Bahrain

Bahrain – Kingdom of Bahrain

History

Bahrain means "two seas" in Arabic. As the island is in the middle of a bay, the two seas referred to lie to the east and west. Other authors cite alternate meanings for the name. “The name of Bahrein, which means ‘Two Seas’. Is derived, according to the natives of the country, from the existence of two strata of water located there. The higher film is extremely salty, whereas the deeper consists of sweet water with a very pleasant taste.” So wrote Masoudi, the famous Arabian author. Ibn Khallakan has a different explanation. He cites the Persian lexicographer Al-Ahsa as follows: “Al Bahrein (“The Two Seas”) is so named because in the region where the towns are situated, near the gate of Al-Ahsa and the village of Hajar, there is a lake ten parsangs distance from the Great Green Ocean (The Persian Gulf). The lake is three miles long and as many broad. It does not overflow, and the waters are tranquil and salt. According to Al-Jawahari, the author of Sahab, the inhabitants are called Bahrani rather than the more formal form Bahri, because “the latter term might be misunderstood, having as it does another meanings, namely, “Belonging to the Sea.”

However, al-Bahrayn, "the Two Seas", is a cosmographical and cosmological concept appearing five times in the Qu'ran. This did not apply to the country of Bahrain. "The variety of explanations, none of them convincing, of the name al-Bahrayn in the Arabic sources indicates its origins remain unknown. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times the name applied to the mainland of Eastern Arabia, embracing the oases of al-Katif and Hadjar (now al-Hasa); later it was restricted to the archipelago offshore." Inhabited since ancient times, Bahrain occupies a strategic location in the Persian Gulf that has been ruled and influenced by the Assyrians, Babylonians,Persians and the Arabs, under whom the island became Islamic. Bahrain may have been associated with Dilmun, an important Bronze age trade centre linking Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.

Prior to Alexander the Great's arrival in the Persian Gulf in the 4th century BC, there are no historical references to Bahrain. From the 6th to 3rd century BC, Bahrain was added to the Persia Empire by the Achaemenian dynasty. By about 250 BC, the Parthian dynasty brought the Persian Gulf under its control and extended its influence as far as Oman. From the 3rd century BC until the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD, Bahrain was controlled by two other Persian dynasties, the Parthians and the Sassanids. In order to control trade routes, the Parthians established garrisons along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf. In the 3rd century AD, the Sassanids succeeded the Parthians, holding the area until the rise of Islam four centuries later. Ardashir I, first ruler of the Sassanian dynasty, marched on Oman and Bahrain, where he defeated Sanatruq II. At this time, Bahrain comprised the southern Sassanid province along the Persian Gulf's southern shore as well as the archipelago of the present day country.

The Sassanid Empire divided their southern province into the three districts of Haggar (now al-Hafuf province, Saudi Arabia), Batan Ardashir (now al-Qatif province, Saudi Arabia) and Mishmahig (which in Middle-Persian/Pahlavi means "ewe-fish"). Until Bahrain adopted Islam in 629 AD, it was a centre of Nestorian Christianity. Early Islamic sources describe the country as inhabited by members of the Abdul Qais, Tamim and Bakr tribes who worshipped the idol Awal.