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{{History of Kuwait}}
[[Kuwait]] is a sovereign state in [[Western Asia]] located at the head of the [[Arabian Gulf]]. The geographical region of Kuwait has been occupied by humans since antiquity, particularly due to its strategic location at the head of the Persian Gulf.<ref name="research_gate">{{cite journal|title=Sea Level Changes in the Mesopotamian Plain and Limits of the Arabian Gulf: A Critical Review|date=January 2020|pages=88–110|journal=Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340066759|volume=10|last1=Sissakian|first1=Varoujan K.|last2=Adamo|first2=Nasrat|last3=Al-Ansari|first3=Nadhir|last4=Mukhalad|first4=Talal|last5=Laue|first5=Jan|issue=4}}</ref><ref name="auto1234">{{cite news|url=https://theconversation.com/in-ancient-mesopotamia-sex-among-the-gods-shook-heaven-and-earth-87858|title=In ancient Mesopotamia, sex among the gods shook heaven and earth|work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|date=23 April 2018|author=Louise Pryke}}</ref><ref name="Meso">{{cite web|title=Mesopotamia|url=https://www.history.com/.amp/topics/ancient-middle-east/mesopotamia|work=[[History (American TV network)|History]]}}</ref> In the pre-oil era, Kuwait was a regional trade port.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-14-fi-417-story.html|title=The Rocky Road That Faces Many Kuwaiti Merchants|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|quote=Before oil was discovered in Kuwait 53 years ago, the country was largely a nation of merchant traders. Its natural harbor made Kuwait a hub of Middle East commerce and a center for boat building.|date=1991-04-14|last1=Furlong|first1=TOM}}</ref><ref name=geo>{{cite web|url=https://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2013/07/kuwait-a-trading-city|title=Kuwait: A Trading City|publisher=Eleanor Archer|year=2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725170247/https://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2013/07/kuwait-a-trading-city|archive-date=25 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OTw3AQAAIAAJ|title=Traditional Architecture in Kuwait and the Northern Gulf|year=1978|page=13|quote=Kuwait had become the most important port in the northern part of the Gulf and the fame of its seafaring community spread far and wide.|author=Ronald B. Lewcock|publisher=United Bank of Kuwait |isbn=9780090646807}}</ref> In the modern era, Kuwait is best known for the [[Gulf War]] (1990–1991).

==Antiquity==
===Mesopotamia===
Following the post-glacial flooding of the Persian Gulf basin, debris from the [[Tigris–Euphrates river system|Tigris–Euphrates river]] formed a substantial delta, creating most of the land in present-day Kuwait and establishing the present coastlines.<ref name="flood">{{cite web|title=The Post-glacial Flooding of the Persian Gulf, animation and images|url=http://emvc.geol.ucsb.edu/2_infopgs/IP2IceAge/ePersGulfFlood.html|work=[[University of California, Santa Barbara]]}}</ref> One of the earliest evidence of human habitation in Kuwait dates back to 8000 BC where [[Mesolithic]] tools were found in [[Burgan field|Burgan]].<ref name="archa">{{cite web|work=[[Cardiff University]]|title=The Archaeology of Kuwait|url=http://orca.cf.ac.uk/41961/7/Almutari%20PhD.pdf|pages=1–427}}</ref> 

During the [[Ubaid period]] (6500 BC), Kuwait was the central site of interaction between the peoples of [[Mesopotamia]] and Neolithic [[Eastern Arabia]],<ref name="meso"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Carter|title=Maritime Interactions in the Arabian Neolithic: The Evidence from H3, As-Sabiyah, an Ubaid-Related Site in Kuwait|url=http://www.brill.com/maritime-interactions-arabian-neolithic|isbn=9789004163591|publisher=BRILL|date=2010-10-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Robert Carter|title=Boat remains and maritime trade in the Persian Gulf during the sixth and fifth millennia BC|journal=Antiquity |date=2006 |volume=80 |issue=307 |pages=52–63 |doi=10.1017/s0003598x0009325x |s2cid=162674282 |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/3673/1/3673.pdf}}</ref> including [[Bahra 1]] and [[H3 (Kuwait)|site H3]] in [[Subiya, Kuwait|Subiya]].<ref name="meso"/><ref>{{cite journal|author=Robert Carter|title=Ubaid-period boat remains from As-Sabiyah: excavations by the British Archaeological Expedition to Kuwait|journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies|volume=32|pages=13–30|jstor=41223721|year=2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Robert Carter |author2=Graham Philip |title=Beyond the Ubaid: Transformation and integration in the late prehistoric societies of the Middle East|url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/saoc63.pdf}}</ref> The Neolithic inhabitants of Kuwait were among the world's earliest maritime traders.<ref name="se">{{cite journal|author= Robert Carter|year=2011|title=The Neolithic origins of seafaring in the Arabian Gulf |journal=Archaeology International|volume=24 |issue=3|pages=44|doi=10.5334/ai.0613|doi-access=free}}</ref> One of the world's earliest reed-boats was discovered at [[H3 (Kuwait)|site H3]] dating back to the Ubaid period.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/kuwait/1314980/Secrets-of-worlds-oldest-boat-are-discovered-in-Kuwait-sands.html |title=Secrets of world's oldest boat are discovered in Kuwait sands|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=21 August 2013|date=2001-03-31|last1=Weekes|first1=Richard}}</ref> Other Neolithic sites in Kuwait are located in Khiran and [[Sulaibikhat]].<ref name="meso">{{cite journal|author=Robert Carter|year=2019|title=The Mesopotamian frontier of the Arabian Neolithic: A cultural borderland of the sixth–fifth millennia BC|url=https://www.academia.edu/41130012|journal=Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy|volume=31|issue=1|pages=69–85|doi=10.1111/aae.12145|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Mesopotamian]]s first settled in the Kuwaiti island of [[Failaka Island|Failaka]] in 2000 B.C.<ref name="unes">{{cite web|title=Failaka Island - Silk Roads Programme|url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silk-road-themes/underwater-heritage/failaka-island|work=[[UNESCO]]}}</ref><ref name=t/><ref>Potts, Daniel T.. Mesopotamian civilization: the material foundations. 1997</ref> Traders from the [[Sumer]]ian city of [[Ur]] inhabited Failaka and ran a mercantile business.<ref name=unes/><ref name=t/> The island had many Mesopotamian-style buildings typical of those found in [[Iraq]] dating from around 2000 B.C.<ref name=unes/><ref name=t>{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeology.org/issues/79-1303/features/kuwait/548-meopotamian-ur-traders|title=Traders from Ur?|work=[[Archaeology Magazine]] |access-date=21 July 2013}}</ref>

[[File:HistoricCoins.jpg|left|thumb|Ancient coins found on [[Failaka Island]].]]
From 4000 BC until 2000 BC, the [[bay of Kuwait]] was home to the [[Dilmun civilization]].<ref name=ak>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-wzw-SeJic&t=171 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/g-wzw-SeJic |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|title=Kuwait's archaeological sites reflect human history & civilizations (2:50 – 3:02)|work=Ministry of Interior News}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fhMTRcUm9WsC&pg=PA7|title=The Invention of Cuneiform: Writing in Sumer|editor=Jean-Jacques Glassner|year=1990|page=7|isbn=9780801873898|last1=Glassner|first1=Jean-Jacques|last2=Herron|first2=Donald M.|publisher=JHU Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPX0h_wbFtEC&pg=PA11 |title=Area Handbook for the Persian Gulf States|editor=Richard F. Nyrop|year=2008|page=11|quote=From about 4000 to 2000 B.C. the civilization of Dilmun dominated 250 miles of the eastern coast of Arabia from present-day Kuwait to Bahrain and extended sixty miles into the interior to the oasis of Hufuf (see fig. 2).|isbn=9781434462107|last1=Nyrop|first1=Richard F.|publisher=Wildside Press LLC }}</ref> At its peak, Dilmun may have included Al-Shadadiya,<ref name="archa"/> [[Akkaz Island|Akkaz]],<ref name=ak/> [[Umm an Namil Island|Umm an Namil]],<ref name=ak/><ref name=akkaz>{{cite journal|journal=Jacques Connan, Robert Carter|volume=18|issue=2|pages=139–181|title=A geochemical study of bituminous mixtures from Failaka and Umm an-Namel (Kuwait), from the Early Dilmun to the Early Islamic period|year=2007|doi=10.1111/j.1600-0471.2007.00283.x|last1=Connan|first1=Jacques|last2=Carter|first2=Robert}}</ref><ref name="umm">{{cite journal |last1=Calvet |first1=Yves |year=1989 |title=Failaka and the Northern Part of Dilmun |journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies |volume=19 |pages=5–11 |jstor=41223078}}</ref>  and [[Failaka Island|Failaka]].<ref name=ak/><ref name=umm/>
[[File:Antiquities of Failaka island 02.JPG|thumb|left|Antiquities]]

Despite the scholarly consensus that ancient Dilmun encompasses three modern locations - the eastern littoral of Arabia from the vicinity of modern Kuwait to Bahrain; the island of Bahrain; the island of Failaka of Kuwait - few researchers have taken into account the radically different geography of the basin represented by the Persian Gulf before its reflooding as sea levels rose about 6000 BCE.<ref>"8000 years BP": [http://birmingham.academia.edu/JeffreyRose/Papers/359690/New_Light_on_Human_Prehistory_in_the_Arabo-Persian_Gulf_Oasis Jeffrey Rose, "New light on human prehistory in the Arabo-Persian Gulf oasis"] ''Current Anthropology'' '''51'''.6 (December 2010)</ref> 

During the Dilmun era (from ca. 3000 BC), Failaka was known as "[[Agarum (toponym)|Agarum]]", the land of [[Enzak]], a great god in the Dilmun civilization according to Sumerian cuneiform texts found on the island.<ref name=is/> During the Neo-Babylonian Period, Enzak was identified with [[Nabu]], the [[ancient Mesopotamian religion|ancient Mesopotamian patron god]] of literacy, the rational arts, scribes and wisdom.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=66}} 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.<ref name=is/> 

