Bahrain Province
استان بحرین (Persian)
Province of Imperial State of Iran
1957–1971

DemonymBahraini
Area 
• 
785.08 km2 (303.12 sq mi)
 • TypeProvince
History 
• Established
12 November 1957
• Disestablished
18 May 1971
 Succeeded by
Bahrain
Today part ofBahrain

Bahrain Province (Persian: استان بحرین), also known as the 14th Province[1] and Mishmahig,[1] was a province in the administrative divisions of Iran between 1957 and 1971, that encompassed Bahrain archipelago (part of the present-day country Bahrain). During this period, Bahrain was under effective control of the Persian Gulf Residency and Iran regarded it under British colonial occupation.

Although not under control of Iranian government, in order to stress the territorial claim of Iran, it was declared a province on 12 November 1957,[2] with two parliamentary seats dedicated to it[3] (in the early 1900s, one parliamentary seat was reserved for Bahrain).[4] A year later in 1958 Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa (ruler of Bahrain) pledged allegiance to Iran.[5] One of his predecessors, Sheikh Muhammad bin Khalifah Al Khalifa had in 1851 asked for Iranian protection against Wahabbis and declared his preparedness to be a Qajar Iran protectorate. However, the British forced him to become their protectorate.[6]

Before the province was detached in 1957, Iran considered it as part of Fars Province.[7] During Safavid Iran, Bahrain was subordinate to Bushehr governorship and Zubarah (located in modern-day country of Qatar) was its capital city. In 1737, under Afsharid dynasty Bahrain was made subject to Fars governorship.[8]

The province officially ceased to exist with a resolution approved by the lower house on 14 May 1971 with 184 votes to 4, and unanimously approved by the upper house on 18 May 1971; and Iran recognized Bahrain as an independent sovereign state.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b MacQueen, Benjamin (2013), An Introduction to Middle East Politics, SAGE, p. 382, ISBN 9781446249499
  2. ^ a b de Planhol, Xavier (15 December 1988), "BAHRAIN", Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 5, pp. 506–510
  3. ^ Mojtahed-Zadeh, Pirouz (2013). Security and Territoriality in the Persian Gulf: A Maritime Political Geography. Routledge. p. 131. ISBN 978-0700710980.
  4. ^ Askari, Hossein (2013). Conflicts in the Persian Gulf: Origins and Evolution. Springer. p. 131. ISBN 9781137358387.
  5. ^ Keynoush, Banafsheh (2016), Saudi Arabia and Iran: Friends or Foes?, Springer, p. 96, ISBN 978-1137589392
  6. ^ Mehr, Farhang (1997), A Colonial Legacy: The Dispute Over the Islands of Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tumbs, University Press of America, p. 51, ISBN 9780761808770
  7. ^ Ebrahimi, Mansoureh; Rad Goudarzi, Masoumeh; Yusoff, Kamaruzaman (2018), The Dynamics of Iranian Borders: Issues of Contention, Springer, p. 106, ISBN 9783319898360
  8. ^ Mojtahed-Zadeh, Pirouz (2013). Security and Territoriality in the Persian Gulf: A Maritime Political Geography. Routledge. p. 139. ISBN 978-0700710980.

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