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125-577: Though occupied during the Ubaid period (based on clay sickle fragments) and Uruk period (based on pottery fragments), the town's first epigraphic appearance was during the Akkadian period in a in reference to an escaped slave. "Lugal-azida, slave of Lugal-kigala, ran away from the governor; the slave woman of Ur-ni-gin disclosed his hiding place; he is (now) in Mashkan-shapir; he should be brought here!" It

250-866: A clay sealing with a cord impression that might have come from rope spun from wool fibers. The animal bone assemblage at this site had a large percentage of domesticated sheep/goat, with changes in the assemblage suggesting that the production of secondary products (such as wool and milk) became more important toward the late Ubaid and the Uruk period. The spindle whorls from Kosak Shamali, and also those from Telul eth-Thalathat II (northern Iraq), gradually decreased in weight, which could indicate that more and more finer-quality or softer fibers were spun. At Tell Surezha (Iraqi Kurdistan), evidence from animal bones also suggests that wool production may have been important. Stamp seals had been in use in Upper Mesopotamia since

375-548: A wetland environment . As a result of changes in sea-level, the shoreline of the Persian Gulf during the Ubaid was different from that of today. At the beginning of the Ubaid, around 6500 BC, the shoreline at Kuwait may have run slightly further south. During the subsequent 2.5 millennia, the shoreline moved further northward, up to the ancient city of Ur around 4000 BC. Date palms were present in southern Mesopotamia since at least

500-423: A council of one's peers, were no longer sufficient for the needs of the local community. Ubaid culture originated in the south, but still has clear connections to earlier cultures in the region of middle Iraq. The appearance of the Ubaid folk has sometimes been linked to the so-called Sumerian problem, related to the origins of Sumerian civilisation . Whatever the ethnic origins of this group, this culture saw for

625-442: A distinctive fine quality buff or greenish colored pottery decorated with geometric designs in brown or black paint. Tools such as sickles were often made of hard fired clay in the south, while in the north stone and sometimes metal were used. Villages thus contained specialised craftspeople, potters, weavers and metalworkers, although the bulk of the population were agricultural labourers, farmers and seasonal pastoralists. During

750-420: A domestic activity to a more specialized activity carried out by dedicated craftspeople . This may have been associated with the introduction of Canaanean blade technology, which became common in the 4th millennium BC and may itself have been linked to increased mass-production and intensification of agricultural strategies. Evidence for metallurgy comes from several sites in Upper Mesopotamia, all dating to

875-481: A high degree of cultural continuity is evident throughout the Ubaid and Uruk periods, and it seems that there is some agreement that "the relation between three categories, linguistic, racial and ethnic, is exceedingly complex in Mesopotamia and still far from being sufficiently investigated". Scarce DNA analysis of human skeletal material from various archaeological sites in Upper Mesopotamia (none of which dated to

1000-462: A joint venture of Ballast Nedam . The Al Sabah strongly advocated Islamism throughout the 1980s. At that time, the most serious threat to the continuity of Al Sabah came from home-grown democrats, who were protesting the 1976 suspension of the parliament . The Al Sabah were attracted to Islamists preaching the virtues of a hierarchical order that included loyalty to the Kuwaiti monarchy. In 1981,

1125-757: A letter to the Ruler of Arabistan Sheikh Khazʽal Ibn Jabir offering the Kuwaiti throne to either him or one of his heirs. Khaz'al refused. He then asked: ...even so, do you think that you have come to me with something new? Al Mubarak's position as ruler of Kuwait means that I am the true ruler of Kuwait. So there is no difference between myself and them, for they are like the dearest of my children and you are aware of this. Had someone else come to me with this offer, I would have complained about them to you. So how do you come to me with this offer when you are well aware that myself and Al Mubarak are one soul and one house, what affects them affects me, whether good or evil. Following

1250-642: A precursor of the beveled rim bowl from the Uruk period. As with many other aspects of Ubaid material culture, it is possible to distinguish different geographical traditions in the production of the coba bowl during the Ubaid period. Flint was widely available in Mesopotamia and could be sourced from outcrops in the Zagros and the Jebel Sinjar , from limestone and river terraces in northern Mesopotamia and from alluvial deposits in southern Mesopotamia. Different qualities of flint were used, depending on what kind of tool

1375-533: A result of downward social mobility . Morton Fried and Elman Service have hypothesised that Ubaid culture saw the rise of an elite class of hereditary chieftains , perhaps heads of kin groups linked in some way to the administration of the temple shrines and their granaries, responsible for mediating intra-group conflict and maintaining social order. It would seem that various collective methods, perhaps instances of what Thorkild Jacobsen called primitive democracy , in which disputes were previously resolved through

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1500-480: A result of the worldwide economic depression. At its height, Kuwait's pearl industry had led the world's luxury market, regularly sending out between 750 and 800 ships to meet the European elite's desire for pearls. During the economic depression, luxuries like pearls were in little demand. The Japanese invention of cultured pearls also contributed to the collapse of Kuwait's pearl industry. Freya Stark wrote about

1625-411: A site as, for example, purely Ubaid or purely Halaf. In northern Mesopotamia, Ubaid characteristics only start to appear in Ubaid 2-3, i.e. toward the end of the sixth millennium BC, so that the entire Ubaid period would be much shorter. For Syria , a range of 5300-4300 BC has been suggested. However, some scholars have argued that the interaction between the originally southern Mesopotamian Ubaid and

1750-451: A slender body, long, reptilian head with incised eyes and mouth and a threedimensional small nose. This particular rendering of the face may be a representation of a mask or possibly headshaping . The hands are placed before the stomach, sometimes with incised fingers. They are thought to be naked. Paint is sometimes used to indicate hair or other details. The majority of these figures is female, but male and sexless figurines exist as well. In

1875-507: A substantial delta, creating most of the land in present-day Kuwait and establishing the present coastlines. One of the earliest evidence of human habitation in Kuwait dates back to 8000 BC where Mesolithic tools were found in Burgan . Historically, most of present-day Kuwait was part of ancient Mesopotamia . During the Ubaid period (6500 BC), Kuwait was the central site of interaction between