After the Dilmun civilization, Failaka was inhabited by the [[Kassites]] of [[Mesopotamia]],<ref name=kas>{{cite book |last=Potts |first=D.T. |chapter=The archaeology and early history of the Persian Gulf |editor=Lawrence G. Potter |title=The Persian Gulf in History |page=35 |date=2009 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/1905494 |via=Academia}}</ref> and was formally under the control of the [[Kassites#Kassite Dynasty of Babylon|Kassite dynasty of Babylon]].<ref name=kas/> 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.<ref name=is>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5800/|title=Sa'ad and Sae'ed Area in Failaka Island|work=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=28 August 2013}}</ref> Many of the artifacts found in Falaika are linked to Mesopotamian civilizations and seem to show that Failaka was gradually drawn toward the civilization based in [[Antioch]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Mary Ann |last=Tétreault |url=https://mei.nus.edu.sg/publication/insight-89-failaka-islandunearthing-the-past-in-kuwait/|title=Failaka Island: Unearthing the Past in Kuwait |work=[[Middle East Institute]] |access-date=21 July 2013}}</ref>

Under [[Nebuchadnezzar II]], the bay of Kuwait was under [[Babylonia]]n control.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=bks&q=Under+-»+Nebuchadnezzar+%5B2%5D+the+island+of+Failaka+%28off+present-day+Kuwait%29+was+under+Babylonian+influence|title=Brill's New Pauly: encyclopedia of the ancient world |pages=212 |year= 2007}}</ref> Cuneiform documents found in Failaka indicate the presence of Babylonians in the island's population.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHHzP4uVpn4C&pg=PA101|title=The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia|editor=Himanshu Prabha Ray |year=2003|pages=101|isbn=9780521011099|last1=Ray|first1=Himanshu Prabha|author2=Ray|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> [[List of Kings of Babylon|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.<ref name=persian_empire>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxQ9W6F1oSYC&pg=PA761|title=From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire|editor=Pierre Briant|year=2002|pages=761|isbn=9781575061207|last1=Briant|first1=Pierre|publisher=Eisenbrauns }}</ref><ref name=sh>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1aF0hq1GR8C&pg=PA198|title=The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia |editor=Trevor Bryce|year=2009|pages=198|isbn=9781134159086 |last1=Bryce |first1=Trevor |publisher=Routledge }}</ref> Failaka also contained temples dedicated to the worship of [[Shamash]], the Mesopotamian sun god in the Babylonian pantheon.<ref name=sh/>

Most of present-day Kuwait is still archaeologically unexplored.<ref name="meso"/><ref name=archa/> Although there is no scholarly consensus, several archaeologists and geologists have proposed that Kuwait was likely the original location of the [[Pishon|Pishon River]] which watered the [[Garden of Eden]].<ref name="The_Kuwait_River">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/30/science/science-watch-signs-of-ancient-river.html|title=SCIENCE WATCH; Signs of Ancient River|date=30 March 1993|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name="pishon">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110725001800/http://focusmagazine.org/Articles/pishonriver.htm The Pishon River - Found]</ref><ref name="jamesk">James K. Hoffmeier, ''The Archaeology of the Bible'', [[Lion Hudson]]: Oxford, England, 34-35</ref><ref>Carol A. Hill, [http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2000/PSCF3-00Hill.html  The Garden of Eden: A Modern Landscape].</ref> [[Juris Zarins]] argued that the Garden of Eden was situated at the head of the Persian Gulf (present-day Kuwait), where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run into the sea, from his research on this area using information from many different sources, including [[LANDSAT]] images from space. His suggestion about the Pishon River was supported by James A. Sauer of the [[American Schools of Oriental Research|American Center of Oriental Research]].<ref name="Kuwait_River">{{cite magazine
| last         = Sauer
| first        = James A.
| date         = July–August 1996
| title        = The River Runs Dry: Creation Story Preserves Historical Memory
| url          = https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/22/4/3
| magazine     = [[Biblical Archaeology Review]]
| publisher    = [[Biblical Archaeology Society]]
| volume       = 22
| issue        = 4
| pages        = 52–54, 57, 64
| access-date  = 2019-11-17
}}</ref> Sauer made an argument from geology and history that Pishon River was the now-defunct [[Kuwait River]].<ref name="Kuwait_River"/> With the aid of satellite photos, [[Farouk El-Baz]] traced the dry channel from Kuwait up the [[Wadi al-Batin]].<ref name="The_Kuwait_River"/><ref name="jamesk"/><ref name="pishon"/>

[[File:Seleucid_Empire_alternative_map.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Seleucid Empire]] at its greatest extent.]]
After an apparent abandonment of about seven centuries, the bay of Kuwait was repopulated during the [[Achaemenid period]] (c. 550‒330 BC).<ref name=journal>{{cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aae.12195?af=R|last1=Bonnéric|first1=Julie|title=Guest editors' foreword|year=2021|journal= Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy|volume=32|pages=1–5|doi=10.1111/aae.12195|s2cid=243182467}}</ref> In 4th century BC, the [[ancient Greeks]] colonized the bay of Kuwait under [[Alexander the Great]], the ancient Greeks named mainland Kuwait ''Larissa'' and Failaka was named ''[[Ikaros (Failaka Island)|Ikaros]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kuwait|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCQMAQAAIAAJ&q=Failaka+was+then+Ikaros+and+Kuwait+was+called+Larissa. |pages=10|year=1976|author=Ralph Shaw| publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9780333212479 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Middle East Annual Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2m5AAAAIAAJ&q=Tablets,+coins,+seals+and+other+items+unearthed+by+archaeologists+show+that+Ikaros+and+the+mainland+(known+as+Larissa)+were |pages=241|year=1980|last1=Limited |first1=Walden Publishing | publisher=Middle East Review. |isbn = 9780904439106}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Gulf Handbook - Volume 3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vkosAQAAIAAJ&q=built+a+Hellenistic+temple,+dedicated+to+Artemis+and+renamed+the+island+Ikaros+and+called+the+mainland+Larissa.|pages=344|year=1979|last1=Kilner|first1=Peter|last2=Wallace|first2=Jonathan| publisher=Trade & Travel Publications. |isbn = 9780900751127}}</ref>

According to [[Strabo]] and [[Arrian]], Alexander the Great named Failaka ''Ikaros'' because it resembled the [[Aegean island]] of that name in size and shape. Various elements of [[Greek mythology]] were mixed with the local cults in Failaka.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Makharadze|first1=Zurab|last2=Kvirkvelia|first2=Guram|last3=Murvanidze|first3=Bidzina|last4=Chkhvimiani|first4=Jimsher|last5=Ad Duweish|first5=Sultan|last6=Al Mutairi|first6=Hamed|last7=Lordkipanidze|first7=David|title=Kuwait-Georgian Archaeological Mission – Archaeological Investigations on the Island of Failaka in 2011–2017|journal=Bulletin of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences|date=2017|volume=11|issue=4|page=178|url=http://science.org.ge/newsite/bnas/t11-n4/27_Makharadze.pdf}}</ref> "Ikaros" was also the name of a prominent city situated in Failaka.<ref>J. Hansamans, Charax and the Karkhen, ''Iranica Antiquitua'' 7 (1967) page 21-58</ref>

According to another account, having returned from [[Indian campaign of Alexander the Great|his Indian campaign]] to [[Persia]], Alexander the Great ordered the island to be called Icarus, after the [[Icaria|Icarus island in the Aegean Sea]].<ref name="Arrian"/> This was likely a [[Hellenization]] of the local name Akar ([[Aramaic]] 'KR), derived from the ancient [[bronze-age]] toponym [[Agarum (toponym)|Agarum]].<ref>Steffen Terp Laursen: ''Royal Mounds of A'ali in Bahrain: The Emergence of Kingship in Early Dilmun'' (pp. 340–343). ISD LLC, 2017. {{ISBN|9788793423190}}.</ref> Another suggestion is that the name Ikaros was influenced by the local É-kara temple, dedicated to the [[Babylonian mythology|Babylonian]] sun-god [[Shamash]]. That both Failaka and the Aegean Icarus housed [[bull worship|bull cults]] would have made the identification tempting all the more.<ref>Michael Rice: ''The Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf'' (p. 208). Routledge, 2002. {{ISBN|9781134967933}}.</ref><ref>Jean-Jacques Glassner: "Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha" (1988); ''Indian Ocean In Antiquity'' (pp. 240-243), edited by Julian Reade. Kegan Paul International, 1996. Reissued by Routledge in 2013. {{ISBN|9781136155314}}.</ref>

During [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic times]], there was a temple of [[Artemis]] on the island.<ref name="Arrian">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0074.tlg001.perseus-grc1:7.20 Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, §7.20]</ref><ref>[https://topostext.org/work/201#600 Dionysius of Alexandria, Guide to the Inhabited World, §600]</ref><ref>[https://topostext.org/work/560#11.9 Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, §11.9]</ref> The wild animals on the island were dedicated to goddess and no one should harm them.<ref name="Arrian"/> [[Strabo]] wrote that on the island there was a temple of [[Apollo]] and an [[oracle]] of Artemis (Tauropolus) (μαντεῖον Ταυροπόλου).<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/144#16.3.2 Strabo, Geography, §16.3.2]</ref> The island is also mentioned by [[Stephanus of Byzantium]]<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/241#I329.12 Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §I329.12]</ref> and [[Ptolemaeus]].<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/209#6.7.47 Ptolemaeus, Geography, §6.7.47]</ref>

