Bahrain was the central location of the ancient Dilmun civilization. Bahrain's strategic location in the Persian Gulf has brought rule and influence from mostly the Persians, Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Portuguese, the Arabs, and the British. Whilst the country had closest economic relations with Indians or South Asians for the longest time, much more than the Arabs themselves.
Bahrain plays a modest, moderating role in regional politics and adheres to the views of the Arab League on Middle East peace and Palestinian rights. Since achieving independence in 1971, Bahrain has maintained friendly relations with most of its neighbours and with the world community. It generally pursues a policy of close consultation with neighbouring states and works to narrow areas of disagreement.
Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa is the King of Bahrain. He has been the monarch of Bahrain since 6 March 1999, initially reigning as emir, and from 14 February 2002, as the first king. He is the son of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the previous and first emir. The country has been ruled by the Al Khalifa dynasty since 1783.
Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa was the first emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death in 1999. Born in Jasra, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman ibn Hamad.
Ma'ameer is a village in Bahrain. Nationally, the village is known for its Industrial Area, which consists of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) refinery and a large number of factories, production units such as Awal Ready-mixed Concrete (ARMCON), Eastern Asphalt, Gulf Petrochemical Industrial Corp (GPIC), Aluminium Bahrain and Al Zamil Aluminium. Villagers have long complained of health problems as a result of pollution from the Industrial Area.
In the 2000s in Bahrain the government instituted political reforms and relaxed economic controls.
The Bahraini uprising of 2011 was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the Shia-dominant Bahraini Opposition from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring and 2011–12 Iranian protests and escalated to daily clashes after the Bahraini government repressed the revolt with the support of Gulf Cooperation Council and Peninsula Shield Force. The Bahraini protests were a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of non-violent civil disobedience and later some violent resistance in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain. As part of the revolutionary wave of protests in the Middle East and North Africa following the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, the Bahraini protests were initially aimed at achieving greater political freedom and equality for the majority Shia population, and expanded to a call to end the monarchy of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa following a deadly night raid on 17 February 2011 against protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, known locally as Bloody Thursday.
The international reactions to the Bahraini uprising of 2011 include responses by supranational organisations, non-governmental organisations, media organisations, and both the governments and civil populaces, like of fellow sovereign states to the protests and uprising in Bahrain during the Arab Spring. The small island nation's territorial position in the Persian Gulf not only makes it a key contending regional power but also determines its geostrategic position as a buffer between the Arab World and Iran. Hence, the overlap in trolls and geostrategic implications aid in explaining international responses to the uprising in Bahrain. Accordingly, as a proxy state between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Bahrain's domestic politics is both wittingly and unavoidably shaped by regional forces and variables that determine the country's response to internal and external pressures.
Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim is Bahrain's leading Shia cleric and a politician. He is the spiritual leader of Al Wefaq, Bahrain's biggest opposition society. He was the leader and is the founders of Islamic Enlightenment Institution.
Ali Jawad al-Sheikh was a 14-year-old Bahraini who died in the hospital on 31 August 2011 after reportedly being hit in the head by a tear gas canister shot by Bahraini security forces during the Bahraini uprising. The Bahraini government denied security force involvement in his death and offered a reward for information on the incident. Activists, however, began a series of large protests after his funeral.
The following is an incomplete timeline of events that followed the Bahraini uprising of 2011 from July to December 2011. This phase saw many popular protests, escalation in violence and the establishment of an independent government commission to look into the previous events.
The following is a timeline of the Bahraini uprising from February to March 2011, beginning with the start of protests on February 2011 and including the Saudi-backed crackdown from 15 March.
Day of Rage is the name given by protesters in Bahrain to 14 February 2011, the first day of their national uprising. Inspired by the successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Bahraini youth organised protests using social media websites. They appealed to the Bahraini people "to take to the streets on Monday 14 February in a peaceful and orderly manner." The day had a symbolic value being the ninth and tenth anniversaries of the Constitution of 2002 and the National Action Charter respectively.
The following is an incomplete timeline of events that followed the Bahraini uprising of 2011 from September 2012 onward.
Al Khawalid, also spelled Al Khawaled, is a branch of the House of Khalifa, the ruling family of Bahrain. Al Khawalid is most often used to refer collectively to descendants of Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, which they are named after. The term also refers to brothers Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Royal Court Minister and Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa the Commander in Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force. For the purpose of this article, immediate descendants of Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa will be referred to as "the Khalids", the aforementioned two brothers will be referred to as "the Khawalid brothers" and the family branch collectively as "Al Khawalid".
The Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain began on 14 March 2011 to assist the Bahraini government in suppressing an anti-government uprising in the country. The intervention came three weeks after the U.S. pressured Bahrain to withdraw its military forces from the streets. As a decision by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the intervention included sending 1,000 (1,200) troops with vehicles from Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Al-Khalifa ruling family, marking the first time the GCC used such a collective military option for suppressing a revolt.
Bahrain–Iran relations are the bilateral relations between the countries of Bahrain and Iran. Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, relations between the two countries have been strained over various geopolitical issues such as the interpretations of Islam, aspirations for leadership of the Islamic world, and relations with the United States, Europe and other Western countries. In addition, Iran has been severely critical of Bahrain for hosting the United States Fifth Fleet within the Persian Gulf at the Naval Support Activity Bahrain base.