2000-458: A virgin place (and) to expand its dwellings, then Sin-iddinam ... the wall of his city Mashkan-shapir, the pure place may raise its head, ... I made bricks (and built the city wall of them). The name of the great wall is “Nergal destroys the enemy lands for me.” ... At that time I strengthened the foundations of Mashkan-shapir, the sweet place ... (And when) I expanded its dwellings more than my royal predecessors (had done it before me), I excavated

2125-701: Is a founding member of the GCC and is also a member of the United Nations , the Arab League , and OPEC . The name "Kuwait" is from the Kuwaiti Arabic diminutive form of كوت ( Kut or Kout ), meaning "fortress built near water". The country's official name has been the "State of Kuwait" since 1961. Following the post-glacial flooding of the Persian Gulf basin , debris from the Tigris–Euphrates river formed

2250-802: Is a single level site. Most cities in the Ancient Near East have been built and rebuilt many times over history, obscuring our understanding of individual time periods. Tell Abu Duwari was first noted, as site 639, in the Nippur survey of Robert McCormick Adams of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago . After visiting it in 1986 the site was excavated for a total of five months in three seasons between 1987 and 1990 by an American Schools of Oriental Research and National Geographic Society team led by Elizabeth Stone and Paul Zimansky. In addition to

2375-500: Is called the "golden era of Kuwait". In 1946, crude oil was exported for the first time. In 1950, a major public-work programme began to enable Kuwaiti citizens to enjoy a luxurious standard of living. By 1952, the country became the largest oil exporter in the Persian Gulf region. This massive growth attracted many foreign workers, especially from Palestine, Iran, India, and Egypt – with the latter being particularly political within

2500-460: Is complex and not yet fully understood, including how and when exactly the Ubaid started to appear in northern Mesopotamia. To resolve these issues, modern scholarship tends to focus more on regional trajectories of change where different cultural elements from the Halaf, Samarra, or Ubaid - pottery, architecture, and so forth - could co-exist. This makes it increasingly hard to define an occupation phase at

2625-553: Is considered to be a pioneer in the region when it comes to the arts and popular culture, often called the "Hollywood of the Gulf", the nation started the oldest modern arts movement in the Arabian Peninsula and is known to have created among the leading artists in the region. Kuwaiti popular culture, in the form of theatre, radio, music, and television soap opera, is exported to neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Kuwait

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2750-407: Is extremely rare. The "Burnt Village" at Tell Sabi Abyad could be suggestive of destruction during war but it could also have been due to other causes, such as wildfire or accident. Ritual burning is also possible since the bodies inside were already dead by the time they were burned. A mass grave at Tepe Gawra contained 24 bodies apparently buried without any funeral rituals, possibly indicating it

2875-428: Is unclear. There is some evidence for emerging wool production in the fifth millennium BC, i.e. late Ubaid. Some of the earliest evidence comes in the form of an animal figurine from Iran dated to c. 5000 BC with incised decorations that might possibly represent wool. At Kosak Shamali , an Ubaid site in northern Syria, indirect evidence for wool production has been found in the form of spindle whorls , clay scrapers, and

3000-581: The 1985 Kuwait City bombings , and the hijacking of several Kuwait Airways planes. Kuwait's economy and scientific research sector significantly suffered due to the pro-Iran terror attacks. Simultaneously, Kuwait experienced a major economic crisis after the Souk Al-Manakh stock market crash and decrease in oil price . After the Iran–Iraq War ended, Kuwait declined an Iraqi request to forgive its US$ 65 billion debt. An economic rivalry between

3125-667: The Arabian Peninsula . By the late-1700s, Kuwait had established itself as a trading route from the Persian Gulf to Aleppo . During the Persian siege of Basra in 1775–79 , Iraqi merchants took refuge in Kuwait and were partly instrumental in the expansion of Kuwait's boat-building and trading activities. As a result, Kuwait's maritime commerce boomed, as the Indian trade routes with Baghdad, Aleppo, Smyrna and Constantinople were diverted to Kuwait during this time. The East India Company

3250-563: The Kassites of Mesopotamia , and was formally under the control of the Kassite dynasty of Babylon . Studies indicate traces of human settlement can be found on Failaka dating back to as early as the end of the 3rd millennium BC, and extending until the 20th century AD. Many of the artifacts found in Falaika are linked to Mesopotamian civilizations and seem to show that Failaka was gradually drawn toward

3375-768: The Ottoman Empire . The British economic blockade heavily damaged Kuwait's economy. In 1919, Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah intended to build a commercial city in the south of Kuwait. This caused a diplomatic crisis with Najd, but Britain intervened, discouraging Sheikh Salim. In 1920, an attempt by the Ikhwan to build a stronghold in southern Kuwait led to the Battle of Hamdh . The Battle of Hamdh involved 2,000 Ikhwan fighters against 100 Kuwaiti cavalrymen and 200 Kuwaiti infantrymen . The battle lasted for six days and resulted in heavy but unknown casualties on both sides resulting in

3500-464: The Persian Gulf trading routes. During the Dilmun era (from ca. 3000 BC), Failaka was known as " Agarum ", the land of Enzak , a great god in the Dilmun civilization according to Sumerian cuneiform texts found on the island. As part of Dilmun, Failaka became a hub for the civilization from the end of the 3rd to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. After the Dilmun civilization, Failaka was inhabited by

3625-589: The Sassanid religion 's tower of silence was discovered in northern Akkaz. Late Sassanian settlements were discovered in Failaka. In Bubiyan , there is archaeological evidence of Sassanian to early Islamic periods of human presence as evidenced by the recent discovery of torpedo-jar pottery shards on several prominent beach ridges. In 636 AD, the Battle of Chains between the Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate

3750-743: The Shahrizor Plain and the Hamrin area further south were stronger than those with the north. Mesopotamia does not have local, high-resolution climate proxy records such as the Soreq Cave . This makes it difficult to reconstuct the region's past climate. Even so, it is known that the environment during the sixth and fifth millennium BC was not the same as today. A more temperate climate settled in around 10,000 BC. Marshy and riverine areas transformed into floodplains and finally river banks with trees. The area south of Baghdad may have been inhabitable by humans in

