A (Very) Brief History of the Middle East Part 13

Today I need to correct an egregious oversight made in my tour of the Middle East. I missed a country very early on in the alphabet. In all fairness, Bahrain is an island in the Persian Gulf, and the smallest of the Middle Eastern countries, but this is no excuse. To my sizable and highly valued Bahrainian readership, please accept my apology.

Bahrain: As a strategic location centered in the Persian Gulf and a source of fertile lands, Bahrain was the victim of many invasions and conquests throughout its history until it became a British Protectorate in the late 18th century.

In 1932 Bahrain became the first Middle Eastern country to discover oil. This brought economic growth and strengthened ties with Britain, who built a number of bases on the island and modernized the country’s education system.

Following WWII opposition to British colonization throughout the region led to riots in Bahrain, and by 1960 Great Britain left the fate of the country in the hands of the UN. By 1971 the country was declared independent, and the British withdrew. The economic prosperity of the country grew throughout the ‘70s and ’80s as they enjoyed an oil boom and became the Middle East’s banking and financial hub.

Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran a group of Shiite fundamentalists attempted a coup in Bahrain, wishing to install a theocratic government similar to Iran’s. The coup failed, but it raised tensions between the government and Shiite groups on the island.

Rioting broke out amongst Shiite’s in 1994, sparked by women participation in a sporting event (the Shiites were against it). Minor skirmishes continued through the mid ‘90s.

In 1999 Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifa became head of state. He went on to issue parliamentary elections, give women the right to vote, and release all political prisoners. These actions were celebrated by Amnesty International as a “historic period of human rights.”

Fun fact: Many believe Bahrain is the site of the Garden of Eden.

Yemen: Alright, I have a feeling that this is going to be a short one.

Yemen was controlled by the Ottoman Empire until its fall. After this, the country was split into North and South Yemen. North Yemen declared its independence immediately following the war, while South Yemen became a British protectorate.

Facing international pressure, the British withdrew from South Yemen in 1967 and the region became a Marxist state. As a result, hundreds of thousands of South Yemenis immigrated to the North, causing hostilities that lasted for two decades. In 1990 the countries were formally unified.


See, I promised that would be quick. Congratulations, readers, we are officially done with our tour of Middle Eastern countries. Feels good, doesn’t it? We are definitely closer to understanding the world around us.

Tomorrow I’ll come back with the much anticipated Who’s Who of the Middle East, and following that I’ll do my best to wrap things up with some final thoughts.

Thanks for reading.