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.
| Bahrain Province استان بحرین (Persian) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of Imperial State of Iran | |||||||
| 1957–1971 | |||||||
 | |||||||
| Demonym | Bahraini | ||||||
| Area | |||||||
• | 785.08 km2 (303.12 sq mi) | ||||||
| • Type | Province | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | 12 November 1957 | ||||||
• Disestablished | 18 May 1971 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Today part of | Bahrain | ||||||
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
edit- ^ a b MacQueen, Benjamin (2013), An Introduction to Middle East Politics, SAGE, p. 382, ISBN 9781446249499
- ^ a b de Planhol, Xavier (15 December 1988), "BAHRAIN", Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 5, pp. 506–510
- ^ Mojtahed-Zadeh, Pirouz (2013). Security and Territoriality in the Persian Gulf: A Maritime Political Geography. Routledge. p. 131. ISBN 978-0700710980.
- ^ Askari, Hossein (2013). Conflicts in the Persian Gulf: Origins and Evolution. Springer. p. 131. ISBN 9781137358387.
- ^ Keynoush, Banafsheh (2016), Saudi Arabia and Iran: Friends or Foes?, Springer, p. 96, ISBN 978-1137589392
- ^ 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
- ^ Ebrahimi, Mansoureh; Rad Goudarzi, Masoumeh; Yusoff, Kamaruzaman (2018), The Dynamics of Iranian Borders: Issues of Contention, Springer, p. 106, ISBN 9783319898360
- ^ Mojtahed-Zadeh, Pirouz (2013). Security and Territoriality in the Persian Gulf: A Maritime Political Geography. Routledge. p. 139. ISBN 978-0700710980.