3875-830: The Tigris . In general, copper objects seem to be very rare, and gold has not been found at Ubaid sites either. The Ubaid period provides the first evidence for boating in the ancient Near East. Ceramic boat models have been recovered from numerous sites across Mesopotamia, from Zeidan and Tell Mashnaqa in modern-day northern Syria to Eridu and 'Oueili in the south and Abada in the Hamrin. These models date from Ubaid 1-4 but become more common from Ubaid 3 onwards. The models indicate that different boat types may have been in use, including reed boats , and boats with masts. It has been noted that no evidence for boats has been recovered from Halaf sites in northern Mesopotamia, and that Ubaid 3, from which more boat models have been recovered, coincides with

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4000-513: The ancient Greeks colonized the bay of Kuwait under Alexander the Great . The ancient Greeks named mainland Kuwait Larissa and Failaka was named Ikaros . The bay of Kuwait was named Hieros Kolpos . According to Strabo and Arrian , Alexander the Great named Failaka Ikaros because it resembled the Aegean Island of that name in size and shape. Elements of Greek mythology were mixed with

4125-546: The hijab in the 1960s and 70s. Although Kuwait formally gained independence in 1961, Iraq initially refused to recognize the country's independence by maintaining that Kuwait is part of Iraq, albeit Iraq later briefly backed down following a show of force by Britain and Arab League support of Kuwait's independence. The short-lived Operation Vantage crisis evolved in July 1961, as the Iraqi government threatened to invade Kuwait and

4250-536: The "Sumerian problem" or "Sumerian question". The starting point of this debate was that the oldest cuneiform tablets were written in Sumerian, and that earlier pictographical tablets from the Late Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods (3200-3000 BC) were likely written in the same language. Based on this evidence, Henri Frankfort proposed in the 1930s that the people who wrote and presumably spoke Sumerian, originally came from

4375-534: The 1932 border of Kuwait. Under the terms of the newly drafted Constitution , Kuwait held its first parliamentary elections in 1963 . Kuwait University was established in 1966. Kuwait's theatre industry became well known throughout the region. After the 1967 Six Day War , Kuwait along with other Arabic speaking countries voted the three no's of the Khartoum Resolution : no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no negotiations with Israel. From

4500-492: The 1970s onward, Kuwait scored highest of all Arab countries on the Human Development Index . The Iraqi poet Ahmed Matar left Iraq in the 1970s to take refuge in the more liberal environment of Kuwait. Kuwait is the 25th most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 Global Peace Index . The Kuwait-Iraq 1973 Samita border skirmish evolved on 20 March 1973, when Iraqi army units occupied El-Samitah near

4625-424: The 7th millennium BC. By the time of the Ubaid period, a wide range of motifs had developed, including geometric patterns and depictions of animals and occasional humans. The Ubaid period saw the first depictions of ibex-headed and bird-headed humans. The majority of Ubaid figurines represented various animals, including sheep, cattle and dogs. Human figurines were already present in previous periods. Those from

4750-462: The American missionary hospital. The Kuwait–Najd War of 1919–20 erupted in the aftermath of World War I . The war occurred because Ibn Saud of Najd wanted to annex Kuwait. The sharpened conflict between Kuwait and Najd led to the death of hundreds of Kuwaitis. The war resulted in sporadic border clashes throughout 1919–1920. When Percy Cox was informed of the border clashes in Kuwait, he sent

4875-509: The Eridu and Hajji Muhammed styles were not distinct at all. Instead, they were part of the greater Ubaid phenomenon. She proposed a chronological framework that divides the Ubaid period in 4 phases. Other scholars later proposed phases 0 and 5. Scholars in the 1930s only knew a few Ubaid sites. These included the type site of Tell al-'Ubaid itself, Ur , and Tepe Gawra in the north. Since then, archaeologists found Ubaid material culture all over

5000-540: The Gulf coast, notably the sites in Kuwait. Conversely, there is also evidence for Arabian Neolithic material in southern Mesopotamia. It has been noted that certain types of flint arrowheads found at Ur show clear resemblance with the Arabian Bifacial Tradition. Arabian Coarse Ware has been found at the sites of 'Oueili and Eridu. As at the sites in Kuwait, it may have been possible that Arabian Neolithic groups lived in southern Mesopotamia. The Ubaid period

5125-584: The Iranian highlands and settled Mesopotamia at the start of the Ubaid period. Speiser , on the other hand, thought that the Sumerians entered Mesopotamia during the Uruk period and interpreted the regional styles that existed before that time, i.e. Ubaid, Hassuna, Halaf, as evidence of distinct ethnic groups . More recent discussion has taken a more careful approach, taking pains not to equate pots with people or language with ethnicity. Archaeologists have stressed that

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5250-577: The Kuwaiti border, which evoked an international crisis. On 6 February 1974, Palestinian militants occupied the Japanese embassy in Kuwait , taking the ambassador and ten others hostage. The militants' motive was to support the Japanese Red Army members and Palestinian militants who were holding hostages on a Singaporean ferry in what is known as the Laju incident . Ultimately, the hostages were released, and

5375-599: The Kuwaiti government gerrymandered electoral districts in favour of the Islamists. Islamists were the government's main allies, hence Islamists were able to dominate state agencies, such as the government ministries . During the Iran–Iraq War , Kuwait ardently supported Iraq. As a result, there were various pro-Iran terror attacks across Kuwait, including the 1983 bombings, the attempted assassination of Emir Jaber in May 1985,

5500-588: The Kuwaiti island of Failaka in 2000 BC. Traders from the Sumerian city of Ur inhabited Failaka and ran a mercantile business. The island had many Mesopotamian-style buildings typical of those found in Iraq dating from around 2000 BC. In 4000 BC until 2000 BC, Kuwait was home to the Dilmun civilization . Dilmun included Al-Shadadiya, Akkaz , Umm an Namil , and Failaka . At its peak in 2000 BC, Dilmun controlled

5625-608: The Kuwait–Najd War in 1919–20, Ibn Saud imposed a trade blockade against Kuwait from the years 1923 until 1937. The goal of the Saudi economic and military attacks on Kuwait was to annex as much of Kuwait's territory as possible. At the Uqair conference in 1922, the boundaries of Kuwait and Najd were set; as a result of British interference, Kuwait had no representative at the Uqair conference. After

