Haasa

The Sheikdom of al-Hassa was an independent tribal region opposite of Qatar and Bahrain. It was historically different from its neighbors by having a high concentration of Shi'ites in an otherwise Sunni Dominated area, and the region continues to be predominantly Shi'a to this day (see Basra.) With the decline of Persian regional power, the country lost independence to its Sunni neighbors before being ultimately annexed by Najd in 1795 and then the Ottoman Empire in 1818.