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The Bahrain Portal

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

Bahrain (/bɑːˈreɪn/ ^ⓘ bah-RAYN, /bæxˈreɪn/; Arabic: البحرين, romanized: al-Baḥrayn, locally [æl bɑħˈreːn] ^ⓘ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 per cent 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 of Bahrain is 1,501,635 as of May 14, 2023, based on elaborations of the United Nations data, of whom 712,362 are Bahraini nationals. Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi), and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.

Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilization. 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 AD. 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 and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.

In the late 1800s, 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 an Islamic constitutional monarchy in 2002.

Bahrain developed the first post-oil economy 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 the country's capital. It is recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy. Bahrain is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Bahrain 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. The Al Khalifas profess 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 settling in Bahrain in the early 17th century. The current head of the family is 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.

As of 2010, roughly half of the serving cabinet ministers of Bahrain were members of the Al Khalifa royal family, while the country's Prime Minister, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, is also from the Al Khalifa family and is the son of the current King. (Full article...)

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Wind tower

A photograph of a wind tower in Bahrain. Originally Persian, they are a traditional element in Bahraini architecture.

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The Bahrain health worker trials were a series of legal cases in which forty-eight doctors, nurses, and dentists faced charges for their actions during the Bahraini uprising of 2011. In September 2011, twenty of the health workers were convicted by a military court of felonies including "stockpiling weapons" and "plotting to overthrow the government". The remaining twenty-eight were charged with misdemeanors and tried separately. The following month, the felony sentences were overturned, and it was announced that the defendants would be retried by a civilian court. Retrials began in March 2012, but were postponed until June 14. Convictions against nine of the defendants were quashed and reduced against another nine. The Court of Cassation upheld the sentences against the remaining nine on 1 October.

The case drew international attention and criticism, with organizations including the United Nations, the World Medical Association, Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Council of Nurses, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch expressing their concern over the health workers' military trials and sentences. An independent commission organized by the King of Bahrain concluded in November 2011 that many of the detained health workers had been subject to torture and abuse while in police detention. (Full article...)

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Qal'at al-Bahrain Mansoor al-Jamri Bahrain Bloody Thursday 2013 Bahrain GP2 Series round March of loyalty to martyrs Al Khawalid Abdul Amir al-Jamri Bahrain Tamarod Nabeel Rajab Matar Matar Death of Abdulredha Buhmaid Beit Al Quran Day of Rage (Bahrain) Bahrain Thirteen 2015 Bahrain GP2 Series round 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Abu Sa'id al-Jannabi 2014 Bahrain GP2 Series round

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

Image 1The Persian Empire in the Sassanid era on the eve of the Arab conquest, c. 600 AD. (from Bahrain)
Image 2The view from outside one of the entrance gates at the Avenues (from Bahrain)
Image 3Mixed Martial Arts hosted by BRAVE Combat Federation event in Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 4Manama Harbour, c. 1870 (from Bahrain)
Image 5Manama skyline as viewed from Juffair (from Bahrain)
Image 6Coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in 1933. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 7King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa meets former U.S. President Donald Trump, May 2017 (from Bahrain)
Image 8The Portuguese Fort of Barém, built by the Portuguese Empire while it ruled Bahrain from 1521 to 1602. (from Bahrain)
Image 9The King Fahd Causeway as seen from space (from Bahrain)
Image 10The Khamis Mosque in 1956. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 11Over 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 12Bahrainis observing public prayers in Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 13Ambulance in International Hospital of Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 14Topography (from Bahrain)
Image 15The proposed federation of Arab emirates (from History of Bahrain)
Image 16A photograph of the First Oil Well in Bahrain, with oil first being extracted in 1931 (from Bahrain)
Image 17Overview of Manama, 1953. (from Bahrain)
Image 18The Shrinathji temple in Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 19Manama souq in 1965 (from Bahrain)
Image 20The podium ceremony at the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix (from Bahrain)
Image 21The cities of Muharraq (foreground) and Manama (background) (from Bahrain)
Image 22Manama Souq on Bahrain National Day (from Bahrain)
Image 23Bahrain is the eleventh most water stressed country in the world. (from Bahrain)
Image 24The historical region of Bahrain on a 1745 Bellin map (from History of Bahrain)
Image 25Purple – Portuguese in the Persian Gulf in the 16th and 17th centuries. Main cities, ports and routes. (from Bahrain)
Image 26First Oil Well, Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 27Phoenicians 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 28The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620, under Khosrow II (from History of Bahrain)
Image 29National Evangelical Church, Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 30Inside Riffa Fort (from History of Bahrain)
Image 31A 1745 Bellin map of the historical region of Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 32GDP per capita development in Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 33Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia Boys school. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 34The 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 35Facsimile of a letter sent by Muhammad to Munzir ibn-Sawa al-Tamimi, governor of Bahrain, in AD 628 (from Bahrain)
Image 36A view of the Grand Avenue section of the Avenues (from Bahrain)
Image 37Map of Manama in 1926. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 38The Bahrain Fort, location of Dilmun artifacts. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 39Map of Bahrain in 1825. (from Bahrain)
Image 40Bahraini protests against the ruling Al Khalifa family in 2011 (from Bahrain)
Image 41An artisan making pottery using the traditional mud and water mixture on a revolving wheel. (from Bahrain)
Image 42Dilmun burial mounds in 1918. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 43Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 44Facsimile of the letter written by Muhammed to the ruler of Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 45The Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa house is an example of traditional architecture in Bahrain. (from Bahrain)
Image 46The Bahrain national football team playing Australia on June 10, 2009, in a World Cup qualifier (from Bahrain)
Image 47Several people held a sit-in in solidarity with human rights activist Nabeel Rajab (from Bahrain)
Image 48This photograph shows the coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in February 1933. (from Bahrain)
Image 49A view of Arad Fort (from History of Bahrain)
Image 50The Tree of Life, a 9.75 meter high Prosopis cineraria tree that is over 400 years old (from Bahrain)
Image 51The new terminal of the Bahrain International Airport (from Bahrain)
Image 52The National Union Committee members in 1954 (from History of Bahrain)
Image 53Map showing the locations of the ancient burial mounds. There are an estimated 350,000 burial mounds. (from Bahrain)
Image 54Location of the Dilmun burial mounds in Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 55Female students at the University of Bahrain dressed in traditional garb (from Bahrain)
Image 56Muharraq Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 57Protesters at the Pearl Roundabout just before it was demolished. (from Bahrain)
Image 58Greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) are native to Bahrain. (from Bahrain)
Image 59National Library of Bahrain at Isa Cultural Centre (from Bahrain)
Image 60The Portuguese Fort in 1870. (from History of Bahrain)

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... that the Bahrain pearling trail is Bahrain's second UNESCO World Heritage Site after the Bahrain Fort?

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More Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?
... that as part of Bahrainization, the Bahraini government prohibited foreigners from driving taxis?
... that infectious diseases specialist Jameela Al Salman has supported the development of medical robots and called their use in Bahrain a "pioneering experiment"?
... that Tala Bashmi played on the Bahrain women's national football team for seven years before opening a restaurant in a Manama hotel?
... that Bahraini businesswoman Yara Salman founded a beauty salon, a medical center, an entertainment complex, and a restaurant in the past decade?