Baharna

Bahrani people
الشعب البحراني

Isaac of Nineveh Ayat Al-Qurmezi Notable Bahranis: Isaac of Nineveh • Shaykh Ahmad • Abbas Almohri Majeed Marhoon • Ali Jawad al-Sheikh • Ramin Bahrani Ayat al-Ghermezi • Nabeel Rajab • Hussein Al-Sabee Mohammed Haddad • Jasem Al Huwaidi
Regions with significant populations
Bahrain	600,000 (2011 estimate)
Saudi Arabia	Over 1,500,000
Languages
Bahrani Arabic Ancient language Hasaitic
Religion
Nestorian Christianity until 7th century Today Twelver Shi'a Islam
Related ethnic groups
Arabs · Assyrians · Iraqis · Iranian Arabs · Alawites · Iranian Bahrainis · Iranian Kuwaitis

The Bahrani (plural Baharna, Arabic: بحراني ، بحارنة) are the indigenous Shi'a inhabitants of the archipelago of Bahrain and the oasis of Qatif on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia (see historical region of Bahrain). The term is sometimes also extended to the Shi'a inhabitants of the al-Hasa oasis. They are all Arabic speaking, and some claim descent from Arab tribes. Their dialect of Arabic is known as "Bahrani" or "Bahrani Arabic," and they are overwhelmingly adherents of Shia Islam. Most Bahrani clerics have since the 18th century followed the conservative Akhbari school.

Name

The term Bahrani serves to distinguish the Bahrani people from other Shi'i in the region, such as the relatively recent immigrants from Iran who fall under the term Ajam, as well as from the Sunnis of Bahrain who prefer the term Bahrayni or Ahl el-Bahrayn ("people of Bahrain"). In previous centuries, the term "Bahrani" often referred to any inhabitant of the larger historical region of Bahrain.

Origins

Phoenician Origin of the Bahranis

The ancient Greeks speculated as to whether the Phoenicians were originally from Tylos. According to the 19th century German classicist, Arnold Heeren: “In the Greek geographers, for instance, we read of two islands, named Tyrus or Tylos, and Aradus, which boased that they were the mother country of the Phoenicians, and exhibited relics of Phoenician temples.” The people of Tyre in particular have long maintained Persian Gulf origins, and the similarity in the words “Tylos” and “Tyre” has been commented upon.

Herodotus's account (written c. 440 BC) refers to the Io and Europa myths. (History, I:1).

According to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began the quarrel. These people, who had formerly dwelt on the shores of the Erythraean Sea (The name "Erythraean Sea" was used as well to refer to some gulfs attached to the Indian Ocean, specifically, the Persian Gulf), having migrated to the Mediterranean and settled in the parts which they now inhabit, began at once, they say, to adventure on long voyages, freighting their vessels with the wares of Egypt and Assyria…

— Herodotus

Strabo, the Greek historian, geographer and philosopher mentioned that the Phoenicians came from the eastern part of the Arabia peninsula where they have similar gods, cemeteries and temples. Henry Rawlinson confirmed that and explained the between the names for their cities e.g. Arwad in Syria and Bahrain, and Sour in Oman and Lebanon, Gebal in Lebanon and Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, Al-Jish in Mount Lebanon and Qatif province, Sadad in Syria and Bahrain, Koura in North Lebanon and Bahrain.

Gerrha

Main article: Gerrha

Gerrha and its neighbors in 1 AD.

Gerrha (Arabic جرهاء), was an ancient city of Arabia, on the west side of the Persian Gulf. More accurately, the ancient city of Gerrha has been determined to have existed near or under the present fort of Uqair. This fort is 50 miles northeast of Al-Hasa in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. This site was first proposed by R E Cheesman in 1924.

Gerrha and Uqair are archaeological sites on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula only 60 miles from the ancient burial grounds of Dilmun on the island of Bahrain.

Prior to Gerrha, the area belonged to the Dilmun civilization, which was conquered by the Assyrian Empire in 709 BC. Gerrha was the center of an Arab kingdom from approximately 650 BC to circa 300 AD (See references). The kingdom was attacked by Antiochus III the Great in 205-204 BC, though it seems to have survived. It is currently unknown exactly when Gerrha fell, but the area was under Sassanid Persian control after 300 AD.

Gerrha was described by Strabo as inhabited by Chaldean exiles from Babylon, who built their houses of salt and repaired them by the application of salt water. Pliny the Elder (lust. Nat. vi. 32) says it was 5 miles in circumference with towers built of square blocks of salt.

