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The doublc-cnccint fort at Arad was in existence at the end of the Portuguese stay in
Bahrain, for it is shown in the “Book of the Fortresses of India”.12 ( dated 1635 ). and two
fortresses arc mentioned in the text going with the drawing. But it seems that it was not already
built in 1559 when the Turks bcscigcd Qal’at al-Bahrain: no fortress could be seen on Arad
island in the anonymous miniature showing these events.13. And the Portuguese made no
mention of Arad Fortress in 1521, when they made a landing in order to punish Bahrain for
not having paid the tribute which was imposed by the Princes of Hormuz, or in 1514, when
they came to the island for the first time : the Arad Fortress seems to have been built between
1559 and 1635.

This brief archaeological summary of the military architecture of Bahrain shows how,
throughout its history, Qal’at al-Bahrain retained a particular importance for the island as well
as for the archipelago. If in former times cities appear to have succeeded one another, since the
hellenistic epoch the main construction has been the fortress, restored and reconstructed
several times over the centuries, but always guarding, until recently, this section of the North
shore of the island.

In the Hellenistic period, the fort might have defended the settlement which had been
located there for several millenia . And its construction was helped by the abundance of good
quality material which was readily to hand: many carved quarried stones, (one with an
inscription from the beginning of the first millcnium BC.) were re-used in the stonework of its
walls.14

It appears that during the 12-13th centuries the fort’s purpose was more as a fortified
storehouse, judging by the very many traces of trade with South East Asia that have been
found there (Chinese Coins and porcelain). Bahrain, however, does not appear to have
participated directly in long-range trade: its traditional role was to redistribute foreign
products within the Gulf.13

Later, the role of the fortress was purely strategic, its possession being identified with
control of the island. The response was the building of another fortress,-Arad - , in a position
that was evidently more suitable because it gave direct access to deep water.

Notes

1. See below.

2. This fortress was discovered in 1955 by the Danish Expedition at Bahrain, but properly
dug out by the French Expedition between 1977 and 1983.

3. A preliminary study of this material seems to give a datation between two centuries BC
and three centuries AD: see the paper submitted to the Conference “Bahrain through
Ages” by R. BOUCHARLAT: “Some new elements about Qal’at al-Bahrain during the
Hellenistic Period”.

4. Idem.

5. These events are quoted by A.T. WILSON, Persian Gulf, London, 1928.

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