Remains of the settlement include a large [[Hellenistic]] [[Towns of ancient Greece#Military settlements|fort]] and two [[Greek temple]]s.<ref>George Fadlo Hourani, John Carswell, Arab Seafaring: In the [[Indian Ocean]] in Ancient and Early [[Medieval]] Times  [[Princeton University Press]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDh2KKSlQg4C&q=Charax+&pg=PA164  page 131]</ref> Failaka was also a trading post ([[Emporia (ancient Greece)|emporion]]) of the kingdom of [[Characene]].<ref name=chach/> Archaeological remains of Greek colonization were also discovered in Akkaz, Umm an Namil, and Subiya.<ref name=archa/> At the Hellenistic fortress in Failaka, [[pigs]] represented 20 percent of the total population, but no pig remains were found in nearby Akkaz.<ref>{{cite book|title=Evolution of a Taboo: Pigs and People in the Ancient Near East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqkPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA238|pages=238|year=2021|author=Max D. Price| publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn = 978-0-19-754327-6}}</ref>

[[Nearchos]] was likely the first Greek to have explored Failaka.<ref name=antiquity>{{cite web |url=https://www.ancientportsantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/Documents/PLACES/IndOc-Gulf/IkarosFailaka-Parpas2014.pdf|title=Hellenistic Ikaros-Failaka |website=Ancient Ports – Ports Antiques|author=Andreas P. Parpas|pages=5}}</ref> The island was further visited and inspected by [[Archias of Pella|Archias]]<!-- https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Archias_17#II,1 -->, [[Androsthenes of Thasos]], and [[Hiero II of Syracuse|Hiero]] during three exploration expeditions ordered by Alexander the Great during 324 BC.<ref name=antiquity/> Failaka might have been fortified and settled during the days of [[Seleucus I]] or [[Antiochos I]].<ref name=antiquity/>

At the time of Alexander the Great, the mouth of the [[Euphrates|Euphrates River]] was located in northern Kuwait.<ref name=Khor_Subiya_Mouth_of_Euphrates/><ref name=Khor_Subiya_Mouth_of_Euphrates_river/> The Euphrates river flowed directly into the Persian Gulf via Khor [[Subiya, Kuwait|Subiya]] which was a river channel at the time.<ref name=Khor_Subiya_Mouth_of_Euphrates>{{cite book|author=Andreas P. Parpas|title=Naval and Maritime Activities of Alexander the Great in South Mesopotamia and the Gulf|url=https://www.academia.edu/35498091|pages=62–117|year=2016}}</ref><ref name=Khor_Subiya_Mouth_of_Euphrates_river>{{cite web |editor=Hermann Gasche |title=The Persian Gulf shorelines and the Karkheh, Karun and Jarrahi Rivers: A Geo-Archaeological Approach |website=Academia |url=https://www.academia.edu/7531835 |pages=19–54 |year=2004}}</ref> Failaka was located 15 kilometers from the mouth of the Euphrates river.<ref name=Khor_Subiya_Mouth_of_Euphrates/><ref name=Khor_Subiya_Mouth_of_Euphrates_river/> By the first century BC, the Khor Subiya river channel dried out completely.<ref name=Khor_Subiya_Mouth_of_Euphrates/><ref name=Khor_Subiya_Mouth_of_Euphrates_river/>

[[File:Achaemenid_Empire_500_BCE.jpg|left|thumb|The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent.]]
During the [[Achaemenid period]] (c. 550‒330 BC), the bay of Kuwait was repopulated.<ref name=journal/> Failaka was under the control of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] as evidenced by the archaeological discovery of Achaemenid strata.<ref name=persian_empire/><ref name=antiquity/> There are [[Aramaic]] inscriptions that testify Achaemenid presence.<ref name=antiquity/>

In 127 BC, Kuwait was part of the [[Parthian Empire]] and the kingdom of [[Characene]] was established around [[Teredon]] in present-day Kuwait.<ref name=Teredon>{{cite book|author=Andreas P. Parpas|title=The Hellenistic Gulf: Greek Naval Presence in South Mesopotamia and the Gulf (324-64 B.C.)|url=https://www.academia.edu/35498091|pages=79|year=2016}}</ref><ref name=Teredon_Kuwait>{{cite web|publisher=Peter Harrington|title=Travel - Peter Harrington London|url=https://www.peterharrington.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/138-Final-2.pdf|pages=4|date=2017}}</ref><ref name=Teredon_JSTOR>{{cite journal|author=J. Theodore Bent|title=The Bahrein Islands, in the Persian Gulf|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography|date=January 1890|volume=12|issue=1|pages=13|publisher=[[JSTOR]]|doi=10.2307/1801121 |jstor=1801121 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1836721 }}</ref> Characene was centered in the region encompassing southern Mesopotamia,<ref>{{cite book|author=Kaveh Farrokh|title=Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qbSuPQAACAAJ|pages=124|quote=With Babylon and Seleucia secured, Mehrdad turned to Charax in southern Mesopotamia (modern south Iraq and Kuwait).|year=2007|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=9781846031083}}</ref> Characene coins were discovered in Akkaz, Umm an Namil, and Failaka.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PtzWAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA275|title=Indian Ocean In Antiquity|page=275|year=1996|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136155314|editor=Julian Reade}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://berlinarchaeology.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/colledge-1987.pdf|title=Hellenism in the East|work=Amelie Kuhrt, Susan Sherwin-White|year=1987|quote=To the south of Characene, on Failaka, the north wall of the fort was pushed forward, before occupation ceased around 100 BC.}}</ref> A busy Parthian era Characene commercial station existed in Kuwait.<ref name=chach>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/1382592|title=A Parthian Harbour in the Gulf: the Characene|author=Leonardo Gregoratti|pages=216|access-date=16 January 2021|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172736/https://www.academia.edu/1382592|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The earliest recorded mention of Kuwait was in 150 AD in the geographical treatise ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' by Greek scholar [[Ptolemy]].<ref name=sa>{{cite web|url= https://www.medea.be/2010/02/the-european-exploration-of-kuwait/|title=The European Exploration of Kuwait|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323134157/https://www.medea.be/2010/02/the-european-exploration-of-kuwait/|access-date=21 July 2013|archive-date=23 March 2014}}</ref> Ptolemy mentioned the Bay of Kuwait as ''Hieros Kolpos'' (''Sacer Sinus'' in the Latin versions).<ref name=sa/>

In 224 AD, Kuwait became part of the [[Sassanid Empire]]. At the time of the Sassanid Empire, Kuwait was known as ''Meshan'',<ref>{{cite book|author1=Bennett D. Hill |author2=Roger B. Beck |author3=Clare Haru Crowston |title=A History of World Societies, Combined Volume |url=http://www.mcquaid.org/file.cfm?resourceid=3858&filename=chapter_7_full.pdf |pages=165 |year=2008 |quote=Centered in the fertile Tigris- Euphrates Valley, but with access to the Persian Gulf and extending south to Meshan (modern Kuwait), the Sassanid Empire's economic prosperity rested on agriculture; its location also proved well suited for commerce. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203044933/http://www.mcquaid.org/file.cfm?resourceid=3858&filename=chapter_7_full.pdf |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref> which was an alternative name of the kingdom of Characene.<ref>{{cite book|author=Avner Falk|title=A Psychoanalytic History of the Jews |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z10-Xz9Kno4C&pg=PA330|pages=330|quote=In 224 he defeated the Parthian army of Ardavan Shah (Artabanus V), taking Isfahan, Kerman, Elam (Elymais) and Meshan (Mesene, Spasinu Charax, or Characene). |year=1996|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press |isbn=9780838636602 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Abraham Cohen|title=Ancient Jewish Proverbs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jTb2Zs3BkecC&pg=PT119|quote=The large and small measures roll down and reach Sheol; from Sheol they proceed to Tadmor (Palmyra), from Tadmor to Meshan (Mesene), and from Meshan to Harpanya (Hipparenum).|year=1980|publisher=Library of Alexandria |isbn=9781465526786}}</ref>

Late Sassanian settlements were discovered in Failaka.<ref name=journal2>{{cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aae.12190|last1=Bonnéric|first1=Julie|title=A consideration on the interest of a pottery typology adapted to the late Sasanian and early Islamic monastery at al-Qusur (Kuwait)|year=2021|journal=Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy|volume=32|pages=70–82|doi=10.1111/aae.12190|s2cid=234836940|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=journal3>{{cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aae.12189|last1=Pieńkowska|first1=Agnieszka|title=Failaka Island in the Late Islamic Period. Investigations at the fishing village of Kharaib al-Dasht|year=2021|journal=Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy|volume=32|pages=115–127|doi=10.1111/aae.12189|s2cid=233612913|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Akkaz was a [[Parthian Empire|Partho]]-[[Sassanian]] site;<ref name=Akkaz_Partho_Sassanian/> the [[Zoroastrianism|Sassanid religion]]'s [[tower of silence]] was discovered in northern Akkaz.<ref name=Akkaz_Partho_Sassanian>{{cite journal|last=Gachet |first= J.|journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies|title=Akkaz (Kuwait), a Site of the Partho-Sasanian Period. A preliminary report on three campaigns of excavation (1993–1996).|volume=28|pages=69–79|year=1998|jstor=41223614 }}</ref><ref name=takkaz>{{citation|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Tell+Akkaz+in+Kuwait.-a0381147811|title=Tell Akkaz in Kuwait.|journal=The Journal of the American Oriental Society}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=LE TELL D'AKKAZ AU KOWEÏT TELL AKKAZ IN KUWAIT |url=http://www.mom.fr/IMG/pdf/TMO57Akkaz.pdf |page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233751/http://www.mom.fr/IMG/pdf/TMO57Akkaz.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2013}}</ref>

In [[Bubiyan Island|Bubiyan]], there is archaeological evidence of Sassanian periods of human presence as evidenced by the recent discovery of torpedo-jar pottery sherds on several prominent beach ridges.<ref name="Ancient_Bubiyan">{{cite journal|first2=Robert|last2=Carter|first1=Linda|last1=Reinink-Smith|year=2022|title=Late Holocene development of Bubiyan Island, Kuwait|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/quaternary-research/article/abs/late-holocene-development-of-bubiyan-island-kuwait/FD3CB9742FC8B0A5EDE6EBAC8F15C301|journal=Quaternary Research|volume=109 |pages=16–38|doi=10.1017/qua.2022.3|bibcode=2022QuRes.109...16R |s2cid=248250022 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In 636 AD, the [[Battle of Chains]] between the Sassanid Empire and [[Rashidun Caliphate]] was fought in Kuwait near [[Kazma]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Kurt Ray|title=A Historical Atlas of Kuwait|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso0000rayk|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso0000rayk/page/10 10]|year=2003|isbn=9780823939817}}</ref><ref name=trade/> At the time, Kuwait was under the control of the Sassanid Empire.<ref name=Early/> The Battle of Chains was the first battle of the Rashidun Caliphate in which the Muslim army sought to extend its frontiers.

