Page 78 - Life & Land Use on the Bahrain Islands (Curtis E Larsen)

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Neo-Babylonian control of Bahrain and the adjacent coast. Perhaps, as Dougherty
(1932) suggested, the Sealand incorporated parts of the Arabian coast and Dilmun at
this time.
Once again, the background history of Mesopotamia must be consulted for
insight. Wars between Assyria and Babylon began in earnest with the reign of
Assurbanipal and only worsened after his death (ca. 629-627 B.C.). Anti-Assyrian
coalitions of Media, Babylon, and Palestine were a potent force to be dealt with
simultaneously. Assyria finally fell to Nebuchadnezzar II in 605 B.C., and control
of the region was gained by the tenth dynasty of Babylon. During this period of
Neo-Babylonian hegemony, political power was centered in southern Mesopotamia.
The establishment of this dynasty is generally attributed to Nabopolassar
(Olmstead 1925). Apparently, the final shift to Neo-Babylonian control of Bahrain
and the Arabian coast took place shortly after the death of Assurbanipal.
Hie Neo-Babylonian dynasty has been described as having a different
cultural composition from earlier southern Mesopotamian populations (Hallo and
Simpson 1971). A Chaldean state was formed around a tribal structure of "houses"
led by hereditary chieftains. Hallo and Simpson see Chaldeans contending for the
kingship of Babylon as early as the eighth century B.C. This dynasty crystallized
under Nebuchadnezzer n, who took control of much of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Although there was a brief surge of growth during this period, the Neo-Babylonian
Empire was short-lived. Its final king, Nabonidus, alienating his own people by his
general disregard of them, and his veneration of a lesser deity, set up residence in
the northern Arabian city of Taima. Babylon turned against him and welcomed the
entry of the Achaemenid Cyrus in 539 B.C. Control of Mesopotamia then shifted
to Persia. While no record has been presented for Achaemenid control of Bahrain,
Gray and Cary (1926) point out that the Achaemenid king Darius sought to bind
together the Persian Empire by road system and maritime trade networks.
During his reign, the empire stretched from the Indus Valley to Egypt. Sea
communications were maintained among the Arabian Gulf, the Indus Valley, and
the Red Sea until the fourth century B.C., when Egypt regained its independence.
It is reasonable to assume that Bahrain was influenced by such Achaemenid