5750-619: The Late Chalcolithic period . The excavators of Eridu and Tell al-'Ubaid found Ubaid pottery for the first time in the 1910-20s. In 1930, the attendees at a conference in Baghdad defined the concept of an "Ubaid pottery style". This characteristic pottery of this style was a black-on-buff painted ware. This conference also defined the Eridu and Hajji Muhammed styles. Scholars at this conference thought that these pottery styles were so different that "[...] they could not have developed out of

5875-562: The Persian Gulf via Khor Subiya which was a river channel at the time. Failaka was located 15 kilometers from the mouth of the Euphrates river. By the first century BC, the Khor Subiya river channel dried out completely. In 127 BC, Kuwait was part of the Parthian Empire and the kingdom of Characene was established around Teredon in present-day Kuwait. Characene was centered in

6000-438: The Persian Gulf. Most of the country's population reside in the urban agglomeration of Kuwait City , the capital and largest city. As of 2024 , Kuwait has a population of 4.82 million, of which 1.53 million are Kuwaiti citizens while the remaining 3.29 million are foreign nationals from over 100 countries. Kuwait has the third largest foreign-born population in the world . Before the discovery of oil reserves in 1938,

6125-613: The Persian Gulf. The Sheikhdom of Kuwait remained a British protectorate until 1961. After the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 , Kuwait was established as an autonomous kaza , or district, of the Ottoman Empire and a de facto protectorate of Great Britain . During World War I , the British Empire imposed a trade blockade against Kuwait because Kuwait's ruler at the time, Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah , supported

6250-500: The Ubaid - or not. Kuwait Kuwait , officially the State of Kuwait , is a country in West Asia . It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the tip of the Persian Gulf , bordering Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south . With a coastline of approximately 500 km (311 mi), Kuwait also shares a maritime border with Iran , across

6375-514: The Ubaid Period (5000–4000 BC), the movement towards urbanization began. "Agriculture and animal husbandry [domestication] were widely practiced in sedentary communities". There were also tribes that practiced domesticating animals as far north as Turkey, and as far south as the Zagros Mountains . The Ubaid period in the south was associated with intensive irrigated hydraulic agriculture , and

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6500-443: The Ubaid period) provides some evidence for genetic links with other regions, but also provides evidence for continuity in Mesopotamia itself. Most importantly, the dating of genetic influxes that have been detected, has not been refined up to the point that it can be assigned to the Ubaid period - or any other period earlier than the one from which the skeletal material came. In other words, this genetic influx could have happened during

6625-606: The Ubaid period. It has been interpreted as a marker for socio-cultural group affiliation during the Ubaid. Labrets and/or ear-spools were likewise recovered from many archaeological Ubaid sites across Mesopotamia and its border regions. In at least one case from southwestern Iran, a labret was found in situ in a burial, located at the mandible of the buried individual and with associated tooth wear indicating that it had been worn. Labrets were absent from Halaf sites in northern Mesopotamia, again indicating that they may have been important markers of socio-cultural identity during

6750-411: The Ubaid than during the preceding Halaf period and the subsequent Uruk period. Obsidian could be transported over hundreds of kilometers. For example, obsidian tools found along the Gulf coast at sites such as Dosariyah ( Saudi Arabia ) and Wadi Debayan ( Qatar ) came from sources in southeastern Turkey. The Ubaid may have witnessed a shift in the production of flint tools from being carried out as

6875-465: The Ubaid. Their use seems to have declined again during the Uruk period. The modern excavations at Tell Zeidan have revealed a wealth of information on the subsistence economy of a large northern Mesopotamian Ubaid settlement. Cultivated species included barley , wheat , lentil , ervil , and flax . There is some evidence that the inhabitants of Zeidan practiced a form of floodwater irrigation on agricultural lands. The excavators have suggested that

7000-415: The Uqair conference, Kuwait was still subjected to a Saudi economic blockade and intermittent Saudi raiding . Kuwait immensely declined in regional economic importance, due to the trade blockades and the world economic depression. Before Mary Bruins Allison visited Kuwait in 1934, Kuwait had already lost its prominence in long-distance trade. The Great Depression harmed Kuwait's economy, starting in

7125-600: The ancient Near East. There are now Ubaid sites in the Amuq Valley in the northwest all the way to the Persian Gulf coast in the southeast. Important research includes the many excavations in the Hamrin area in the 1970s. There, archaeologists found a complete Ubaid settlement at Tell Abada , and a really well-preserved house at Tell Madhur . The excavation at Tell el-'Oueili in the 1980s revealed occupation layers that were older than those from Eridu . This discovery pushed back

7250-536: The animal bone assemblage from Zeidan changed considerably from the Halaf to the Ubaid period. During the Halaf, some 50% of the animal bones came from wild species (indicative of hunting), whereas during the Ubaid over 90% represented domesticated species (indicative of herding and keeping animals). Common animals were sheep, goat, cattle, and pigs. A comparison with other Ubaid sites in northern Mesopotamia showed that, in general, pastoralism became more important and reliance on wild fauna decreased somewhat, but this pattern

7375-501: The canal in the midst of the city. Its population I provided with sweet water to drink. ..." The city was abandoned c. 1720 BC during the reign of Samsu-iluna , successor to Hammurabi of the First Babylonian dynasty and not re-occupied until late in the first millennium, with a 5 hectare Parthian settlement developing on the southern portion of the site. The city's demise was part of a general collapse and abandonment of sites in

7500-546: The central Gulf coast at sites like Ain Qannas , suggesting that the pottery may have been traded and valued in and of itself, rather than just being a container for some other commodity. This suggestion is reinforced by locally-produced pottery imiting Ubaid wares found at Dosariyah. It is unclear which products were exchanged for the pottery. Suggestions include foodstuffs (dates), semi-precious materials, jewellery (made from pearl and shell ), animal products, and livestock. Notably,

7625-560: The civilization based in Antioch . Under Nebuchadnezzar II , the bay of Kuwait was under Babylonian control. Cuneiform documents found in Failaka indicate the presence of Babylonians in the island's population. Babylonian Kings were present in Failaka during the Neo-Babylonian Empire period, Nabonidus had a governor in Failaka and Nebuchadnezzar II had a palace and temple in Falaika. Failaka also contained temples dedicated to

