This 1997 book was written by a professor based in Bulgaria. It seeks to answer the question of why the Ottoman rule rose and fell in the Arabian Gulf. “The Ottoman Gulf – The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar”, published by Columbia University Press, is a unique contribution in that its sources are largely Ottoman (whereas most of the history of the region relies on the British colonial records). The author found a unique historical gap and made a valuable contribution. Very well worth a read for anyone interested in the history of the region. For this book, Kuwait is quite central to the story. A few notes:

“It is commonly but inaccurately thought that to Britain goes the credit or blame for the modern political organization of the Persian Gulf’s Arab states. That view underestimates the role of the Arab leaders, but more importantly completely ignores the role played by the most important regional state in the pre-World War I period, the ottoman empire.” (p. 1)

“Closer contact with the world beyond the peninsula and the greater degree of sedentarization gave eastern Arabian society a less closed, more cosmopolitan flavor. While Tribal identity certainly continued to exist, it was to some degree less exclusive, at least in the towns.” (p. 10)

“Sa’ud and his allies plundered the Al Thani domains and even cut off Doha’s water supplies. The natural source of help for Qataris in the situation was the Ottomans, who were seeking to capture Sa’ud and were known to disapprove of an independent, British-protected Bahrain. Ottoman aid seems to have been particularly desired by Shaikh Muhammad’s son, Qasim, who very likely wanted to secure a powerful ally who could aid his succession to the shaikhdom and protect him while he developed his own influence… The young Shaikh raised one over his house in Doha sent another to his father in the nearby town Wakra, the third went to Shaikh al-Khawr to the north and the last to Udayd, a small port at the southeastern base of the Peninsula that the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi also claimed. The flags thus marked the important and most distant points of Al Thani territory, adding the weight of the sultan’s state to their inviolability. Qasim Al Thani and his father used the Ottoman presence when it suited them, notably as a shield for defense was an excuse for noncooperation With British demands. The two Al Thani sheikhs accordingly tailored with there accounts of Great Power involvement in Qatar to suit the differing interests of their Ottoman and British audiences.” (p. 32)