(chapter contributed by Arie Amaya-Akkermans)
The tiny island-kingdom of Bahrain, located on the Western shores of the Gulf, is an archipelago of thirty-three islands to the east of Saudi Arabia, south of Iran and north-west of Qatar. Albeit a young state and small in size – an area of slightly over 765 square km – the Bahrain region has been historically important since roughly the third millennium BCE as the home of the Dilmun civilization mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh, a trade partner and source of metal copper in the crossroads between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Ever since then Bahrain has been ruled by every regional power in succession, due to its strategic location in the Gulf.
The name “Bahrayn”, literally “The Two Seas” in Arabic, appears five times in the Quran but it does not refer to the modern island, known to the Arabs as Awal. “The Two Seas” might also refer to the two large oases of Al Hasa in Eastern Saudi Arabia. The earliest known site of the still disputed Dilmun civilization is located at Qal’at al-Bahrain (Bahrain Fort), where archaeological excavations carried out since the 1950s have revealed burial mounds in the north of the island that date back to approximately 2200 BCE. An entire section is dedicated to these ancient burial mounds at Bahrain National Museum and research carried out by the Bahrain Historical and Archaeological Society is on-going in order to establish a clearer timeline.
Ruled by Assyrians, Babylonians, annexed by the Persian Empire, then by Alexander the Great, Nestorian Christian for a period, Bahrain was an early convert to Islam. It was annexed again by Persia and for a period was under control of Portugal. In more recent times the island was conquered by the Bani Utbah tribe from the Najd in the Battle of Zubara in 1782 and has been ruled by the Al-Khalifa family since then. Early in the 19th century Bahrain was briefly conquered by Oman and the Al-Saud, but in 1820 the Al-Khalifa clan was recognized by Great Britain as rulers after the signature of a treaty. By the end of the 19th century agreements between the rulers and the British sealed the protectorate status of Bahrain under colonial rule.
The geopolitical importance of Bahrain and the rise of Manama as a port city in the 19th century translated into early modernization and the island was known in that period as a cosmopolitan hub whose economy depended on pearl diving and fishing, being the home of transnational trade communities from the Arabian peninsula, Persia, Oman, India, Europe and elsewhere. The discovery of oil in 1932 brought an even more rapid modernization and state bureaucracy to the islands together with a long history of political upheaval, as the modernization of the state was unmatched by the tribal structure. In general terms Bahrain was the first modern state and the most politically and socially advanced country in the Gulf region.
The development of Bahrain’s art scene was supported by its enlightened rulers, with secular inclinations and an interest in culture and heritage. The inhabitants of the islands are reputedly the most open-minded and tolerant in the Gulf region. Before independents the small but lively art scene consisted mostly of modernist painters and writers. Bahrain has practically all the elements to be the natural artistic hub of the region; nevertheless, shifting regional conflicts, internal politics, the small size of the country and the unrivaled resources of neighboring states have somewhat stalled further development.