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.<ref name=trade/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/8353208|title=Kāzimah remembered: historical traditions of an early Islamic settlement by Kuwait Bay|publisher=British Museum, Seminar for Arabian Studies|author=Brian Ulrich}}</ref><ref name=Early>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/7085907|title=Investigating an Early Islamic Landscape on Kuwait Bay: the archaeology of historical Kadhima |publisher=[[Durham University]]|last1=Kennet |first1=Derek }}</ref> Medieval Arabic sources contain multiple references to the bay of Kuwait in the early Islamic period.<ref name="academia">{{cite journal |author=Brian Ulrich |date=January 2013 |title=From Iraq to the Hijaz in the Early Islamic Period: History and Archaeology of the Basran Hajj Road and the Way(s) through Kuwait |url=https://www.academia.edu/8361856 |journal=The Hajj: Collected Essays, ed. Venetia Porter and Liana Saif}}</ref><ref name="jstor">{{cite journal |last1=Kennet |first1=Derek |last2=Blair |first2=Andrew |last3=Ulrich |first3=Brian |last4=Al-Duwīsh |first4=Sultan M. |year=2011 |title=The Kadhima Project: investigating an Early Islamic settlement and landscape on Kuwait Bay |journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies |publisher=jstor.org |volume=41 |pages=161–172 |jstor=41622130}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Gulf_History|title=Kāzimah|publisher=academia.edu}}</ref> The city functioned as a [[port city|trade port]] and resting place for pilgrims on their way from Iraq to Hejaz. The city was controlled by the kingdom of [[Al-Hirah]] in Iraq.<ref name=academia/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdZtAAAAMAAJ|title=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volumes 9–12 |pages=53 |year= 1979 |quote=Although the town of al-Hira might have been too far northward to be considered a part of Eastern Arabia it is dealt with here as such because the kingdom of al- Hira controlled Kazima (Kuwait).}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/events/23may2012-new-field-work-at-kadhima-kuwait-and-the-archaeology-of-the-early-islamic-period-in-easter.html|title=New field work at Kadhima (Kuwait) and the archaeology of the Early Islamic period in Eastern Arabia|publisher=[[SOAS]]|access-date=26 January 2015|archive-date=25 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125204501/https://www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/events/23may2012-new-field-work-at-kadhima-kuwait-and-the-archaeology-of-the-early-islamic-period-in-easter.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the early Islamic period, the bay of Kuwait was known for being a fertile area.<ref name=trade>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ACS3J9mVInMC&pg=PA20|title=Kuwait in Pictures|editor=Francesca Davis DiPiazza|year=2008|pages=20–21|isbn=9780822565895|last1=Dipiazza|first1=Francesca Davis|publisher=Twenty-First Century Books }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0130900729|title=Culture in rehabilitation: from competency to proficiency |work=Jeffrey L. Crabtree, Abdul Matin Royeen|pages=194 |year=2006 |quote=During the early Islamic period, Kazima had become a very famous fertile area and served as a trading stations for travelers in the region.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/?mode=project&id=482|title=Kadhima: an Early Islamic settlement and landscape on Kuwait Bay |publisher=[[Durham University]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019074103/https://www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/?mode=project&id=482 |access-date=2013-07-28|archive-date=19 October 2013 }}</ref>

Kazma was mainly a stop for caravans coming from [[Persia]] and Mesopotamia en route to the Arabian Peninsula. The poet [[Al-Farazdaq]] was born in Kazma.<ref name=kuwa>{{cite web|url=https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2378661&language=en|title=Farazdaq center lauds Info. Min. care for youth|work=[[Kuwait News Agency]]|date=22 May 2014}}</ref> Al-Farazdaq is recognized as one of the greatest [[classical literature|classical poets]] of the Arabs.<ref name=kuwa/>

Early to late Islamic settlements were discovered in Subiya, Akkaz, Kharaib al-Dasht, Umm al-Aish, Al-Rawdatain, Al Qusur, Umm an Namil, [[Miskan Island|Miskan]], and Kuwait's side of [[Wadi al-Batin]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/33243908|title=Failaka and Miskan Island 2004-2009. Primary Scientific Report on the Activities of the Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission.}}</ref><ref name="dasht">{{cite journal|last=Agnieszka Pieńkowska |first= Marek Truszkowski|year=2021|title=Failaka Island in the Late Islamic Period. Investigations at the fishing village of Kharaib al-Dasht|journal=Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy|volume=31|issue=1|pages=69–85|doi=10.1111/aae.12189|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="ad">{{cite journal|author=Marta Mierzejewska|year=2019|title=Islamic harbour in Kharaib al-Dasht Bay? Some remarks on the pottery collection from the Underwater Survey along the coast of Failaka Island|journal=A. Pieńkowska, D. Szeląg, & I. Zych (Eds.), Stories Told Around the Fountain.papers Offered to Piotr Bieliński on His 70th Bithday|url=https://www.academia.edu/42442408}}</ref>

There is archaeological evidence of early Islamic periods of human presence in [[Bubiyan Island|Bubiyan]].<ref name="Ancient_Bubiyan"/>

[[Christians|Christian]] [[Nestorian]] settlements flourished in the bay of Kuwait from the 5th century until the 9th century.<ref name=nes>{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeology.org/issues/79-1303/features/kuwait/540-kuwait-failaka-christian-settlement|title=Hidden Christian Community|work=[[Archaeology Magazine]] |access-date=28 August 2013}}</ref><ref name=christian/><ref name=archa/> Excavations have revealed several farms, villages and two large churches dating from the 5th and 6th century.<ref name=nes/> Archaeologists are currently excavating nearby sites to understand the extent of the settlements that flourished in the eighth and ninth centuries A.D.<ref name=nes/> An old island tradition is that a community grew up around a Christian mystic and hermit.<ref name=nes/> The small farms and villages were eventually abandoned.<ref name=nes/> Remains of [[Byzantine]] era Nestorian churches were found in Akkaz and Al-Qusur.<ref name=christian>{{citation|title=Christianity in the Arab-Persian Gulf: an ancient but still obscure history|work=Julie Bonnéric}}</ref><ref name=akkaz/> Pottery at the Al-Qusur site can be dated from as early as the first half of the 7th century through the 9th century.<ref>Vincent Bernard and Jean Francois Salles, "Discovery of a Christian Church at Al-Qusur, Failaka (Kuwait)," ''Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies'' 21 (1991), 7–21.  Vincent Bernard, Olivier Callot and Jean Francois Salles, "L'eglise d'al-Qousour Failaka, Etat de Koweit," ''Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy'' 2 (1991): 145–181.</ref><ref>Yves Calvet, "Monuments paléo-chrétiens à Koweit et dans la région du Golfe," ''Symposium Syriacum, Uppsala University, Department of Asian and African Languages, 11–14 August 1996'', ''[[Orientalia Christiana Analecta]]'' 256 (Rome, 1998), 671–673.</ref>

==Pre-oil history==
In 1521, Kuwait was under [[Portugal|Portuguese]] control.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ameu.org/getattachment/af6d61e0-5cab-4344-a857-5b8987636fb7/Kuwait.aspx |title=Kuwait: Prosperity from a Sea of Oil |work=G. Aloun Klaum |year=1980 |pages=30 |access-date=15 October 2013 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801143713/http://www.ameu.org/getattachment/af6d61e0-5cab-4344-a857-5b8987636fb7/Kuwait.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the late 16th century, the Portuguese built a defensive settlement in Kuwait.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=apU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA572|title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam|pages=572 |editor=Sir H. A. R. Gibb |year=1980|last1=Gibb|first1=Sir H. A. R.|publisher=BRILL |isbn=9004064710}}</ref> In the early to mid 1700s, [[Kuwait City]] was a small [[fishing village]]. Administratively, it was a sheikhdom, ruled by local [[sheikh]]s from [[Bani Khalid]] clan.<ref name="casey">{{cite book |last1=Casey |first1=Michael |title=The history of Kuwait – Greenwood histories of modern nations |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0313340734|year=2007 }}</ref> Sometime in the mid 1700s, the [[Bani Utbah]] settled in Kuwait.<ref>{{cite thesis |first=Mohammad Khalid A. |last=Al-Jassar |type=PhD thesis |url=http://gradworks.umi.com/33/63/3363409.html|title=Constancy and Change in Contemporary Kuwait City: The Socio-cultural Dimensions of the Kuwait Courtyard and Diwaniyya |publisher=The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee |date=May 2009 |page=64 |isbn=978-1-109-22934-9}}</ref><ref name="bani">{{cite web|title='Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part IA & IB. J G Lorimer. 1915' [1001] (1156/1782)|url=http://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023575946.0x00009d|access-date=16 January 2015|publisher=qdl.qa|page=1000}}</ref> Sometime after the death of the Bani Khalid's leader Barrak Bin Urair and the fall of the Bani Khalid Emirate, the Utub were able to wrest control of Kuwait as a result of successive [[Marriage of state|matrimonial alliances]].<ref name=bani/>

The man chosen was a Sabah, [[Sabah I bin Jaber]]. Sabah diplomacy may have also been important with neighbouring clans, especially as Bani Khalid power declined. This selection is usually dated to 1752.<ref name=locrule>{{cite web|last=Crystal|first=Jill|title=Kuwait: Ruling Family|url=http://countrystudies.us/persian-gulf-states/26.htm|work=Persian Gulf States: A Country Study|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref> 

