family repressed the indigenous Baharna population in Bahrain.

The family currently heads an authoritarian regime where political and civil freedoms are substantially curtailed. The current head of the family is King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999 and proclaimed himself King of Bahrain in 2002, in fact becoming a constitutional monarch. (Full article...)

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Bahrain International Airshow

The United Arab Emirates Air Force Al Fursan demonstration team perform at the Bahrain International Airshow at Sakhir Airbase in Manama, Bahrain, January 2016

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Layout of the Bahrain International Circuit

The 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally the 2014 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2014 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the third round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship, the 900th Formula One World Championship event, the 11th Bahrain Grand Prix and the first time that the race was held at night. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 57-lap race starting from second position. His teammate Nico Rosberg finished second and Force India driver Sergio Pérez took third. It was Hamilton's second victory of the season and the 24th of his Formula One career.

Going into the event, Rosberg led the World Drivers' Championship and his team Mercedes led the World Constructors' Championship. Rosberg qualified on pole position by setting the fastest lap time in the third qualifying session. Hamilton accelerated faster than Rosberg off the line and overtook him at the first corner. Both Mercedes drivers pulled away from the rest of the field and Rosberg conserved fuel which allowed him to attack Hamilton before the first round of pit stops on lap 19 with his teammate successfully defending the lead. He extended his advantage over Rosberg over the next 22 laps before an incident between Pastor Maldonado of Lotus and Sauber's Esteban Gutiérrez caused the safety car to be deployed and his lead was reduced to nothing. Following instructions to bring the cars safely to the finish, Rosberg immediately battled Hamilton for first place, but was unable to get ahead of him and Hamilton maintained a steady advantage when his teammate's soft compound tyres were worn out to win the race. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Bahrain-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa heads the opening session of the first conference on the formation of a union of the Gulf emirates in February 1968. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 2A view of the Grand Avenue section of the Avenues (from Bahrain)
Image 3Bahrain province before Independence, was simultaneously part of Iran, a British protectorate whilst at the same time it was ruled "locally" by the Al-Khalifa tribe. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 4The King Fahd Causeway as seen from space (from Bahrain)
Image 5Greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) are native to Bahrain. (from Bahrain)
Image 6The Tree of Life, a 9.75 metre high Prosopis cineraria tree that is over 400 years old (from Bahrain)
Image 7Overview of Manama, 1953 (from Bahrain)
Image 8The cities of Muharraq (foreground) and Manama (background) (from Bahrain)
Image 9The Bahrain national football team playing Australia in June 2009, in a World Cup qualifier (from Bahrain)
Image 10The podium ceremony at the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix (from Bahrain)
Image 11Sidade de Baren depicted in Lázaro Luís' 1563 map of Arabia (from History of Bahrain)
Image 12A view of Arad Fort (from History of Bahrain)
Image 13A mixed martial arts event in Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 14Over 100,000 of Bahrainis taking part in the "March of Loyalty to Martyrs", honoring political dissidents killed by security forces, on 22 February. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 15A facsimile of a letter sent by Muhammad to Munzir ibn-Sawa al-Tamimi, governor of Bahrain, in AD 628 (from Bahrain)
Image 16King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa meets American president Donald Trump in May 2017. (from Bahrain)
Image 17The Bahrain Fort, location of Dilmun artifacts. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 18Several people held a sit-in in solidarity with human rights activist Nabeel Rajab. (from Bahrain)
Image 19Protesters at the Pearl Roundabout just before it was demolished (from Bahrain)
Image 20Artistic depiction of Nasr Al-Madhkur in Bushehr (from History of Bahrain)
Image 21The Shrinathji temple in Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 22An artisan making pottery using the traditional mud and water mixture on a revolving wheel (from Bahrain)
Image 23A map showing the locations of Bahrain's ancient burial mounds. There are an estimated 350,000 burial mounds. (from Bahrain)
Image 24The First Oil Well in Bahrain, with oil first being extracted in 1931 (from Bahrain)
Image 25National Evangelical Church, Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 26Manama Harbour, c. 1870 (from Bahrain)
Image 27The National Union Committee members in 1954 (from History of Bahrain)
Image 28The Sassanid Empire on the eve of the Arab conquest, c. 600 AD (from Bahrain)
Image 29Coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in 1933. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 30A map of Bahrain in 1825 (from Bahrain)
Image 31The Portuguese Fort of Barém, built by the Portuguese when they ruled Bahrain from 1521 to 1602 (from Bahrain)
Image 32Phoenicians man their ships in service to Assyrian king Sennacherib, during his war against the Chaldeans in the Persian Gulf, ca. 700 BC (from History of Bahrain)
Image 33The proposed federation of Arab emirates (from History of Bahrain)
Image 34Female students at the University of Bahrain dressed in traditional garb (from Bahrain)
Image 35Facsimile of the letter written by Muhammed to the ruler of Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 36The Portuguese Fort in 1870. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 37Dilmun burial mounds in 1918. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 38The view from outside one of the entrance gates at the Avenues (from Bahrain)
Image 39GDP per capita development in Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 40Inside Riffa Fort (from History of Bahrain)
Image 41Location of the Dilmun burial mounds in Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 42The Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa house is an example of traditional architecture in Bahrain. (from Bahrain)
Image 43Bahraini protests against the ruling Al Khalifa family in 2011 (from Bahrain)
Image 44The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620, under Khosrow II (from History of Bahrain)
Image 45Bahrainis observing public prayers in Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 46The historical region of Bahrain on a 1745 Bellin map (from History of Bahrain)
Image 47Manama seen from Muharraq (from Bahrain)
Image 48Map of Manama in 1926. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 49The King Hamad American Mission Hospital. (from Bahrain)
Image 50Purple – Portuguese Empire in the Persian Gulf in the 16th and 17th centuries (modern boundaries shown). Main cities, ports and routes. (from Bahrain)

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... that Bahraini former parliamentarian Abduljalil Khalil resigned his position in February 2011 in protest against government crackdown on anti-government demonstrations?

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... that Bahraini author Fatema Al Harbi, the first non-government Bahraini to visit Israel, faced death threats upon her return to Bahrain?
... that the first Chinese driver to race in Formula One debuted at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix?
... that hurdler Ahmed Hamada was the Bahraini flagbearer for two Olympic Games – sixteen years apart?
... that between 2006 and 2007, Stacy Hollowell worked for basketball teams in Qatar, China, Bahrain and Lithuania?

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