ABSTRACT
OmaniswereabletooccupyBahrain.Omanirulewasshortlived, however,aftersomeAlKhalifaleadersescapedtoconcludean alliancewiththeSu'udisandreturnedtoousttheOmanigarrisonin 1801.AnOmaniattempttoretaketheislandswascounteredin1802 whenAlKhalifa'sSu'udialliesinvadednorthernOmanitselfand convertedmuchofal-Sir(today'sUnitedArabEmirates)to Hanbali-WahhabiIslam.UnfortunatelyforAlKhalifa,however,their Su'udiprotectorsinterferedincreasinglyintheiraffairs,goingsofar astoappointaSu'udiresidentgovernoroverBahrainin1810.Al Khalifa,onceagainplayingtheirtormentorsagainsteachotherand benefitingfromanEgyptianinvasionoftheSu'udi/Wahhabistate's provincesinwesternArabia,alliedthemselveswiththeOmanis,and expelledtheSu'udigovernorin1811.AlKhalifapaidtributetothe Omani'suntil1813,whentheyreassertedtheirindependenceaftera seriesofOmanimilitaryfailures.BritishrelationswithBahrainwere inauguratedin1814whenAlKhalifawonpromisesofBritish neutralityintheeventofmoretroublewithOman.Troublewasnot longincoming.FourmoreOmaniattemptstotakeBahrain,in1816, 1820,and1828wereturnedback,inthelastinstanceonlyafter heavyfightingontheislands.YetthesebattlesfoughtnearManamain 1828werethelasttimethatAlKhalifahadtoresistforeigninvaders onthesoilofBahrainitself.Futureinvasionthreatswereturned aside,notsomuchbyAlKhalifapower,asbythespectreofBritish mightstandingbehinditreadytointerveneagainstanyinvasion attempt.