===Early growth (1760–1899)===
====Economy====
In the latter half of the eighteenth century, Kuwait gradually became a principal commercial center for the transit of goods between [[India]], [[Muscat, Oman|Muscat]], [[Baghdad]], Persia, and [[Arabia]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1266/1/1266.pdf|title=The impact of economic activities on the social and political structures of Kuwait (1896-1946)}}</ref><ref name=sail>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/shadowsonsandthe00bell|url-access=registration|title=Shadows on the Sand: The Memoirs of Sir Gawain Bell|publisher=C. Hurst|editor=[[Gawain Bell]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/shadowsonsandthe00bell/page/222 222]|year=1983|isbn=9780905838922|last1=Bell|first1=Sir Gawain}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVfaAAAAMAAJ&q=Kuwait+became+an+important+trading+port+for+import+and+export+of+goods+from+India,+Africa+and+Arabia.|title=ʻAlam-i Nisvāṉ - Volume 2, Issues 1-2|page=18|quote=Kuwait became an important trading port for import and export of goods from India, Africa and Arabia.|year=1995}}</ref> By the late-1700s, Kuwait had already established itself as a trading route from the Persian Gulf to Aleppo.<ref name=kw/> During the Persian siege of Basra in 1775–1779, [[Iraqi people|Iraqi merchants]] took refuge in Kuwait and were partly instrumental in the expansion of Kuwait's boatbuilding and trading activities.<ref name=boom>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/beyondstormgulf00benn|url-access=registration|title=Beyond the Storm: A Gulf Crisis Reader|publisher=Olive Branch Press|editor=Phyllis Bennis|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beyondstormgulf00benn/page/42 42]|isbn=9780940793828|last1=Bennis|first1=Phyllis|last2=Moushabeck|first2=Michel|date=1990-12-31}}</ref> As a result, Kuwait's maritime commerce boomed.<ref name=boom/>

[[File:MarinetimeMKuwaitAlshami.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Hashemi-II|Marine Museum]] in Kuwait City. Demonstrates the founding of Kuwait as a sea port for merchants.]]
Between the years 1775 and 1779, the Indian trade routes with Baghdad, Aleppo, [[Smyrna]] and [[Constantinople]] were diverted to Kuwait.<ref name=kw>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0NH1CbXf24C&pg=PA66|title=Constancy and Change in Contemporary Kuwait City|editor=Mohammad Khalid A. Al-Jassar|year=2009|pages=66|isbn=9781109229349}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5xVSkGtcT5YC&pg=PA4|title=The Kuwait Crisis: Basic Documents|page=4|year=1991|isbn=9780521463089|last1=Lauterpacht|first1=E.|last2=Greenwood|first2=C. J.|last3=Weller|first3=Marc|last4=Bethlehem|first4=Daniel|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> The [[East India Company]] was diverted to Kuwait in 1792.<ref name=eas>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0NH1CbXf24C&pg=PA67|title=Constancy and Change in Contemporary Kuwait City |page=67|year=2009|isbn=9781109229349 }}</ref> The East India Company secured the sea routes between Kuwait, [[India]] and the east coasts of [[Africa]].<ref name=eas/> After the Persians withdrew from Basra in 1779, Kuwait continued to attract trade away from Basra.<ref name=mer>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6v2HHoWgbsC&pg=PA72|title=Merchants, Mamluks, and Murder: The Political Economy of Trade in Eighteenth-Century Basra|author=Thabit Abdullah|date=January 2001|page=72|publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9780791448076}}</ref> 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.<ref name=mer/>

Regional geopolitical turbulence helped foster economic prosperity in Kuwait in the second half of the 18th century.<ref name="jasser">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0NH1CbXf24C&pg=PA68|title=Constancy and Change in Contemporary Kuwait City|editor= Mohammad Khalid A. Al-Jassar|pages=68|isbn=9781109229349}}</ref> Kuwait became prosperous due to Basra's instability in the late 18th century.<ref name=w>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iT_8KzTECwMC&pg=PA18|title=Waqai-i manazil-i Rum: Tipu Sultan's mission to Constantinople|editor=Mohibbul Hasan|year=2007|page=18|isbn=9788187879565|quote=For owing to Basra's misfortunes, Kuwait and Zubarah became rich.|last1=Hasan|first1=Mohibbul|publisher=Aakar Books }}</ref> In the late 18th century, Kuwait partly functioned as a haven for Basra's merchants fleeing [[Ottoman government]] persecution.<ref name=basra>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5MewSBHkG4C&pg=PA114|title=The Politics of Regional Trade in Iraq, Arabia, and the Gulf, 1745-1900 |editor=Hala Mundhir Fattah |year=1997 |page=114|isbn=9780791431139 |last1=Fattah |first1=Hala Mundhir |publisher=SUNY Press }}</ref> 

In 1776, Sabah I died and was succeeded by his youngest son, [[Abdullah I Al-Sabah|Abdullah]]. Shortly before Sabah's death, in 1766, the al-Khalifa and, soon after, the al-Jalahima, left Kuwait en masse for [[Zubarah]] in Qatar. Domestically, the al-Khalifa and al-Jalahima had been among the top contenders for power. Their emigration left the Sabahs in undisputed control, and by the end of Abdullah I's long rule (1776–1814), Sabah rule was secure, and the political hierarchy in Kuwait was well established, the merchants deferring to direct orders from the Shaikh. By the 19th century, not only was the ruling Sabah much stronger than a desert Shaikh but also capable of naming his son successor. This influence was not just internal but enabled the al-Sabah to conduct foreign diplomacy. They soon established good relations with the British East India Company in 1775.<ref name="locrule" />

Kuwait was the center of [[boat building]] in the Persian Gulf region.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1266/1/1266.pdf|title=The impact of economic activities on the social and political structures of Kuwait (1896-1946)|page=108}}</ref> Kuwaiti ship vessels were renowned throughout the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zXXGAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA93|title=The Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia and the Gulf |editor=Neil Donaldson|year=2008 |page=93|isbn=9781409209423 |last1=Donaldson |first1=Neil |publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref><ref name=al>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/doctormaryinarab00alli|url-access=registration|title=Doctor Mary in Arabia: Memoirs|publisher=University of Texas Press|author=[[Mary Bruins Allison]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/doctormaryinarab00alli/page/n215 1]|year=1994|isbn=9780292704565}}</ref> Its sailors developed a positive reputation in the Persian Gulf.<ref name=sail/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA321|title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire|year=2009|page=321|isbn=9781438110257|last1=́Goston|first1=Ga ́bor A.|last2=Masters|first2=Bruce Alan|publisher=Infobase }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRtWm-UkS-oC&pg=PA48|title=Seafaring in the Arabian Gulf and Oman: People of the Dhow|editor=Dionisius A. Agius|year=2012|page=48|isbn=9781136201820|last1=Agius|first1=Dionisius A.|publisher=Routledge }}</ref> In the 19th century, Kuwait became significant in the [[horse trading|horse trade]],<ref name=hor>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5MewSBHkG4C&pg=PA181|title=The Politics of Regional Trade in Iraq, Arabia, and the Gulf, 1745-1900 |editor=Hala Mundhir Fattah |year=1997 |page=181|isbn=9780791431139 |last1=Fattah |first1=Hala Mundhir |publisher=SUNY Press }}</ref> horses were regularly shipped by the way of sailing boats from Kuwait.<ref name=hor/> In the mid 19th century, it was estimated that Kuwait was exporting an average of 800 horses to India annually.<ref name=jasser/>

====Assassination of Muhammad Bin Sabah====
In the 1870s, Ottoman officials were reasserting their presence in the Persian Gulf, with a military intervention in 1871—which was not effectively pursued—where family rivalries in Kuwait were breeding chaos.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Harvnb|Anscombe|1997|p=6|date=September 2010}}</ref> The Ottomans were bankrupt and when the European banks took control of the Ottoman budget in 1881, additional income was required from Kuwait. [[Midhat Pasha]], the [[List of Ottoman governors of Baghdad|governor of Iraq]], demanded that Kuwait submit financially to Ottoman rule. The al-Sabah found diplomatic allies in the British Foreign Office. However, under [[Abdullah II Al-Sabah]], Kuwait pursued a general pro-Ottoman foreign policy, formally taking the title of Ottoman provincial governor, this relationship with the Ottoman Empire did result in Ottoman interference with Kuwaiti laws and selection or rulers.<ref name="locrule"/> 

In May 1896, [[Sheikh|Shaikh]] Muhammad Al-Sabah was assassinated by his half-brother, Mubarak, who, in early 1897, was recognized, by the Ottoman sultan, as the ''qaimmaqam'' (provincial sub-governor) of Kuwait.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

====Mubarak the Great====
{{main|Mubarak Al-Sabah}}
[[File:Mubarak Al-Sabah of Kuwait.jpg|thumb|[[Mubarak Al-Sabah]] "the Great" (1837–1915)]] 
Mubarak's seizure of the throne via murder left his brother's former allies as a threat to his rule, especially as his opponents gained the backing of the Ottomans.<ref name="locrule" /> In July, Mubarak invited the British to deploy [[gunboat]]s along the Kuwaiti coast. Britain saw Mubarak's desire for an alliance as an opportunity to counteract German influence in the region and so agreed.<ref name="locrule" /> This led to what is known as the First Kuwaiti Crisis, in which the Ottomans demanded that the British stop interfering with their empire. In the end, the Ottoman Empire backed down, rather than go to war.