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7750-494: The complete body. During Ubaid 4, some 80% (adults) and 94% (infants) of the burials consisted of primary inhumations. The dead were often accompanied by personal adornments such as beads, necklaces, and headdresses. Pots (presumably) containing foodstuffs were also common. Pieces of red ochre have also been recovered from graves. Burials have been excavated at many Ubaid sites, with exceptionally large numbers coming from Tell Abada (127 infant burials) and Eridu (193 burials). By

7875-571: The context of the Arab Cold War . It was also in 1952 that the first masterplan of Kuwait was designed by the British planning firm of Minoprio , Spenceley , and Macfarlane. In 1958, Al-Arabi magazine was first published. Many foreign writers moved to Kuwait because they enjoyed greater freedom of expression than elsewhere in the Middle East. Kuwait's press was described as one of the freest in

8000-611: The country was a regional trade port; from 1946 to 1982, the country underwent large-scale modernization, largely based on income from oil production . In the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical instability and an economic crisis following the stock market crash . In 1990, Kuwait was invaded and subsequently annexed by Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein following disputes over oil production. The Iraqi occupation of Kuwait ended on 26 February 1991, following an American – British – French – Saudi – Egyptian - led international coalition culminating in

8125-569: The date for the earliest human occupation of southern Mesopotamia. Excavations along southcoast of the Persian Gulf provided a lot of evidence for contacts with Mesopotamia. The site of H3 in Kuwait , for example, provided the earliest evidence in the world for seafaring. The explosion of archaeological research in Iraqi Kurdistan since the 2010s also led to a lot of new data on the Ubaid. For example, this research showed that cultural links between

8250-668: The death of the Bani Khalid's leader Barak bin Abdul Mohsen  [ ar ] and the fall of the Bani Khalid Emirate , the Utub were able to wrest control of Kuwait as a result of successive matrimonial alliances . In the latter half of the eighteenth century, Kuwait began establishing itself as a maritime port and gradually became a principal commercial center for the transit of goods between Baghdad , India, Persia, Muscat , and

8375-455: The degree of cultural interaction between the Ubaid and local Neolithic communities is much stronger in the area of Kuwait than further south, up to the point that it has been suggested that Mesopotamians may have actually lived (part of the year) at sites like H3 and Bahra 1. Small objects such as labrets, tokens, clay nails and small tools that may have had cosmetic use, and that are known from southern Mesopotamian sites also occur on sites along

8500-427: The earlier Ubaid, ophidian figures were only used in domestic contexts, whereas in Ubaid 3-4, they appear in graves as well, indicating a shift in how these figures were used. The rarity of ophidian figures as grave gifts may indicate differential treatment of the dead, possibly based on age, kinship or social standing. The most common burial practice during the Ubaid seems to have been primary inhumation; i.e. burial of

8625-411: The earliest evidence for actual boats in Western Asia , and the earliest evidence for seagoing vessels in the world. Evidence for the production of wool is ambiguous and mostly indirect. Wool-bearing sheep have been clearly attested in Uruk-period sites, and the domestication of sheep and goat started in the ninth millennium BC, but exactly when wool-production emerged between those two fixed points

8750-498: The early Ubaid reflect a continuation of earlier traditions. A single, painted figurine from the Ubaid 0 levels at Tell el-'Oueili has been interpreted as an early representation of the so-called "ophidian figurines", which became common in the later Ubaid. Both seating and standing figurines were made, with paint being used to detail body parts, clothing, or body modifications . "Ophidian figures" have been exclusively found at various southern Mesopotamian sites. They are characterised by

8875-400: The eleventh millennium BC, predating the earliest evidence for domesticated dates from Eridu by several millennia. Date palms require a perennial water source, again indicating that this period may have been wetter than today. Similarly, oak was present from the eighth millennium, but disappeared at around the same time that Ubaid material culture spread outward from southern Mesopotamia during

9000-441: The eleventh millennium BC. Humans could have lived south of Uruk as early as the eighth millennium BC. This is much earlier than the oldest evidence of human occupation in this area. The oldest known site in southern Mesopotamia (Tell el-'Oueili) dates to the Ubaid 0 period. Archaeobotanical research in the Ubaid 0 levels at 'Oueili (6500-6000 BC) has indicated the presence of Euphrates poplar and sea clubrush , both indicative of

9125-418: The expansion of the Ubaid towards the north and into the Persian Gulf. At the site of H3 in modern-day Kuwait, a ceramic boat model and a ceramic disc with an image of a two-masted boat were recovered. The latter is the oldest evidence for the use of masts and sails. At the same site, pieces of bitumen with barnacles attached to one side and reed-impressions on the other sides were recovered. These pieces are

9250-451: The expulsion of Iraqi forces . Like most other Arab states of the Persian Gulf , Kuwait is an emirate ; the emir is the head of state and the ruling Al Sabah family dominates the country's political system. Kuwait's official state religion is Islam, specifically the Maliki school of Sunni Islam. Kuwait is a high-income economy , backed by the world's sixth largest oil reserves . Kuwait

9375-472: The extent of poverty in Kuwait at the time: Poverty has settled in Kuwait more heavily since my last visit five years ago, both by sea, where the pearl trade continues to decline, and by land, where the blockade established by Saudi Arabia now harms the merchants. On 22 February 1938, oil was first discovered in the Burgan field . Between 1946 and 1980, Kuwait experienced a period of prosperity driven by oil and its liberal cultural atmosphere; this period

9500-462: The fifth millennium BC, children and adults were given differential treatment in death. The available evidence indicates that infants were primarily buried inside the settlement, often near larger, presumably more important dwellings, and often in pots. The association of children's burials with larger buildings is well-illustrated at the sites of Tell Abada and Tepe Gawra. It has been suggested that this pattern of children's burials near larger dwellings

9625-401: The final stages of the Ubaid period. At Mersin , Level XVI (5000-4900 BC), unalloyed copper pins and chisels were found. At southeastern Anatolian sites like Değirmentepe and Norşuntepe , metallurgical production was practiced during the Ubaid 3, as evidenced by furnaces, and related finds. At late fifth millennium Tell Nader , northern Iraq, kilns were excavated that may have been used for