Various identifications of the site have been attempted, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville choosing Qatif, Carsten Niebuhr preferring Kuwait and C Forster suggesting the ruins at the head of the bay behind the islands of Bahrain.

North Arabian Origin of the Bahranis

Rabi`ah (Arabic: ربيعة) purported patriarch of one of the two main branches of the so-called "North Arabian" (Adnanite) tribes, the other branch being known as Mudhar.

Like the rest of the Adnanite Arabs, legend has it that Rabi`ah's original homelands were in the Hejaz region of western Arabia, from which Rabi`ah migrated northwards and eastwards. Abdul Qays, Bakr ibn Wa'il, Taghlib ibn Wa'il were inhabitants of the region of Bahrain in eastern Arabia, including the modern-day islands of Bahrain, and were mostly sedentary.

History

The Baharna are the oldest inhabitants of the region of Bahrain formerly comprising the Eastern Coast of the Arabian Peninsula, al-Ahsa, al-Qatif, and island of Awal, today known as Bahrain. The Baharna are descended from Arabian tribes who had lived in the region since pre-Islamic times; prominent among them in those times were the tribes of Banu Abdul Qays and Rabi'a. Until Bahrain embraced Islam in 629 AD, it was a center for Nestorian Christianity. In the early 7th Century, Bahrain became one of the first places in Arabia to become an Islamic state, despite its great distance from Muhammad's location in Medina. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, most of the Baharna became Shia and they remained so until this day. The Shia Arabs of Bahrain are closely related to the Shia of Qatif, and even speak a similar dialect. They live in Manama, almost all the villages of the main island of Bahrain, several villages in the island of Muharraq in the North and in the island of Sitra to the east. They speak similar dialects, with slight variations between villages, although the villages of Sitra have dialects which differ considerably from those of the main island. Fishing, palm tree farming and pearl diving were the traditional economic activities of the Baharna. There are also Shia Arabs concentrated in several neighborhoods in Muharraq City. These are distinct from the Shia villages outside the city proper. Many believe that these Shia originally came from Al-Ahsa. As a result of their proximity to surrounding Sunni Arabs and Africans, they speak the Sunni dialect.

The historical region of Bahrain on a 1745 Bellin map.

Dilmun

Main article: Dilmun

Dilmun appears first in Sumerian cuneiform clay tablets dated to the end of fourth millennium BC, found in the temple of goddess Inanna, in the city of Uruk. The adjective Dilmun is used to describe a type of axe and one specific official; in addition there are lists of rations of wool issued to people connected with Dilmun.

Dilmun was mentioned in two letters dated to the reign of Burnaburiash (c. 1370 BC) recovered from Nippur, during the Kassite dynasty of Babylon. These letters were from a provincial official in Dilmun to his superiors in Mesopotamia. The names referred to are Akkadian. These letters and other documents, hint at an administrative relationship between Dilmun and Babylon at that time. Following the collapse of the Kassite dynasty, Mesopotamian documents make no mention of Dilmun with the exception of Assyrian inscriptions dated to 1250 BC which proclaimed the Assyrian king to be king of Dilmun and Meluhha, as well as Lower Sea and Upper Sea. Assyrian inscriptions recorded tribute from Dilmun. There are other Assyrian

inscriptions during the first millennium BC indicating Assyrian sovereignty over Dilmun. One of the early sites discovered in Bahrain suggests that Sennacherib, king of Assyria (707–681 BC), attacked northeast Arabia and captured the Bahrainian islands.  The most recent reference to Dilmun came during the Neo-Babylonian dynasty. Neo-Babylonian administrative records, dated 567 BC, stated that Dilmun was controlled by the king of Babylon. The name of Dilmun fell from use after the collapse of Neo-Babylon in 538 BC.

