Ancient Bahrain: Region, Language, Architecture

a) About 2000 B.C. the region of the present day Bahrain was called Dilmun (Heilbrunn).

Map available from:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/02/wap/ht02wap.htm (accessed May 21, 2009).

b) Currently, Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu languages are spoken in Bahrain (CIA).

c) Qal’at al-Bahrain – “an artificial mound created by many successive layers of human occupation. The strata of the 300 × 600 m tell testify to continuous human presence from about 2300 BC to the 16th century AD. About 25% of the site has been excavated, revealing structures of different types: residential, public, commercial, religious and military. They testify to the importance of the site, a trading port, over the centuries. On the top of the 12 m mound there is the impressive Portuguese fort, which gave the whole site its name, qal’a (fort). The site was the capital of the Dilmun, one of the most important ancient civilizations of the region” (UNESCO).

Picture available from:

http://wikimapia.org/366145/Bahrain-Fort-Portugese-Fort (accessed May 21, 2009).

Sources:

Central Intelligence Agency. The World Fact Book. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ba.html (accessed May 21, 2009).

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. "Arabian Peninsula, 8000–2000 B.C." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/02/wap/ht02wap.htm (May 21, 2009).

UNESCO. “Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1192 (accessed May 21, 2009).