Az-Zubāra

Al-Zubarah is a fortified coastal town on the northwest shore of Qatar, facing the island of Bahrain across the Gulf. Its harbour connected the nearby pearl banks to merchants trading throughout the Indian Ocean and western Asia. Houses, markets and mosques stood within its walls, while the fort of Murair inland protected access to the wells that supplied the town with fresh water.

Merchants of the Utub confederation came from Kuwait in the 1760s and built up al-Zubarah into a thriving centre of pearling and trade. A canal linked the coast with the fort at Murair, helping to connect the harbour to the inland water supply. The town's prosperity gave its ruling families a base from which to take part in the shifting politics of the Gulf. In 1783 the Al Khalifa crossed from Qatar and took Bahrain, establishing their rule over the island. Al-Zubarah's rise was followed by violent reverses. In 1811 the town was largely destroyed in an attack, and its flourishing period came to an end. The remains of its streets, houses and defences preserve the outline of a trading town whose wealth depended on both the sea and the scarce water of the desert behind it.