Bahrain was eventually sold back to the Persians by the Omanis, but the weakness of the Safavid empire saw Huwala tribes seize control.

The reforms are based on the National Action Charter, a package of political changes that was endorsed by the people of Bahrain on February 14, 2001, in a popular referendum that saw a 98. 4 % vote in favour.

After the missing councillors eventually arrived in Bahrain they defended their Bangkok stay, telling journalists it was a " fact-finding mission ", explaining: " We benefited a lot from the trip to Thailand because we saw how they managed their transport, landscaping and roads.

Women's political rights in Bahrain saw an important step forward when women were granted the right to vote and stand in national elections for the first time in the 2002 election.

Isa's reign saw Bahrain gain its independence from the United Kingdom in 1971.

In 1937, Bahrain saw the regular service of the Empire sea planes.

In 1976, the airport marked another significant first with the inauguration of supersonic flights, which saw the start up of regular BA Concorde service between London and Bahrain.

3000 BC ), which saw the establishment of neighboring Bahrain, the island of Failaka was already developing its own unique culture and religious pantheon.

Despite Qatar's coming under British " protection ," Abdullah bin Jassim was far from secure: recalcitrant tribes refused to pay tribute ; disgruntled family members intrigued against him ; and he felt vulnerable to the designs of Bahrain, not to mention the Wahhabis.

Sheik Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain during the 1930s, was known for a pack of Salukis that accompanied him throughout the Arab world on hunting trips.

The relationship between various Bahraini communities and Iran is not as straight forward as it might at first seem ; while Shia Bahrainis share a degree of religious affinity with Iran, they tend to be acutely conscious of their Arab identity and hence particularly sensitive to suggestions of dual loyalty ( as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ’ s found in 2006 when he claim that Shia Arabs in the Persian Gulf were an “ Iranian fifth column ”; his views created a storm of criticism in Bahrain, with the deputy speaker of parliament calling on him to apologise ).

One inscription states that ships of Dilmun ( Bahrain ) brought him wood as tribute from foreign lands.

In Bahrain, Räikkönen suffered electronic problems during Friday practice and a spectacular rear suspension breakage during the first qualifying session, which forced him back to 22nd place on the grid.

Two weeks later in the Bahrain Grand Prix, Button had fought his way to fourth place from eleventh on the grid, before a clutch problem forced him into another retirement.

The only highlight of the 2008 / 09 season was a run to the final of the Bahrain Championship, in which the unavailability of three leading players gave him a top sixteen seeding.

Imru ' al-Qais escaped to Bahrain, taking his dream of a unified Arab nation with him, and then to Syria seeking the promised assistance from Constantius II which never materialized, so he stayed there until he died.

In January 2007, Dennis sold half of his 30 percent shareholding in the McLaren Group to the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, leaving him with a 15 percent share.

The Prophet Muhammad sent his first envoy Al-Ala ' a Al-Hadrami to Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi, the ruler of the historical region of Bahrain, which extended the coast from Kuwait to the south of Qatar including Al-Hasa, Qatif, and the Bahrain Islands, in the year 628 AD, inviting him to Islam.

Legends say it that when Caliph Umar made Uthman ibn al -' As ruler of Oman and the historical region of Bahrain, he ordered him to invade parts of Indian Sub continent.

While engaged in preaching Islam in Bahrain and at the young age of 26 Grand Ayatollah Sabzewari and Grand Ayatollah Mar ’ ashi Najafi also awarded Ayatollah Almodarresi power of representation in which they praised him and labeled him as “ scholar worthy of taking a leadership position ” and urging Muslims to follow his lead.

In 2000, he was selected to become ambassador to Bahrain, but the Senate did not confirm him immediately and during the delay he was found to be involved in a minor security scandal involving the mishandling of classified materials.

Speaking in Bahrain in September 2005, following the meeting with his client, Colangelo-Bryan revealed that Al-Dossari had informed him that:

On 21 January 2007 it was reported that Bahrain had reversed its decision to strip him of his Bahraini citizenship, and has been allowed to continue competing for the Persian Gulf state.

Nonetheless, that year he attended a celebration of the 50th anniversary of his first world championship at the Phillip Island Classic festival of motorsport, and in 2010 flew to Bahrain with most of the other surviving Formula One world drivers ' champions for a celebration of 60 years of the Formula One world championship.

Bahrain gave women the right to vote in elections for the first time in 2002.

Prost was the first such driver to take on this role, at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Ardashir, the first ruler of the Iranian Sassanid dynasty marched to Oman and Bahrain and defeated Sanatruq ( or Satiran ), probably the Parthian governor of Bahrain.

Reputedly, the first Portuguese traveller to visit Bahrain was Duarte Barbosa in 1485.

The Arab navigator, Ahmad Bin Majid, visited Bahrain in 1489 and gave a contemporary account of the country that the first Portuguese would have seen: " In Awal ( Bahrain ) there are 360 villages and fresh water can be found in a number of places.

The first Subway outside of North America opened in Bahrain, in December 1984.

In June 2006, Bahrain was elected head of the United Nations General Assembly, and used the honour to appoint Haya bint Rashid Al Khalifa as the Assembly's president, making her the first Middle East woman and only the third woman in history to take over the post.

Bahrain ’ s Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa has gone out of his way to make clear that whatever religious or political persuasion, Bahrainis have the same fundamental loyalty to the state, saying " We are Bahrainis first, opposition or not.

When Batelco was first founded in 1981, Bahrain already had 45, 627 telephone lines in use.

During the voyage, Nearchus was reputedly the first Greek commander to visit Bahrain, which was called Tylos by the Greeks.

In the same year, Iraq threatened to invade Kuwait for the first time, and the SBS put a detachment at Bahrain.

During the first three races, Montoya consistently underperformed on the track, not managing to improve his position from the start at the Bahrain and Malaysia Grands Prix.

At the first race of the season in Bahrain, Barrichello qualified eleventh on the grid, and finished tenth in the race.

The game sold out the first run of 8, 000 copies within a week when it was released in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates in early 2003.

Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with approximately 39, 129 restaurants in 90 countries as of May 2009, the first non-US location opening in December 1984 in Bahrain.

Gulf Air also announced a sponsorship deal for the Bahrain Grand Prix through 2010, creating the Gulfair Bahrain Grand Prix, of which the first was staged in 2004.

Bahrain was the site of the first Gulf-based recording studio, established after World War 2.