Page 108 - Life & Land Use on the Bahrain Islands (Curtis E Larsen)

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One of the least understood periods in Bahrain’s history is that of Sasanian
control of the Arabian Gulf. From historical sources we know that Ardashir I
established a trading center on the Arabian coast shortly after his rise to power in
A.D. 224. In addition, Sasanian military expeditions into Arabia were noted during
the reign of Shapur n in the mid-fourth century A.D. TTie Nestorian church,
centered in Sasanian Persia, also had bishoprics on Bahrain and the Arabian coast.
Although disagreement exists on the period of actual Sasanian control of Bahrain,
the recorded sources agree that Bahrain was under Sasanian influence for a period
of two hundred to three hundred years. In comparison, the period of Neo-Assyrian
and Neo-Babylonian influence in the gulf lasted about 170 years, while Parthian
influence of some form may have covered 380 years.
No published sources discuss the Sasanian ceramics or define Sasanian
archeological sites for Bahrain. Thus, for the purpose of land-use analysis, the only
demonstrated Sasanian settlement is at Qala’at al-Bahrain as demonstrated in
Appendix I. Certainly others must have existed but they remain unrecognized.
Complicating matters, the more distinctive ceramics of the Late Sasanian-Early
Islamic transition period in the seventh century are often seen as indicators only of
the latter. At this juncture, the meager evidence at hand suggests that Bahrain
was not heavily settled during the first half of the first millennium A.D. Although
settlement may have increased during the peak of Sasanian maritime trade in the
Arabian Gulf (ca. A.D. 550), this evidence remains mixed with Early Islamic
occupations. Neither interpretation portrays more than settlement of the northern
few kilometers of the island.
A hypothetical view of land use during the Sasanian period includes
clustered villages along the northern coastal plain during the third through fifth
centuries A.D. These villages were oriented toward intensive cultivation of dates
and vegetables. If more extensive farming took place, it was on the periphery of
the northern gardens. In any event, the land used was quite limited in comparison
with both those of modern times and the preceding Barbar period. In all
probability, it represented a period when settlement fell back upon the well