9750-511: The first time a clear tripartite social division between intensive subsistence peasant farmers, with crops and animals coming from the north, tent-dwelling nomadic pastoralists dependent upon their herds, and hunter-fisher folk of the Arabian littoral, living in reed huts. Stein and Özbal describe the Near East oecumene that resulted from Ubaid expansion, contrasting it to the colonial expansionism of

9875-588: The guerrillas allowed to fly to Aden . This was the first time Palestinian guerrillas struck in Kuwait as the Al Sabah ruling family, headed by Sheikh Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, funded the Palestinian resistance movement. Kuwait had been a regular endpoint for Palestinian plane hijacking in the past and had considered itself safe. Kuwait International Airport was opened in 1979 by the Al Hani Construction with

10000-482: The invasion was finally averted following plans by the Arab League to form an international Arab force against the potential Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. As a result of Operation Vantage, the Arab League took over the border security of Kuwait and the British had withdrawn their forces by 19 October. Iraqi prime minister Abd al-Karim Qasim was killed in a coup in 1963 but, although Iraq recognised Kuwaiti independence and

10125-472: The late 18th century, Kuwait was a haven for Basra merchants fleeing Ottoman persecution. Kuwait was the center of boat building in the Persian Gulf, its ships renowned throughout the Indian Ocean . Its sailors developed a positive reputation in the Persian Gulf. In the 19th century, Kuwait became significant in the horse trade , with regular shipments in sailing vessels. In the mid 19th century, it

10250-469: The late 1920s. International trading was one of Kuwait's main sources of income before oil. Kuwait's merchants were mostly intermediary merchants. As a result of the decline of European demand for goods from India and Africa, Kuwait's economy suffered. The decline in international trade resulted in an increase in gold smuggling by Kuwait's ships to India. Some local merchant families became rich from this smuggling. Kuwait's pearl industry also collapsed as

10375-422: The later Uruk period . "A contextual analysis comparing different regions shows that the Ubaid expansion took place largely through the peaceful spread of an ideology, leading to the formation of numerous new indigenous identities that appropriated and transformed superficial elements of Ubaid material culture into locally distinct expressions." There is some evidence of warfare during the Ubaid period although it

10500-610: The latter threatened another attack if the Kuwaiti forces did not surrender. The local merchant class convinced Salim to call in help from British troops, who showed up with airplanes and three warships, ending the attacks. After the Battle of Jahra, Ibn Saud's warriors, the Ikhwan , demanded that Kuwait follows five rules: evict all the Shias , adopt the Ikhwan doctrine , label the Turks " heretics ", abolish smoking, munkar and prostitution, and destroy

10625-507: The local cults. "Ikaros" was also the name of a prominent city situated in Failaka. Large Hellenistic forts and Greek temples were uncovered. Archaeological remains of Greek colonization were also discovered in Akkaz, Umm an Namil, and Subiya. At the time of Alexander the Great, the mouth of the Euphrates River was located in northern Kuwait. The Euphrates river flowed directly into

10750-460: The military threat was perceived to be reduced, Britain continued to monitor the situation and kept forces available to protect Kuwait until 1971. There had been no Iraqi military action against Kuwait at the time: this was attributed to the political and military situation within Iraq which continued to be unstable. A treaty of friendship between Iraq and Kuwait was signed in 1963 by which Iraq recognised

10875-403: The most common patterns. The slow potter's wheel became in use during Ubaid 3-4, which may have played a role in the decrease in decoration. The coarse, plant-tempered coba bowl , found at many Late and Post-Ubaid sites in northern Mesopotamia from, has been interpreted as some kind of vessel for handing out rations or as evidence of more specialized production, and as such may have been

11000-559: The north started already during Ubaid 1-2. Ubaid pottery started to appear along the Persian Gulf coast toward the end of the sixth millennium BC, reaching a peak around 5300 BC and continuing into the fifth millennium. Coastal sites where Ubaid pottery has been found include Bahra 1 and H3 in Kuwait, Dosariyah in Saudi Arabia, and Dalma Island in the United Arab Emirates . Ubaid pottery has also been found further inland along

11125-430: The old, as is the case with the Uruk ware after the al-'Ubaid ware [...]". For many attendants of the conference, "this sequence based largely on pottery represented a series of different 'ethnic elements' in the occupation of southern Mesopotamia." These ideas about the nature of the Ubaid phenomenon did not last. The term Ubaid itself is still used, but its meaning has changed over time. Joan Oates showed in 1960 that

11250-512: The peoples of Mesopotamia and Neolithic Eastern Arabia , including Bahra 1 and site H3 in Subiya . The Neolithic inhabitants of Kuwait were among the world's earliest maritime traders. One of the world's earliest reed boats was discovered at site H3 dating back to the Ubaid period. Other Neolithic sites in Kuwait are located in Khiran and Sulaibikhat . Mesopotamians first settled in

11375-591: The period is the earliest known period on the alluvial plain although it is likely earlier periods exist obscured under the alluvium . In the south it has a very long duration between about 5500 and 3800 BC when it is replaced by the Uruk period . In Northern Mesopotamia the period runs only between about 5300 and 4300 BC. It is preceded by the Halaf period and the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period and succeeded by

11500-461: The production of both pottery and metal. Copper objects are also known from the Ubaid levels at Tepe Gawra (XVII-XII) and Tell Arpachiyah . Copper objects were absent in the Ubaid levels at Eridu and 'Oueili, possibly indicating that copper use spread southwards from the north. However, copper may have been traded, as it was present in elite burials of the Susa I (terminal Ubaid) necropolis at Susa east of

11625-530: The region at that time. After rising to importance under the Larsa city-state, Mashkan-shapir became part of the Babylonian empire after the defeat of Larsa by Hammurabi following a long siege. At the time, Babylon and Larsa were engaged in a struggle for dominance in the region. Note that the modern name of the site is in some doubt. Other possible names are Ishan Chebir and Tell Naim. The Tell Abu Duwari identification

11750-459: The region encompassing southern Mesopotamia, Characene coins were discovered in Akkaz, Umm an Namil, and Failaka. A busy Parthian commercial station was situated in Kuwait. In 224 AD, Kuwait became part of the Sassanid Empire . At the time of the Sassanid Empire, Kuwait was known as Meshan , which was an alternative name of the kingdom of Characene. Akkaz was a Partho - Sassanian site;

