| Invasion of Bahrain (1521) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portuguese fort in Bahrain | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Portuguese Empire Hormuz | Jabrids | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| António Correia | Muqrin ibn Zamil † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 1,200 warriors 200 vessels | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy | ||||||||
ThePortuguese capture of Bahrain from theJabrids Emirate was a campaign that took place in 1521 by Portuguese forces under the command ofAntónio Correia.[1][2]
Years before, thePortuguese conquered Hormuz, transforming it into a client-state. This conquest gave them full control of the trade betweenIndia andEurope passing through thePersian Gulf.[3]
The Portuguese were determined to ensure that Bahrain acknowledged the authority of the king ofHormuz and paid him yearly taxes, with a large portion going to thevizier Rukn ed-Din, who had significant business interests there. Bahrain was considered one of the king's important territories due to its strategic and commercial value.[4]
Wanting to strengthen his hold overBahrain, the king of Hormuz sought the Portuguese's assistance, as their treaty obligated them to defend his lands. He requested soldiers and ships to help him reclaim control over Bahrain andal-Qatif. The Portuguese saw this as an opportunity to weakenMuqrin, the king ofal-Hasa, particularly his naval power, which posed a threat to their interests in the region.[5]
A campaign against Bahrain was decided upon after the arrival of Indian vessels at Hormuz in early May 1521.
Bahrain was well fortified, but this did not prevent thePortuguese from landing theirtroops on 27th June.
A battle began and initiallyMuqrin's troops had the advantage, but after a short period of fighting, he was hit and immediately withdrew from the battle. He ended up dying three days later and his head was cut off and sent toHormuz. The Portuguese commander,António Correia, later depicted King Muqrin's bleeding severed head on his family's coat of arms inLousã, which still remains a feature of the coat of arms of theCount of Lousã, Correia's descendant inPortugal.Bahrain was then sacked and its ships set ablaze by the Portuguese.[6]
After the conquest of Bahrain,Correia appointed a man by the name of Lucat who was anArab well respected by the local population to be the governor.
The success in this campaign further weakened theShias, since it cut their continuity of rule over Bahrain. OtherSunni territories around that area, such asQatif andHasa, voluntarily surrendered to Ottoman rule with fear of the Portuguese.[7]
ThePortuguese swiftly began constructing a massive fort complex atQalat Al Bahrain to assert control over their newly acquired territory. This fortification remains today as aUNESCO World Heritage Site. However, a significant consequence of this period was the transformation of the term "Bahrain." Prior to António Correia's invasion, "Bahrain" referred to the broader historic region, but afterwards, it came to denote specifically the archipelago that forms themodern state. Correia's invasion essentially defined the territorial boundaries of the country.