ABSTRACT
Zubara' s origin as a seaport is not known although during the eighteenth century, it emerged as a centre of pearl trade to India and an important transit point for trade and commerce between East and West . The economic prosperity and the prospects of this port town continued to grow and in the 1760s it attracted foreign merchants such as the Utub, Rizq al Asad and Jalahima branches of the Utub tribe, who migrated to this land of fortune from Kuwait. The foreigners soon monopolised not only trade and commerce but also political power in the town, driving out the original settlers . Nevertheless, all the leading Qatari tribes, including the displaced leaders of Zubara, buried their differences and joined with the Utub in the conquest of Bahrain. In the 1890s Zubara began to decline and became a power base not only for the Utub but also for the Wahabis and the dislodged Omanis. Zubara was destroyed by the Sultan of Oman (Muscat) ultimately. The fall of Zubara together with Khor Hassan, the head quarters of Rahma bin Jaber, led to the emergence of al-Bida as a focal point for commerce and politics .
