colony · Arabia and the Gulf

Portuguese Bahrain

1521 CE – 1602 CE · capital Bahrain Fort

Bahrain under Portuguese overlordship, ruled through Hormuz from a rebuilt fort, until Safavid Persia took the island in 1602.

Origins

In 1521 a Portuguese and Hormuzi force under Antonio Correia attacked Bahrain, defeating and fatally wounding the Jabrid ruler Muqrin ibn Zamil. The islands passed to the Kingdom of Ormus, a vassal of the Portuguese Empire.

Rule and society

Bahrain was governed by Hormuzi governors, while the Portuguese kept a garrison and rebuilt the fort at Qal'at al-Bahrain. The islands' value lay in their pearls and dates and in their position. Local revolts broke out, notably in 1529, and an Ottoman attempt to take the island in 1559 failed. The Portuguese presence itself was small for most of the period.

Decline and legacy

In 1602 the local governor was overthrown and the Safavid governor of Fars took Bahrain for the Safavid Empire, which held it for most of the next 120 years. The fort, now part of a World Heritage Site, is the main relic.

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Portuguese Bahrain. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/portuguese-bahrain
MLA
“Portuguese Bahrain.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/portuguese-bahrain. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Portuguese Bahrain.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/portuguese-bahrain.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Portuguese Bahrain’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/portuguese-bahrain (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