There is both literary and archaeological evidence of trade between Ancient Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilization (probably correctly identified with the land called Meluhha in Akkadian). Impressions of clay seals from the Indus Valley city of Harappa were evidently used to seal bundles of merchandise, as clay seal impressions with cord or sack marks on the reverse side testify. A number of these Indus Valley seals have turned up at Ur and other Mesopotamian sites. The "Persian Gulf" types of circular, stamped (rather than rolled) seals known from Dilmun, that appear at Lothal in Gujarat, India, and Failaka, as well as in Mesopotamia, are convincing corroboration of the long-distance sea trade. What the commerce consisted of is less known: timber and precious woods, ivory, lapis lazuli, gold, and luxury goods such as carnelian and glazed stone beads, pearls from the Persian Gulf, shell and bone inlays, were among the goods sent to Mesopotamia in exchange for silver, tin, woolen textiles, olive oil and grains. Copper ingots from Oman and bitumen which occurred naturally in Mesopotamia may have been exchanged for cotton textiles and domestic fowl, major products of the Indus region that are not native to Mesopotamia. Instances of all of these trade goods have been found. The importance of this trade is shown by the fact that the weights and measures used at Dilmun were in fact identical to those used by the Indus, and were not those used in Southern Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian trade documents, lists of goods, and official inscriptions mentioning Meluhha supplement Harappan seals and archaeological finds. Literary references to Meluhhan trade date from the Akkadian, the Third Dynasty of Ur, and Isin-Larsa Periods (c. 2350–1800 BC), but the trade probably started in the Early Dynastic Period (c. 2600 BC). Some Meluhhan vessels may have sailed directly to Mesopotamian ports, but by the Isin-Larsa Period, Dilmun monopolized the trade. The Bahrain National Museum assesses that its "Golden Age" lasted ca. 2200-1600 BC. Discoveries of ruins under the

Persian Gulf maybe of Dilmun.

Chaldea

Main article: Chaldea

The land

Chaldea as the name of a country is used in two different senses. In the early period it was the name of a small territory in southern Babylonia extending along the northern and probably also the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is called in Assyrian mat Kaldi "land of Chaldea". The expression mat Bit Yakin is also used, apparently synonymously. It would appear that Bit Yakin was the chief or capital city of the land; and the king of Chaldea is also called the king of Bit Yakin, just as the kings of Babylonia are regularly styled simply king of Babylon, the capital city. In the same way, the Persian Gulf was sometimes called "the Sea of Bit Yakin, instead of "the Sea of the Land of Chaldea."

It is impossible to define narrowly the boundaries of this early land of Chaldea, and one may only locate it generally in the low, marshy, alluvial land about the estuaries of the Tigris and Euphrates, which then discharged their waters through separate mouths into the sea. In a later time, when the Chaldean tribe had burst their narrow bonds and obtained the ascendency over all Babylonia, they gave their name to the whole land of Babylonia, which then was called Chaldea for a short time.

In 627 BC a series of wars broke out in the Assyrian Empire over who should rule. These wars greatly weakened the empire. Sensing this weakness, the

Chaldeans, the Medes, Scythians and Cimmerians formed a coalition and attacked the Assyrian Empire. In 612 BC they destroyed Nineveh and the last Assyrian army in 605 BC . In its place, Babylon under its Chaldean rulers and the Medes set up a new empires of their own.

The people

The homeland of the Chaldean race was in the far south east of Mesopotamia. It is not certain whence they migrated at an unknown period into the country of the sea-lands about the head of the Persian Gulf. They seem to have appeared there at about the same time that the Arameans and the Sutu appeared in Babylonia. Though belonging to the same "Semitic" ethnic group, they are to be differentiated from the Aramean stock; and Sennacherib, for example,

is careful in his inscriptions to distinguish them. When they came to possess the whole land, the name "Chaldean" became synonymous with "Babylonian", particularly to the Greeks and Jews. In the Hebrew Bible, the prophet Abraham is stated to have originally been from "Ur of the Chaldees" (Ur Kasdim); if this city is to be identified with the Sumerian Ur, it would be within the original Chaldean homeland south of the Euphrates. On the other hand, the traditional identification with a site in northern Mesopotamia would then imply the later sense of "Babylonia", and a few interpreters have additionally confused Abraham's birthplace with Chaldia, a distinct region on the Black Sea. According to the Book of Jubilees, Ur Kasdim (and Chaldea) took their name from Ura and Kesed, descendants of Arpachshad.

Though conquerors, the Chaldeans were rapidly and completely assimilated into the dominant Babylonian culture, as the Amorites before them had been, and after the fall of Babylon in 539 BC the term "Chaldean" was no longer used to describe a specific race of people, but rather a "socio-Economic" class, regardless of ethnicity.

The language used by the Chaldeans was the Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, the same language, save for slight peculiarities in sound and in characters, as Assyrian Akkadian. In late periods both the Babylonian and Assyrian dialects of Akkadian ceased to be spoken, and Aramaic took its place across Mesopotamia. One form of this widespread language is used in Daniel and Ezra, but the use of the name "Chaldee" to describe it, first introduced by Jerome, is incorrect and a misnomer.

