"ملف(19/191 III (C 56 المطالبة الإيرانية بالبحرين" [ظ‎‎٩‎٥] (٣٩٦/٢٠٩)

^ .
that the island "is governed by an independent chief. Ihe
inhabitants of the two shores are satisfied with his justice
and piety, and when he dies he is replaced by a person of
Wilson, 105. equal virtue and piety." It was conquered a 011 | ,' | iZ.
the (Arab) rulers of Hormuz, a kingdom finally subdued by
Wilson, 116. the Portuguese in 1506 but Bahrlin
tributary to Persia m at any rate its later days mm em
appears at the same date to have fallen under I ortuguese
control. The Persians have adopted m a recent on the
subject a statement that it remained under Portuguese control
from 1507 to 1622. It would appear, however, that there are at
any rate some breaks in the continuitj 7 of Poituguese control.
An agreement of 1515 between the Portuguese and the
Persians, under which the King of Hormuz was to be
of Hormuz in the name of King Dom Manuel, his Lord,
Wilson 121 provided inter alia that Portuguese shipping should be
' " available to enable the Persians to invade Bahrein and Qatif.
Wilson 124 In 1522 a revolt stimulated by the King of Hormuz broke
' out against the Portuguese at Bahrein among other places,
but was quelled, and in 1528 endeavours by the Portuguese
to quell a subsequent rebellion in Bahrein against the King
Lor I 841. beaten off. In 1559 it was temporarily occupied by
the Turks, who were, however, driven out by the Portuguese
in the same year. In 1602 the Portuguese were forcibly
Wilson 140. expelled from the islands by the Persians. The Persian
occupation was of uncertain duration, and in their Note of
2nd August 1928 they refer to 1622 as the date on which
Lor. 1, 836. Persia regained possession of Bahrein. They appear in any
event to have had a military depot in Bahrein in 1622.
Cmzon, Curzon states that " the Portuguese ... in 1625 concluded
Persia, II, a treaty with Shah Abbas, by which they restored to him
419 - all his coast possessions, retaining only the pearl banks at
Bahrein. . .
4. In or about 1718 the islands were occupied by the
Arabs of Muscat, who, however, appear to have maintained
their occupation for a short time only. It is not clear
whether at the date of this attack the islands were derelict
or whether they were held by a Persian garrison. About
1753 the Ruler under the Persian Government of the town
of Bushire made a descent upon Bahrein, the chief resident
tribe in which (the Huwalah Arabs—at the present day
still strongly represented in the islands) was seriously
divided by internal feuds, and established his authority
there. In this manner the islands again became, at least in
vor. I, 8. . uamej dependent on Persia. In 1782 the Arabs of Zubarah,
on the Arabian mainland, efforts to reduce which had been
made by the Governor of Bahrein under the Persians in the
years immediately preceding that date, retaliated by a
Lor i 839- ^ escerit 011 the island of Bahrein. They defeated the
40, ' 'Persian Governor, drove him to his fort, plundered and
destroyed the town of Manama, and took possession of a
Bushire vessel, with which they retired to Zubarah. A
counter attack was repulsed, and in the following year the
Uttabi Arabs of Zubarah, assisted by contingents from
various tribes of Qatar, occupied the Bahrein islands, the
Persian garrison of the Manama Fort capitulating on'28th
.1 uly 1783, aftei a siege of about two months duration, and
being allowed to return to Bushire.
Summary.
5. It will be seen that while the history of Bahrein
prior to 1783 is very obscure, it would appear that Persia
for not inconsiderable periods exercised control over the
islands. Phe nature of that control is not, however, very
clear; it seems probable that it was only very rarely of
a definite character; and even in more recent periods