11875-512: The same phenomenon. Some of these styles, such as Hajji Muhammed (previously thought to be Ubaid 2) are now known to occur in Ubaid 3 contexts as well, thereby limiting their value as chronological markers. The relative chronology is based on the long stratigraphic sequences of sites such as Ur, Eridu and Tepe Gawra. The absolute chronology is harder to establish, mainly due to a lack of abundant radiocarbon dates coming from southern Mesopotamia. (after Pournelle 2003 / after Harris 2021) In

12000-620: The sixth millennium BC. It has been suggested that acquisition of high-quality wood may have played a role in this expansion. The available evidence in northern Mesopotamia points to a cooler and drier climate during the Hassuna and Halaf periods. During the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional (HUT), Ubaid and early Uruk periods, this developed into a climate characterised by stronger seasonal variation , heavy torrential rains and dry summers. Ubaid and Ubaid-like material culture has been found over an immense area. Ubaid ceramics have shown up from Mersin in

12125-434: The south, corresponding to the area that would later be known as Sumer , the entire Ubaid spans an immense period from ca. 6500 to 3800 BC. It is here that the oldest known Ubaid site - Tell el-'Oueili - was found. In southern Iraq , no archaeological site has yet yielded remains older than Ubaid, However, this might be more a result of the fact that such ancient settlements are now buried deep under alluvial sediments. This

12250-405: The southeast sector). A key find was that of foundation deposits commemorating the city walls being built by Sin-Iddinam in c. 1844 BC, which allowed the city to be identified. As part of the work, satellite images were taken and a complete surface-mapping was made using a kite lofted camera and coordinate markers. From 2003 to 2011 additional satellite images of the site were obtained. Using these it

12375-466: The southern mound, holding the temple of Nergal, was still relatively unlooted but its current status is unknown. Ubaid period The Ubaid period (c. 5500–3700 BC) is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia . The name derives from Tell al-'Ubaid where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially in 1919 by Henry Hall , Leonard Woolley in 1922-1923, and later by Pinhas Delougaz in 1937. In South Mesopotamia

12500-450: The summer heat caused the government to move it). At the time, Kuwait was considered the most developed country in the region. Kuwait was the pioneer in the Middle East in diversifying its earnings away from oil exports. The Kuwait Investment Authority is the world's first sovereign wealth fund. Kuwaiti society embraced liberal and non-traditional attitudes throughout the 1960s and 1970s. For example, most Kuwaiti women did not wear

12625-507: The temple of Nergal two graveyards were found, one Old Babylonian and one Parthian. Small finds included eleven cylinder seals, stone pendants, typical burial goods, weaponry artifacts including spear points and mace heads, model chariots related to Nergal, and a clay cone of the little known Larsa ruler Zabaia . Since these seasons were planned as preparation for a long term excavation very little full excavation occurred, work being mostly surface surveys and soundings (with one small excavation in

12750-477: The two countries ensued after Kuwait increased its oil production by 40 percent. Tensions between the two countries increased further in July 1990, after Iraq complained to OPEC claiming that Kuwait was stealing its oil from a field near the border by slant drilling of the Rumaila field . In August 1990, Iraqi forces invaded and annexed Kuwait without any warning. After a series of failed diplomatic negotiations,

12875-439: The unpredictability of this type of irrigation may have been a factor in increasing social complexity. The relative absence of animal dung , and the common presence of charred wood remains, suggests that wood was used as fuel. At Surezha, dung was commonly used for fuel, and there is some evidence that cattle were used as traction animals for plowing fields. Tell Zeidan again provides a wealth of information. The composition of

13000-412: The use of the plough, both introduced from the north, possibly through the earlier Choga Mami , Hadji Muhammed and Samarra cultures . The Ubaid period as a whole, based upon the analysis of grave goods , was one of increasingly polarized social stratification and decreasing egalitarianism . Bogucki describes this as a phase of "Trans-egalitarian" competitive households, in which some fall behind as

13125-613: The victory of the Ikhwan forces and leading to the battle of Jahra around the Kuwait Red Fort. The Battle of Jahra happened as the result of the Battle of Hamdh . A force of three to four thousand Ikhwan , led by Faisal Al-Dawish , attacked the Red Fort at Al-Jahra, defended by fifteen hundred men. The fort was besieged and the Kuwaiti position precarious The Ikhwan attack repulsed for the while, negotiations began between Salim and Al-Dawish;

13250-605: The west to Tepe Ghabristan in the east, and from Norşuntepe and Arslantepe in the north to Dosariyah in the south along the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia . In this area, researchers have discerned considerable regional variation, indicating that the Ubaid was not a monolithic culture through time and space. The Ubaid period is most commonly divided in 6 phases, called Ubaid 0-5. Some of these phases equate with pottery styles that were, in earlier publications, considered to be distinct from Ubaid, but that are now considered to be part of

13375-566: The world . Kuwait was the pioneer in the literary renaissance in the Middle East. In June 1961, Kuwait became independent with the end of the British protectorate and the Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah became Emir of Kuwait . Kuwait's national day , however, is celebrated on 25 February, the anniversary of the coronation of Sheikh Abdullah (it was originally celebrated on 19 June, the date of independence, but concerns over

13500-700: The worship of Shamash , the Mesopotamian sun god in the Babylonian pantheon. Following the Fall of Babylon , the bay of Kuwait came under the control of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550‒330 BC) as the bay was repopulated after seven centuries of abandonment. Failaka was under the control of the Achaemenid Empire as evidenced by the archaeological discovery of Achaemenid strata. There are Aramaic inscriptions that testify Achaemenid presence. In fourth century BC,

13625-421: Was a mass grave from violence. Copper weapons were also present in the form of arrow heads and sling bullets, although these could have been used for other purpose; two clay pots recovered from the era have decorations showing arrows used for the purpose of hunting. A copper axe head was made in the late Ubaid period, which could have been a tool or a weapon. During the late Ubaid period around 4500–4000 BC, there