Uyunid dynasty

The Qarmations were defeated in battle in 976 by the Buyids, which encouraged them to look inward to build their utilitarian society, but around 1058, a revolt on the island of Bahrain led by two Shi'a members of the Abd al-Qays tribe, Abul-Bahlul al-‘Awwam and Abu’l-Walid Muslim, precipitated the waning of Qarmatian power and eventually the ascendancy to power of the Uyunids, an Arab dynasty belonging to the Abdul Qays tribe. The Uyunids ruled from 1076 to 1235, when the islands were briefly occupied by the Turkic Salgharid Atabeg of Fars. Supported by the Seljuk rulers of Iraq, the Uyunids relied on the power of the Banu 'Amir tribes such as the Banu Uqayl.

Usfurids dynasty

Shi'a Muslims in Bahrain strike their chests during the mourning

The Usfurids were an Arab dynasty that in 1253 gained control of eastern Arabia, including the islands of Bahrain, They were a branch of the Banu Uqayl tribe of the Banu Amir group, and are named after the dynasty’s founder, Usfur ibn Rashid. They were initially allies of the Qarmatians and their successors, the Uyunids, but eventually overthrew the latter and seized power themselves. The Usfurids' takeover came after Uyunid power had been weakened by invasion in 1235 by the Salgharid Atabeg of Fars.

The Usfurids had an uneasy relationship with the main regional power at the time, the Persian princes in Hormuz, who took control of Bahrain and Qatif in 1320. However, the Hormuzi rulers did not seem to have firm control of the islands, and during the 14th century Bahrain was disputed as numerous neighbours sought tribute from the wealth accumulated from its pearl fisheries. It the 15th century another branch of the Banu Amir emerged, the Jabrids, who built a more stable polity in eastern Arabia.

Jarwanid dynasty

The Jarwanid Dynasty was a Shia dynasty that ruled the Province of Bahrain in the 14th century. It was founded by Jerwan I bin Nasser and was based in Qatif. The dynasty was a vassal of the Kingdom of Ormus.

The Jarwanids belonged to the clan of Bani Malik. It is disputed whether they belonged to the Banu Uqayl -- the tribe of their predecessors the Usfurids and their successors the Jabrids -- or to the Banu Abdul Qays, to whom the Uyunid dynasty (1076–1235) belonged. The Jarwanids came to power some time in the 14th century, after expelling the forces of Sa'eed ibn Mughamis, the chief of the Muntafiq tribe based in the Iraqi city of Basrah.

Contemporary sources such Ibn Battuta and Ibn Hajar describe the Jarwanids as being "extreme Rawafidh," a term for Shi'ites who rejected the first three Caliphs, while a 15th century Sunni scholar from Egypt describes them as being "remnants of the Qarmatians." Historian Juan Cole concludes from this that they were Isma'ilis. However, the Twelver Shi'ite sect was promoted under their rule, and Twelver scholars held the judgeships and other important positions, including the chief of the hisba. Also, unlike under the Qarmatians, Islamic prayers were held in the mosques under Jarwanid rule, and prayer was called under the Shi'ite formula. A Twelver scholar of the 14th century, Jamaluddeen Al-Mutawwa', belonged to the house of Jarwan. According to Al-Humaydan, who specialized in the history of eastern Arabia, the Jarwanids were Twelvers, and the term "Qaramita" was used simply as an epithet for "Shi'ite."

Before the advent of the oil industry, the Bahrani mostly engaged in agriculture, including the cultivation of date palms, fishing, and pearl diving, as well as a host of other cottage industries, such as basket weaving and pottery. Unlike their Bedouin neighbors, the people of this region led a settled lifestyle, as they had access to abundant freshwater springs and long coastal lines, rich with fish, shrimp, and oysters. The pearling industry involved a variety of other business activities, such as ship building (with distinctive styles of dhows) and trade with Africa, Iran, the Indian subcontinent, some parts of Indochina, and Indonesia.

Famous Bahrani people

The Bahrani's produced many well-known religious scholars, including Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsai (1753–1826) (founder of the Shaikhí school), Shaykh Maitham al-Bahrani (1238–1299), Shaykh Yusuf al-Bahrani (1695–1722) (one of the foremost Akhbari scholars), Abdullah al Samahiji (1675–1723), and Salih Al-Karzakani . Many religious scholars immigrated to Iran after the Bahrain islands were conquered by the Safavids in 1602 - for instance 17th Century theologian and scholar, Sheikh Salih Al-Karzakani was appointed by the Shah as court judge in Shiraz, although he initially left Bahrain to work in the Indian Kingdom of Golkonda. Many students and scholars settled, and still do today, in centers of Shi'ite scholarship, especially Najaf, Karbala, and Qom. Insignificant numbers have settled in relatively remote areas, such as Zanzibar.,.