In January 1899, Mubarak signed an agreement with the British which pledged that Kuwait would never cede any territory nor receive agents or representatives of any foreign power without the British Government's consent. In essence, this policy gave Britain control of Kuwait's foreign policy.<ref name="locrule"/> The treaty also gave Britain responsibility for Kuwait's national security. In return, Britain agreed to grant an annual subsidy of 15,000 Indian [[rupee]]s (£1,500) to the ruling family. In 1911, Mubarak raised taxes. Therefore, three wealthy business men [[Ibrahim Al-Mudhaf]], [[Helal Al-Mutairi]], and Shamlan Ali bin Saif Al-Roumi (brother of Hussain Ali bin Saif Al-Roumi), led a protest against Mubarak by making [[Bahrain]] their main trade point, which negatively affected the Kuwaiti economy. However, Mubarak went to Bahrain and apologized for raising taxes and the three business men returned to Kuwait. In 1915, Mubarak the Great died and was succeeded by his son [[Jaber II Al-Sabah]], who reigned for just over one year until his death in early 1917. His brother Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah succeeded him.

During the reign of Mubarak, Kuwait was dubbed the "[[Marseille]] of the Persian Gulf" because its economic vitality attracted a large variety of people.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncfIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA272|title=The Persian Gulf in History|page=272 |editor=Lawrence G. Potter |year=2009|isbn=9780230618459|last1=Potter|first1=L.|publisher=Springer }}</ref><ref name=ara>{{cite web|url=http://ed-thelen.org/LordOfArabia.html|title=Lord of Arabia|pages=18–19|editor=[[Harold Courtenay Armstrong|H. C. Armstrong]]|year=1905|quote=Part II Chapter VI}}</ref> The population was cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse, including Arabs, Persians, Africans, [[History of the Jews in Kuwait|Jews]], and [[Armenians in Kuwait#History|Armenians]].<ref name=ara /> Kuwait was known for its [[religious tolerance]].<ref name="pa">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXgsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA165|title=Kuwait before Oil: The Dynamics and Morphology of an Arab Port City (Gateways of Asia: Port Cities of Asia in the 13th–20th Centuries)|year=1997|publisher=Routledge |editor=Frank Broeze|isbn=9781136168956}}</ref>

In the first decades of the twentieth century, Kuwait had a well-established elite: wealthy trading families who were linked by marriage and shared economic interests.<ref name=elite>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8di8GN_hKsC&pg=PA37|title=Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar |editor=Jill Crystal |year=1995 |page=37|isbn=9780521466356 |last1=Crystal |first1=Jill |publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> The elite were long-settled, urban, Sunni families, the majority of which claim descent from the original 30 Bani Utubi families.<ref name=elite /> The wealthiest families were trade merchants who acquired their wealth from long-distance commerce, shipbuilding and pearling.<ref name=elite /> They were a cosmopolitan elite, they traveled extensively to India, Africa and Europe.<ref name=elite /> The elite educated their sons abroad more than other Gulf Arab elite.<ref name=elite /> Western visitors noted that Kuwait's elite used European office systems, [[typewriters]] and followed [[European culture]] with curiosity.<ref name=elite /> The richest families were involved in general trade.<ref name=elite /> The merchant families of Al-Ghanim and Al-Hamad were estimated to be worth millions before the 1940s.<ref name=elite />

===Anglo-Ottoman convention (1913)===
{{main|Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913}}
Informal negotiations began on 29 July 1911 in a British memorandum sent to the Ottoman Government. By this time, it seemed likely that the terminus for the German funded and engineered [[Berlin–Baghdad railway]] would be situated in Kuwait.<ref>The original concession granted to the Baghdad Railway Company, dominated by Deutsche Bank, was an extension from Konya to Baghdad.</ref> Kuwait had been under Ottoman administration since 1871 and in 1875 was included in the [[Basra Vilayet]]. Although the sheikhdom now fell under the Empire’s jurisdiction, no Ottoman official was stationed in Kuwait.<ref>David H. Finnie, Shifting Lines in the Sand: Kuwait’s Elusive Frontier with Iraq, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992), 7.</ref> Influence over Kuwait was crucial to British foreign policy in the Persian Gulf with regard to commerce and strategic interests concerning India.  

In the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, the British concurred with the Ottoman Empire in defining Kuwait as an autonomous [[kaza]] of the Ottoman Empire and that the Shaikhs of Kuwait were not independent leaders, but rather ''qaimmaqams'' (provincial sub-governors) of the Ottoman government.

The convention ruled that Sheikh Mubarak had authority over an area extending out to a radius of 80&nbsp;km, from the capital. This region was marked by a red circle and included the islands of [[Auhah Island|Auhah]], [[Bubiyan]], Failaka, [[Kubbar Island|Kubbar]], Mashian, and [[Warbah Island|Warbah]]. A green circle designated an area extending out an additional 100&nbsp;km, in radius, within which the ''qaimmaqam'' was authorized to collect [[tribute]] and taxes from the natives.

[[World War I]] disrupted elements of Kuwait's politics, society, economy and trans-regional networks.<ref>John Slight,  "Global War and its impact on the Gulf States of Kuwait and Bahrain, 1914–1918." ''War & Society'' 37#1 (2018): 21-37.  https://doi.org/10.1080/07292473.2017.1412185</ref>

===Mesopotamian Campaign (1914)===
{{Main|Mesopotamian campaign}}
On 6 November 1914, British offensive action began with the naval bombardment of the old fort at [[Al-Faw|Fao]] in Iraq, located at the point where the [[Shatt-al-Arab]] meets the Persian Gulf. At the [[Fao Landing]], the British [[Indian Expeditionary Force D]] (IEF D), comprising the [[6th (Poona) Division]] led by Lieutenant General [[Arthur Barrett (Indian Army officer)|Arthur Barrett]] with Sir [[Percy Cox]] as [[Political officer (British Empire)|Political Officer]], was opposed by 350 Ottoman troops and 4 guns. After a sharp engagement, the fort was overrun. By mid-November the Poona Division was fully ashore and began moving towards the city of [[Basra]].

The same month, the ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh [[Mubarak Al-Sabah]], contributed to the Allied war effort by sending forces to attack Ottoman troops at [[Umm Qasr]], [[Safwan, Iraq|Safwan]], [[Bubiyan]], and [[Basra]]. In exchange the British government recognised Kuwait as an "independent government under British protection."<ref name="Slot 2005 406">{{Harvnb|Slot|2005|pp=406–09}}</ref> There is no report on the exact size and nature of Mubarak's attack, though Ottoman forces did retreat from those positions weeks later.<ref name="Slot2005p407">{{Harvnb|Slot|2005|p=407}}</ref> Mubarak soon removed the Ottoman symbol from the Kuwaiti flag and replaced it with "Kuwait" written in Arabic script.<ref name="Slot2005p407"/> Mubarak's participation and previous exploits in obstructing the completion of the [[Berlin–Baghdad railway|Baghdad railway]] helped the British safeguard the Persian Gulf by preventing Ottoman and German reinforcement.<ref name="Slot 2005 409">{{Harvnb|Slot|2005|p=409}}</ref> He refused to rent any storage facilities to the Germans.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last1=Anderson|first1=Frank Maloy|title=Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1870-1914|last2=Hershey|first2=Amos Shartle|last3=Service|first3=National Board for Historical|date=1918|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=410–411|language=en}}</ref>

===Kuwait–Najd War (1919–21)===
{{main|Kuwait–Najd War}}
The Kuwait-Najd War erupted in the [[aftermath of World War I]], when the [[Ottoman Empire]] was defeated and the British invalidated the Anglo-Ottoman Convention. The power vacuum, left by the fall of the Ottomans, sharpened the conflict between Kuwait and [[Najd]] ([[Ikhwan]]). The war resulted in sporadic border clashes throughout 1919–20.

[[File:Jahra-castle.jpg|thumb|[[Kuwait Red Fort]].]]

However, Kuwait immensely declined in regional economic importance,<ref name="al"/> mainly due to various trade blockades and the world economic depression.<ref name=block /> The [[Great Depression]] negatively impacted Kuwait's economy starting in the late 1920s.<ref name=do /> International trading was one of Kuwait's main sources of income before oil.<ref name=do /> Kuwaiti merchants were mostly intermediary merchants.<ref name=do /> As a result of European decline of demand for goods from India and Africa, the economy of Kuwait suffered. The decline in international trade resulted in an increase in gold smuggling by Kuwaiti ships to India.<ref name=do /> Some Kuwaiti merchant families became rich due to gold smuggling to India.<ref name=hist />

Kuwait's pearling industry also collapsed as a result of the worldwide economic depression.<ref name=hist>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwweY4yYSMIC&pg=PA57|title=The History of Kuwait|editor= Michael S. Casey |year=2007 |page=57|isbn=9780313340734|last1=Casey|first1=Michael S.|publisher=Bloomsbury }}</ref> At its height, Kuwait's pearling industry led the world's luxury market, regularly sending out between 750 and 800 ship vessels to meet the European elite's need for luxuries pearls.<ref name=hist /> During the economic depression, luxuries like pearls were in little demand.<ref name=hist /> The Japanese invention of [[cultured pearls]] also contributed to the collapse of Kuwait's pearling industry.<ref name=hist />

====Battle of Jahra====
{{main|Battle of Jahra}}
The [[Battle of Jahra]] was a battle during the Kuwait-Najd War. The battle took place in [[Al Jahra]], west of Kuwait City on 10 October 1920 between [[Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah]] ruler of Kuwait and [[Ikhwan]] Wahhabi followers of [[Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia]], king of Saudi Arabia.<ref>[http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTA0NzIxMTUzNA== The blood red place of Jahra], [[Kuwait Times]].</ref>

A force of 4,000 Saudi Ikhwan, led by [[Faisal Al-Dawish]], attacked the [[Kuwait Red Fort]] at Al-Jahra, defended by 2,000 Kuwaiti men. The Kuwaitis were largely outnumbered by the Ikhwan of Najd.