13750-545: Was also found at the site. Fish may have been a local commodity that was traded for the Mesopotamian pottery that has been found at sites along the Persian Gulf. Ubaid culture is characterized by large unwalled village settlements, multi-roomed rectangular mud-brick houses and the appearance of the first temples of public architecture in Mesopotamia, with a growth of a two tier settlement hierarchy of centralized large sites of more than 10 hectares surrounded by smaller village sites of less than 1 hectare. Domestic equipment included

13875-490: Was also in use during the Ubaid, although the percentage of obsidian tools that was found at archaeological sites fluctuates widely across Mesopotamia. At sites along the middle Euphrates, only few pieces were usually found, and the number of obsidian artefacts was also limited in southern Mesopotamian sites. At sites along the Khabur and the upper Tigris , obsidian was more common. Also, obsidian seems to have been less common during

14000-459: Was detected, it was all of the same type, i.e. one- or two-band circumferential headshaping, which results in an elongated shape of the head. Different types of headshaping were practiced prior to and after the Ubaid period across the Near East, but it seems that the specific technique of circumferential headshaping may have originated in Iran, east of the area of Ubaid influence, and reached its peak during

14125-560: Was diverted to Kuwait in 1792. The East India Company secured the sea routes between Kuwait, India and the east coasts of Africa. After the Persians withdrew from Basra in 1779, Kuwait continued to attract trade away from Basra. The flight of many of Basra's leading merchants to Kuwait continued to play a significant role in Basra's commercial stagnation well into the 1850s. The instability in Basra helped foster economic prosperity in Kuwait. In

14250-521: Was estimated that Kuwait exported an average of 800 horses to India annually. In 1899, ruler Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah signed an agreement with the British government in India (subsequently known as the Anglo-Kuwaiti Agreement of 1899 ) making Kuwait a British protectorate . This gave Britain exclusive access and trade with Kuwait, while denying Ottoman and Germany provinces to the north a port on

14375-440: Was first distinguished on the basis of its painted pottery. Ceramics continue to be a main characteristic to determine the chronology and geographical distribution of the period. The paint varies from black to brown, purple and dark green and the pottery fabric itself usually has a buff to red/green brown color. Ubaid 1-2 pottery had dense, geometric and abstract decoration. Later pottery was less decorated, with bands and swags being

14500-542: Was fought in Kuwait. As a result of Rashidun victory in 636 AD, the bay of Kuwait was home to the city of Kazma (also known as "Kadhima" or "Kāzimah") in the early Islamic era. In the early to mid 1700s, Kuwait City was a small fishing village . Administratively, it was a sheikhdom, ruled by local sheikhs from Bani Khalid clan. Sometime in the mid 1700s, the Bani Utbah settled in Kuwait City. Sometime after

14625-671: Was known during the Ur III period as a location for royal shepherds. A brick of Amar-Sin was also found at the site. Mashkan-shapir achieved prominence during the Old Babylonian period. This time of occupation is considered to begin with the construction of the city walls by Sin-Iddinam of Larsa , known from an inscribed barrel cylinider found at the site. "When the great lord, the hero Nergal, in his overflowing heart verily caused his city Mashkan-shapir to rise, (and) with his words that cannot be changed grandly decreed to erect its city wall in

14750-554: Was made from it. For example, blades were made from a higher quality flint than other tools, and they may have been produced off-site, indicating that not only raw materials but also finished products were transported over larger distances. Flint was used for a variety of tools, including arrowheads, sickle blades, hoes (which are sometimes considered a hallmark of the Ubaid) and a variety of tools for piercing and drilling. Flint assemblages display both regional and temporal variation. Obsidian

14875-579: Was not as evident at other sites as it was at Zeidan. There was no indication at Zeidan that there was spatial differentiation across the site in how animal products were consumed, suggesting that food stuffs weren't a means to express social differentiation. The Ubaid-related sites along the Persian Gulf coast provide evidence for fishing. The range of species recovered at H3, for example, indicates that fishing probably mainly took place in shallow coastal waters. Tuna, which cannot be caught in Kuwait Bay anymore,

15000-481: Was possible to identify the locations of canals, streets, and the palace. The palace was a large building, at least 50 meters by 50 meters in size. Excavations at Mashkan-shapir ended with the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990, interrupting a planned long-term research program. Subsequently, the site has been heavily looted, especially in the central, western, and northern mounds, to the point where any further archaeological work would yield little results. As of 2010

15125-503: Was related to increasing social differentiation between kin groups . Adults, on the other hand, were buried at the edge of the settlement in communal burial grounds in pit burials or inside clay boxes. Such burial grounds have for example been excavated at Eridu. These burial practices represent a clear break from those of the preceding Late Neolithic period. During the Late Neolithic, burials were often secondary and burial treatment

15250-496: Was some increase in social polarization, with central houses in the settlements becoming bigger. But there were no real cities until the later Uruk period . The languages that were spoken during the Ubaid period cannot be determined. Despite the fact that the Ubaid period is prehistorical , it has featured prominently in discussions on the origin and presence of the Sumerian and Akkadian languages in Sumer . This debate has been called

15375-631: Was the case, for example, of the site of Hadji Muhammed , which was discovered only by accident. In central and northern Iraq, the Ubaid was preceded by the Hassuna and Samarra cultures. The Ubaid may have developed out of the latter. In northern Syria and southeastern Turkey, the Ubaid follows upon the Halaf period , and a relatively short Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period (HUT) dating to c. 5500-5200 BC has been proposed as well. HUT pottery assemblages displayed both typically Ubaid and Halaf characteristics. The relations between these periods - or cultures -

15500-475: Was the first and is used in archaeological publications. The site of Mashkan-shapir covers about 56 hectares (with 72 hectares within the city walls) being about 4 meters in elevation and it is divided into a four quarters by canals. The occupation is primarily Old Babylonian with the Ur III period occupation only having an area of about 5 hectares. It is especially important from an archaeological standpoint because it

15625-413: Was very diverse. The Ubaid witnessed a marked shift toward primary burial, less diverse burial customs, and less diversity in burial gifts. This shift has been interpreted as a reflection of changing perceptions of personhood . Evidence for cranial modification , i.e. deliberate headshaping, among both men and women, has come from many archaeological sites throughout wider Mesopotamia. Where headshaping

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