Bahrain

Bahrain is an archipelago in the Persian Gulf, off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. It occupies a total of 760 square kilometers, slightly smaller than Austin TX or the Isle of Man. The population is about 1,343,000, and the capital is Manama.

Bahrain was an important trading center of the Dilmun Civilization (ca. 4000-800 BCE). It was also famed for its pearl fisheries from this time until the 19th century. Oil was discovered in Bahrain in the 1930s, and benefitted greatly from the oil boom of the 1970s. Over the centuries, Bahrain was ruled by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Greeks, until the region's conversion to Islam (one of the first places to do so). Bahrain was under Arab rule until the mid 19th century when the British seized it. Bahrain became independent in 1971.

Currently, Bahrain has a constitutional monarchy, though the king appoints all members of the upper house of parliament, and can dissolve the lower house at will. The king also appoints the prime minister and other ministers as well as commands the army. Women were given the right to vote and run for office in 2002.

Oil exports and banking are Bahrain's main source of revenue, with aluminum production and tourism important items as well. Bahrain's climate is mostly desert with little arable land, and because of this, it relies heavily on agricultural imports.

FUN FACT: Bahrain has 35 natural occurring islands in its archipelago, but has added 50 man-made islands to it.