====Sheikh Khaz'al turns down the throne of Kuwait====
When [[Percy Cox]] was informed of the border clashes in Kuwait, he sent a letter to [[Khorramshahr|Mohammerah]] Sheikh [[Khazʽal Ibn Jabir]] offering the Kuwaiti throne to either him or one of his heirs, thinking Khaz'al would be a more competent ruler the Al Sabah family. Khaz'al, who considered the Al Sabah as his own family, replied "Do you expect me to allow the stepping down of Al Mubarak from the throne of Kuwait? Do you think I can accept this?"<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Tareekh Al Kuwait Al Siyasi|last=Khalif|first=Hussein|pages=221}}</ref> He then asked: {{blockquote|...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.<ref name=":2" />}}

[[Ibn Saud]] imposed a tight trade blockade against Kuwait from the years 1923 until 1937.<ref name="block"/><ref name=do>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0NH1CbXf24C&pg=PA80|title=Constancy and Change in Contemporary Kuwait City: The Socio-cultural Dimensions of the Kuwait Courtyard and Diwaniyya|author= Mohammad Khalid A. Al-Jassar|year=2009|pages=80|isbn=9781109229349}}</ref> The goal of the Saudi economic and military attacks on Kuwait was to annex as much of Kuwait's territory as possible.<ref name="block"/> 

===The Uqair protocol===
The British High Commissioner in Baghdad, [[Percy Cox]], imposed<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/event.php?eid=156 |title=Imposition of Uqair Protocol |access-date=14 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222083217/http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/event.php?eid=156 |archive-date=22 December 2015 }}</ref> the [[Uqair Protocol of 1922]] which defined the boundaries between Iraq, Kuwait and Nejd. In April 1923, Shaikh [[Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah|Ahmad al-Sabah]] wrote the British Political Agent in Kuwait, Major [[John More (major)|John More]], "I still do not know what the border between Iraq and Kuwait is, I shall be glad if you will kindly give me this information." More, upon learning that al-Sabah claimed the outer green line of the Anglo-Ottoman Convention (4 April), would relay the information to Sir Percy.

On 19 April, Sir Percy stated that the British government recognized the outer line of the convention as the border between Iraq and Kuwait. This decision limited Iraq's access to the Persian Gulf at 58&nbsp;km of mostly marshy and swampy coastline. As this would make it difficult for Iraq to become a naval power (the territory did not include any deepwater harbours), the Iraqi King [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal I]] (whom the British installed as a puppet king in Iraq) did not agree to the plan. However, as his country was under British mandate, he had little say in the matter. Iraq and Kuwait would formally ratify the border in August. The border was re-recognized in 1932.

Attempts by Faisal I to build an Iraqi railway to Kuwait and port facilities on the Gulf were rejected by Britain. These and other similar British colonial policies made Kuwait a focus of the Arab national movement in Iraq, and a symbol of Iraqi humiliation at the hands of the British.<ref name="fkm">{{citation|title=Mechanisms of Western Domination: A Short History of Iraq and Kuwait|url=http://www.csun.edu/~vcmth00m/iraqkuwait.html|work=California State University, Northridge}}</ref>

Kuwait's border was revisited by a memorandum sent by the British high commissioner for Iraq in 1923, which became the basis for Kuwait's northern border. In Iraq's 1932 application to the League of Nations it included information about its borders, including its border with Kuwait, where it accepted the boundary established in 1923.<ref name=locpgw>{{cite web|last=Crystal|first=Jill|title=Kuwait – Persian Gulf War|url=http://countrystudies.us/persian-gulf-states/32.htm|work=The Persian Gulf States: A Country Study|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Restored_Dhow_Fatah_al_Khair_(2)_(41238271364).jpg|thumb|[[Fateh Al-Khayr]] is a museum ship in Kuwait. The ship was built in 1938.]]
After the Uqair conference, Kuwait was still subjected to a Saudi economic blockade and intermittent Saudi [[raid (military)|raiding]].<ref name="block"/> Some merchant families left Kuwait in the early 1930s due to the prevalence of economic hardship. At the time of the discovery of oil in 1937, most of Kuwait's inhabitants were impoverished. Merchants had the most economic power.<ref name=econ>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVqdiFh33gYC&pg=PA55|title=Economic Development and Political Reform: The Impact of External Capital on the Middle East|editor=Bradley Louis Glasser |year= 2003 |pages=54–57|isbn=9781781008188|last1=Glasser|first1=Bradley Louis|publisher=Edward Elgar }}</ref> Al Sabah family rule remained limited until well into the 1930s because the merchants, owing to their financial power, were the primary sources of income in Kuwait.<ref name=econ/> The inauguration of the oil era freed the rulers from their financial dependency on merchant wealth.<ref name=wheeler>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pzIsdQPWq4C&pg=PA72|title=The Internet in the Middle East|editor= Deborah L. Wheeler|year= 2003 |pages=72|isbn=9780791482650|last1=Wheeler|first1=Deborah L.|publisher=SUNY Press }}</ref>

Before [[Mary Bruins Allison]] visited Kuwait in 1934, Kuwait had already lost its prominence in long-distance trade.<ref name="al"/> During [[World War I]], the [[British Empire]] imposed a trade blockade against Kuwait because [[Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah|Kuwait's ruler]] supported the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="block">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqMLNJ3tUYMC&pg=PA13|title=The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and the Economics of the New World Order|author=Mary Ann Tétreault|pages=2–3|year=1995|publisher=Greenwood Publishing |isbn=9780899305103}}</ref><ref name="David Lea 2001 142">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f25h1qJLtnAC&pg=PA142|title=A Political Chronology of the Middle East|author=David Lea|page=142|year=2001|publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=9781857431155}}</ref><ref name=ot>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKBn1AOZUrwC&pg=PA104|title=The Arabian Mission's Story: In Search of Abraham's Other Son|author=Lewis R. Scudder|page=104|year=1998|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=9780802846167}}</ref> The British economic blockade heavily damaged Kuwait's economy.<ref name=ot />

In 1937, [[Freya Stark]] wrote about the extent of poverty in Kuwait at the time:<ref name=do />{{blockquote|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.}}

Al Sabah became Kuwait's dynastic monarchy in 1938.<ref name="sab">{{Cite book|year=1999|title=All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in Middle Eastern Monarchies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GFdEMIkSfwEC&pg=PA68|pages=68–69|author=Michael Herb|publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9780791441671}}</ref> One tradition has it that political power went to the Sabahs as part of an explicit agreement; merchant families focused on the trade while the [[House of Sabah]] and other notable Kuwaiti families provided protection of the city housed within Kuwait's wall. 

==Modern era==

===Independence and early state-building (1946–89)===
{{See also|1983–1988 Kuwait terror attacks}}
Between 1946 and 1982, Kuwait experienced a period of prosperity driven by oil and its liberal cultural atmosphere; this period is called the "golden era".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gonzales |first=Desi |date=November–December 2014 |title=Acquiring Modernity: Kuwait at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition |url=http://www.artpapers.org/feature_articles/feature3_2014_1112.html |journal=[[Art Papers]] |access-date=29 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426171107/http://www.artpapers.org/feature_articles/feature3_2014_1112.html |archive-date=26 April 2017 }}</ref><ref name=venezia>{{cite book |url={{google books|201yBgAAQBAJ|page=7|plainurl=yes}} |title=Acquiring Modernity: Kuwait's Modern Era Between Memory and Forgetting  |date=2014 |page=7 |publisher=National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters |isbn=9789990604238}}</ref><ref name=pavilion>{{cite journal |editor-first=Farah |editor-last=Al-Nakib | url= https://www.academia.edu/8186917 |title=Kuwait's Modernity Between Memory and Forgetting |website=Academia.edu |date=2014 |page=7}}</ref><ref name=farid>{{cite web |author=[[Alia Farid]] |url=http://aliafarid.net/Art-Papers |title=Acquiring Modernity: Kuwait at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition |website=aliafarid.net |date=2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221184242/http://aliafarid.net/Art-Papers |archive-date=21 February 2015}}</ref> In 1946, crude oil was exported for the first time. In 1950, a major public-work programme allowed Kuwaitis to enjoy a modern standard of living. By 1952, the country became the largest oil exporter in the Persian Gulf. This massive growth attracted many foreign workers, especially from Palestine, Egypt, Iran, and India.

In June 1961, Kuwait became independent with the end of the [[Sheikhdom of Kuwait|British protectorate]] and the sheikh [[Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah]] became an Emir. Under the terms of the newly drafted [[Constitution of Kuwait|constitution]], Kuwait held its first [[Kuwaiti parliamentary election, 1963|parliamentary elections in 1963]]. Kuwait was the first [[Arab States of the Persian Gulf|Arab state in the Persian Gulf]] to establish a constitution and parliament.

