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Jōn al Kuwayt (Arabic:جون الكويت,Gulf Arabic pronunciation: /d͡ʒoːn‿ɪlkweːt/), also known as Kuwait Bay, is a bay inKuwait. It is the head of thePersian Gulf.Kuwait City lies on a tip of the bay.
Following the post-glacial flooding of the Persian Gulf basin, debris from theTigris–Euphrates river formed a substantial delta, creating most of the land in present-day Kuwait and establishing the present coastlines.[1] Historically, northern Kuwait was part of ancientMesopotamia.[2] One of the earliest evidence of human habitation in southern Kuwait dates back 8000 B.C. whereMesolithic tools were found inBurgan.[3] The Neolithic inhabitants of Kuwait were among the world's earliest maritime traders.[4] During theUbaid period (6500 BC), Kuwait was the central site of interaction between the peoples ofMesopotamia and NeolithicEastern Arabia,[5][6][7] includingBahra 1 andsite H3 inSubiya.[5][8][9] One of the world's earliest reed-boats was discovered atsite H3 dating back to the Ubaid period.[10]
In 4000 BC until 2000 BC, Kuwait Bay was home to theDilmun civilization.[11][12][13] Dilmun's control of the bay of Kuwait included mainlandAkkaz,[11]Umm an Namil,[11][14] andFailaka.[11][15] At its peak in 2000 BC, the Dilmun empire controlled the trade routes from Mesopotamia to India and theIndus Valley civilization. Dilmun's commercial power began to decline after 1800 BC. Piracy flourished throughout the region during Dilmun's decline. After 600 BC, the Babylonians added Dilmun to their empire.
At the time ofAlexander the Great, the mouth of theEuphrates River was located in northern Kuwait.[16][17] The Euphrates river flowed directly into the Persian Gulf via Khor Subiya which was a river channel at the time.[16][17] Failaka was located 15 kilometers from the mouth of the Euphrates river.[16][17] By the first century BC, the Khor Subiya river channel dried out completely.[16][17]
During theAchaemenid period (c. 550‒330 BC), Kuwait Bay was repopulated.[18] There areAramaic inscriptions that testify Achaemenid presence.[19] In 127 BC, Kuwait was part of theParthian Empire and the kingdom ofCharacene was established aroundTeredon in present-day Kuwait. Characene was centered in the region encompassing southern Mesopotamia,[20] Characene coins were discovered in Akkaz, Umm an Namil, and Failaka.[21][22] A busy Parthian era Characene commercial station existed in Kuwait.[23] The earliest recorded mention of Kuwait was in 150 AD in the geographical treatiseGeography by Greek scholarPtolemy.[24] Ptolemy mentioned the Bay of Kuwait asHieros Kolpos (Sacer Sinus in the Latin versions).[24]
Most of present-day Kuwait Bay is still archaeologically unexplored.[5][3] According to several famous archaeologists and geologists, Kuwait was likely the original location of thePishon River which watered theGarden of Eden.[25][26][27]Juris Zarins argued that the Garden of Eden was situated at the head of the Persian Gulf (present-day Kuwait), where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run into the sea, from his research on this area using information from many different sources, includingLANDSAT images from space. His suggestion about the Pishon River was supported by James A. Sauer of theAmerican Center of Oriental Research.[28] Sauer made an argument from geology and history that Pishon River was the now-defunct Kuwait River.[28] With the aid of satellite photos,Farouk El-Baz traced the dry channel from Kuwait up the Wadi Al-Batin.[25][27][26]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)From about 4000 to 2000 B.C. the civilization of Dilmun dominated 250 miles of the eastern coast of Arabia from present-day Kuwait to Bahrain and extended sixty miles into the interior to the oasis of Hufuf (see fig. 2).
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)With Babylon and Seleucia secured, Mehrdad turned to Charax in southern Mesopotamia (modern south Iraq and Kuwait).
To the south of Characene, on Failaka, the north wall of the fort was pushed forward, before occupation ceased around 100 BC.
29°26′N47°56′E / 29.433°N 47.933°E /29.433; 47.933
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