Bahrain is an Arab state in the Persian Gulf which consists of 36 islands between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Its area is 665 km² the size of Falster.
There is also the country’s highest point, Jabal ad Dukhan, which is 122 meters above sea level. The island of Bahrain also has a 25 km long road connection to Saudi Arabia via dams and bridges.
The main island is known for approx. 100,000 burial mounds from the approx. 4,000 – 4,500 years old Dilmun culture. They cover large areas of the islands.
According to dentistrymyth, Bahrain has major environmental problems, including degradation of arable land, damage to the many coral reefs and damage to marine life in connection with oil spills.
TIMELINE:
2300 BCE – The archeological site of Qal’at al-Bahrain (Barhrain Fort), which has been excavated since 1954, establishes settlement in this area. Qal’at al-Bahrain was once the capital of the country and probably the port of the Dilmonian civilization, but it is uncertain where the Dilmonian civilization actually lay. The site has been declared Barhrain’s most important antique. According to the poem about Gilgamesh, the capital Dilmun was the “land of immortality”, where the Sumerians and the gods met. The Mesopotamian sources connect Dilmun with stories related to Genesis: the serpent and the forbidden fruits, the flood
and the Garden of Paradise.
500-200 BCE – Barhrain was part of the Achaemenid dynasty.
629 – The people of Bahrain are among the first to receive Islam, and at that time it was Muhammad who ruled over most of the Arabian Peninsula and his governor in Bahrain was named Al-Ala’a Al-Hadrami. IN
692 – The Khamis Mosque is built, making it one of the first mosques in Bahrain.
1783 – The Persians are expelled from the land by Sunni Arab tribes, led by the al-Khalifah family, the same family that holds power in the land today. The Persians tried to regain control of Bahrain, which resulted in several heavy battles over the country.
1953 – The Danish archaeologist and Professor PV Glob and his staff begin a series of archaeological excavations along the Persian Gulf, including on the island of Bahrain. This work went on for decades.
1981 – A coup attempt is averted against the emir. The coup was staged by Muslim
fundamentalists. All who were arrested in connection with the attempted coup was Shiism / Shiites. The reason for the coup attempt was presumably that Shia Muslims are oppressed by the Sunni Muslim minority.
1990s – Throughout the 1990s, Bahrain was generally plagued by political crisis and unrest.
1991 – Barhrain was an important base (Juffair, Manama ) for the US in the second Gulf War.
2002 – Barhrain, formerly considered an emissary, and officially called a “state”, was declared a kingdom. Sheik Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah is the current king. He has worked to improve human rights and has partially introduced democratic reforms.
2008 – April 8. This year, work on the Barhrain World Trade Center was completed. See picture here.
2011 – Presumably inspired by the 2011 Uprising in Egypt, there have been several demonstrations against the regime in Bahrain in February 2011. The military is deployed to quell the demonstrations. The already many dead and injured have drawn the fronts between those in power and the opposition even sharper.
2012 – Danish archaeologists find royal tombs in Barhrain. Read more here. And more about the Dilmun culture here and here.
2013 – August 9. The imprisoned Danish-Bahraini Abd ulhadi al-Khawaja’s daughter Maryam al-Khawaja was prevented from boarding a flight to Bahrain at Copenhagen Airport. Read h e r. More here about the uprising.