The singular term "al-Bahrani" and the plural term "al-Baharna" are also used as family names by individuals who have Bahrani ancestry, such as the Iraqi art historian Dr Zainab Bahrani.

Bahrani Man

Bahrani Women

Historically Bahrani towns and villages

In Bahrain (present day)

• Manama
• A'ali
• Al Dair
• Abu Saiba
• Al Markh
• Bani Jamra
• Barbar
• Bilad Al Qadeem
• Daar Kilayb
• Diraz
• Al Daih
• Ghuraifa
• Hamala
• Jebelat Habshi
• Jidhafs
• Juffair
• Karbabad
• Karrana
• Awali
• Karzakan
• Khamis
• Koura
• Malkiya
• Ma'ameer
• Magaba
• Muqsha
• Nabih Saleh
• Noaim
• Nuwaidrat
• Ras Rumman
• Saar, Bahrain
• Sanabis
• Sanad
• Samaheej
• Sitrah
• Tubli
• Zinj, Bahrain
• Darkulaib
• Jurdab

Saudi Arabia

• Qatif (North oasis)
• Saihat
• Al-Awamiyah - [2]
• Safwa city
• Hellat-Muhaish - alhella Site
• Al-Awjam
• Tarout Island
• Sanabis
• Umm Al-Hamam
• Al-Qudaih
• Al-Jaroudiya - Al-Jarodiah Site
• Al-Jish
• Al-Taubi
• Al-Malahha
• Al-Khuwailidiya

• Al-Hasa (South oasis)
• Hofuf
• Al-Mubarraz
• Al-Holailah
• Al-Hotah
• Al-Taraf
• Al-Jafr
• Al-Julaijlah
• Al-Mansorah
• Al-Mizawi
• Al-Munaizlah
• Al-Mutairfi
• Al-Omran
• AbuThor
• Al-Rumailah
• Al-Sabat
• Al-Shigaig
• Al-Towaithir
• Al-Wazziyah
• BaniMa'an
• Al-Dalwah
• Al-Garah
• Al-Garn
• Al-Gherain

There are also other small villages.

See also

History

• Dilmun
• Chaldea
• Gerrha
• Thaj
• Qarmatians
• Uqaylid Dynasty
• Usfurids
• Jarwanid dynasty
• History of Bahrain
• History of Kuwait
• History of Qatar
• March Intifada
• 1981 Bahraini coup d'état attempt
• 1990s Intifada
• Torture in Bahrain
• Al Bandar report
• Manama incident
• 2011 Bahraini protests

Language and culture

• Hasaitic
• Bahrani Arabic
• Christians in the Persian Gulf
• Nestorian Christianity
• Akhbari
• Shaykhís
• Shia Islam in Saudi Arabia
• Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia

Geography

• Bahrain (historical region)
• Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
• Geography of Bahrain
• Geography of Kuwait
• Geography of Qatar

Bahrani Organizations

• National Union Committee
• Haq Movement
• Al Wefaq
• Bahrain Freedom Movement
• Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain
• Hezbollah Al-Hejaz
• Islamic Action Society
• National Liberation Front – Bahrain

Bahrani People

• List of Bahranis
• Shanga, in the Lamu Archipelago, Kenya

Bahrani tribes

• Banu Kaab
• Banu Uqayl
• Bani Malik (tribe)

External links

• Baharna on Facebook
• Al-Ahssa DNA Project
• THE SECOND DYNASTY OF BABYLON-THE SEA-LAND
• THE HOME OF THE FIRST SEALAND DYNASTY.
• Second Dynasty of the Sealand
• Assyrian rule in Chaldea
• The Qarmatians in Bahrain
• The 1922 Bahrani uprising in Bahrain
• Rival Empires of Trade and Imami Shiism in Eastern Arabia, 1300-1800, Juan Cole, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2, (May, 1987), pp. 177–203
• البحارنة .. نسبهم وموطنهم وهجراتهم
• من هم البحارنة؟
• أنيميا فقر الدم المنجلي العلامة الجينية المميزة
• تكوُّن اللهجة البحرانية الأولية
• قبيلة عبد القيس تاريخ وأمجاد
• عملة البحرين قبل 900 عام‏ (علي ولي الله )
• الحركات الوطنية البحرانية في العصر البرتغالي