[[File:HMS Victorious (R38) aerial c1959.jpeg|thumb| [[HMS Victorious (R38)|HMS ''Victorious'']] taking part in [[Operation Vantage]] in July 1961]]
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.<ref name=rrgp>{{cite web|last1=James Paul & Martin Spirit|last2=Robinson|first2=Peter|title=Kuwait: The first crisis 1961|work=Riots, Rebellions, Gunboats and Peacekeepers|year=2008|url=http://www.britains-smallwars.com/RRGP/Kuwait.htm|access-date=17 Jan 2010|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402192603/http://www.britains-smallwars.com/RRGP/Kuwait.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=cia>{{cite web|last=Mobley|first=Richard A.|title=Gauging the Iraqi Threat to Kuwait in the 1960s - UK Indications and Warning|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|date=2007–2008|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/fall_winter_2001/article03.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613112002/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/fall_winter_2001/article03.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 June 2007|access-date=17 Jan 2010}}</ref><ref>Helene von Bismarck, "The Kuwait Crisis of 1961 and its Consequences for Great Britain's Persian Gulf Policy", in ''British Scholar'', vol. II, no. 1 (September 2009) pp. 75-96</ref> The short-lived [[Operation Vantage]] crisis evolved in July 1961, as the Iraqi government threatened to invade Kuwait and the invasion was finally averted following plans by the Arab League to form an international Arab force against the potential Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.<ref>Helene von Bismarck, "The Kuwait Crisis of 1961 and its Consequences for Great Britain's Persian Gulf Policy" ''British Scholar'', vol. II, no. 1 (September 2009) pp. 75-96</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1961/jun/20/fromthearchive "Independence for Kuwait: UK protection withdrawn" ''The Guardian'', June 20, 1961]</ref> 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.<ref name=rrgp /> Iraqi prime minister [[Abd al-Karim Qasim]] was killed in a coup in 1963 but, although Iraq recognised Kuwaiti independence and 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.<ref name=cia /> A treaty of friendship between Iraq and Kuwait was signed in 1963 by which Iraq recognised the 1932 border of Kuwait.<ref name="Brown">{{cite web|url= https://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/publications/view/?id=49|title=The Iraq-Kuwait boundary dispute: historical background and the UN decisions of 1992 and 1993|author=Harry Brown|publisher=IBRU Boundary and Security Bulletin|date=October 1994|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009014607/https://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/publications/view/?id=49|access-date= 1 April 2020|archive-date=9 October 2020}}</ref> The [[Kuwait-Iraq 1973 Sanita border skirmish]] evolved on 20 March 1973, when Iraqi army units occupied El-Samitah near the Kuwaiti border, which evoked an international crisis.<ref>[https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=178&dt=2472&dl=1345 US diplomatic cable mentioning the incident]</ref>

On 6 February 1974, [[1974 attack on the Japanese Embassy in Kuwait|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|''Laju'' incident]]. Ultimately, the hostages were released, and 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 [[aircraft hijacking|plane hijacking]] in the past and had considered itself safe.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Kuwait was the most developed country in the region.<ref>{{cite news|title=Looking for Origins of Arab Modernism in Kuwait |url=http://hyperallergic.com/191773/looking-for-the-origins-of-arab-modernism-in-kuwait/ |journal=[[Hyperallergic]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Al-Nakib |first=Farah |journal=Built Environment |title=Towards an Urban Alternative for Kuwait: Protests and Public Participation |date=1 March 2014 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=101–117| url= https://www.academia.edu/7913072|doi=10.2148/benv.40.1.101 }}</ref><ref name=index>{{cite web |url=http://gulfartguide.com/essay/cultural-developments-in-kuwait/ |title=Cultural developments in Kuwait |date=March 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021858/http://gulfartguide.com/essay/cultural-developments-in-kuwait/ |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> Kuwait was first Middle East country to diversify its revenue away from oil exports,<ref name=swf>{{cite journal |first=Sam|last=Chee Kong |url=http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article44637.html |title=What Can Nations Learn from Norway and Kuwait in Managing Sovereign Wealth Funds |journal=Market Oracle |date=1 March 2014}}</ref> establishing the [[Kuwait Investment Authority]] as the world's first [[sovereign wealth fund]]. From the 1970s onward, Kuwait scored highest of all Arab countries on the [[Human Development Index]],<ref name=index/> and [[Kuwait University]], founded in 1966, attracted students from neighboring countries. Kuwait's [[Kuwait#Theatre|theatre industry]] was renowned throughout the Arab world.<ref name=venezia/><ref name=index/>

At the time, Kuwait's press was described as one of the [[Freedom of press|freest in the world]].<ref name=review>{{cite news |first=Farah |last=al-Nakib |date=17 September 2014 |url=http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/19265/understanding-modernity_a-review-of-the-kuwait-pav |title=Understanding Modernity: A Review of the Kuwait Pavilion at the Venice Biennale |work=Jadaliyya |publisher= Arab Studies Institute}}</ref> Kuwait was the pioneer in the literary renaissance in the Arab region.<ref name=pioneer>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/191792/reftab/36/t/Kuwait-literary-scene-a-little-complex/Default.aspx |title=Kuwait Literary Scene A Little Complex |quote=A magazine, Al Arabi, was published in 1958 in Kuwait. It was the most popular magazine in the Arab world. It came out it in all the Arabic countries, and about a quarter million copies were published every month. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129040817/http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/191792/reftab/36/t/Kuwait-literary-scene-a-little-complex/Default.aspx |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> In 1958, ''[[Al Arabi Magazine|Al Arabi]]'' magazine was first published, the magazine went on to become the most popular magazine in the Arab world.<ref name=pioneer/> Additionally, Kuwait became a haven for writers and journalists in the region, and many, like the Iraqi poet [[Ahmed Matar]],<ref>{{cite web |first=Jane |last=Kinninmont |url=http://islamicommentary.org/2013/02/jane-kinninmont-the-case-of-kuwait-debating-free-speech-and-social-media-in-the-gulf/ |title=The Case of Kuwait: Debating Free Speech and Social Media in the Gulf |website=ISLAMiCommentary |date=15 February 2013 |access-date=21 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214055949/https://islamicommentary.org/2013/02/jane-kinninmont-the-case-of-kuwait-debating-free-speech-and-social-media-in-the-gulf/ |archive-date=14 February 2017 }}</ref> moved to Kuwait for its strong [[freedom of expression]] laws, which surpassed those of any other country in the region.<ref name=newsmedia>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t4DFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|title=News Media in the Arab World: A Study of 10 Arab and Muslim Countries|page=24|isbn=9781441102393|last1=Gunter|first1=Barrie|last2=Dickinson|first2=Roger|date=2013-06-06|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-first1=Abdulaziz |editor-last1=Sager |editor-first2=Christian |editor-last2=Koch |editor-first3=Hasanain |editor-last3=Tawfiq Ibrahim |url={{google books|FMsuAQAAIAAJ|page=39|plainurl=yes}} |title=Gulf Yearbook 2006-2007 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |location=Dubai, UAE |date=2008 |page=39 |quote=The Kuwaiti press has always enjoyed a level of freedom unparalleled in any other Arab country. }}</ref>

Kuwaiti society embraced [[Westernization|liberal and Western attitudes]] throughout the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{cite book |url={{google books|pN-1AAAAIAAJ|page=61|q=Kuwait+is+a+primary+example+of+a+Muslim+society+which+embraced+liberal+and+Western+attitudes+throughout+the+sixties+and+seventies|plainurl=yes}} |title=Muslim Education Quarterly |publisher=Islamic Academy |date=1990 |volume=8 |page=61 |quote=Kuwait is a primary example of a Muslim society which embraced liberal and Western attitudes throughout the sixties and seventies. }}</ref> Most Kuwaiti women did not wear the [[hijab]] in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Rubin |editor-first=Barry |url={{google books|wEih57-GWQQC|page=306|plainurl=yes}} |title=Guide to Islamist Movements |volume=1 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location=Armonk, New York |date=2010 |page=306 |isbn=9780765641380}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Deborah L. |last=Wheeler |url={{google books|v6aWc8fM1iEC|page=99|plainurl=yes}}  |title=The Internet in the Middle East: Global Expectations And Local Imaginations |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany, New York |page=99 |isbn=9780791465868|year=2006 }}</ref> At Kuwait University, mini-skirts were more common than the hijab.<ref>{{cite news |first=Evan |last=Osnos |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/07/11/in-kuwait-conservatism-a-launch-pad-to-success/ |title=In Kuwait, conservatism a launch pad to success |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=11 July 2004 |quote=In the 1960s and most of the '70s, men and women at Kuwait University dined and danced together, and miniskirts were more common than hijab head coverings, professors and alumni say.}}</ref> 

Oil and the social structure of Kuwait were closely interlinked. According to an authoritative of the region such a structure resembled a form of "new slavery" with a "viciously reactionary character". 90 per cent of the capital generated from oil for investment abroad was concentrated in the hands of eighteen families. The manual as well as a significant section of the managerial workforce was predominantly foreign, mainly Palestinians who were denied Kuwaiti citizenship.<ref>Halliday, Fred 1974. "Arabia Without Sultans" Harmondsworth. pp. 431-434</ref> Major investment was made into developing new architectural projects reflecting a new liberal economy whilst advancing passive cooling and attempts at weaving in local styles and decoration.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fabbri |first1=Roberto |last2=Jackson |first2=Iain |date=2021 |title=Modernity Reloaded. Architectural Practice and the Gulf Cities |url=https://hpa.unibo.it/article/view/14356 |journal=Histories of Postwar Architecture |language=en |issue=8 |pages=4–13 |doi=10.6092/issn.2611-0075/14356 |issn=2611-0075}}</ref>

In August 1976, in reaction to heightened assembly opposition to his policies, the emir suspended four articles of the constitution concerned with political and civil rights (freedom of the press and dissolution of the legislature) and the assembly itself.<ref name="loc">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite encyclopedia|last=Crystal|first=Jill|entry=Kuwait: Constitution|editor-last=Metz|editor-first=Helen Chapin|editor-link=Helen Chapin Metz |entry-url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/frdcstdy.persiangulfstate00metz_0|encyclopedia=Persian Gulf states : country studies|date=1994|publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]]|isbn=0-8444-0793-3|edition=3rd|pages=84–86|oclc=29548413}} }}</ref> In 1980, however, the suspended articles of the constitution were reinstated along with the National Assembly.<ref name="loc" /> In 1982 the government submitted sixteen constitutional amendments that, among other things, would have allowed the emir to declare martial law for an extended period and would have increased both the size of the legislature and the length of terms of office.<ref name="loc" /> In May 1983, the proposals were formally dropped after several months of debate.<ref name="loc" /> Nonetheless, the issue of constitutional revisions continued as a topic of discussion in both the National Assembly and the palace.<ref name="loc" />

In the early 1980s, Kuwait experienced a major [[economic crisis]] after the [[Souk Al-Manakh stock market crash]] and [[1980s oil glut|decrease in oil price]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/18/business/kuwait-s-market-bailout.html|title= KUWAIT'S MARKET BAILOUT |date=18 February 1983|work=[[New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/25/business/kuwait-in-bailout-effort-after-market-collapes.html|title=KUWAIT IN BAILOUT EFFORT AFTER MARKET COLLAPES|date=25 December 1982|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/25/business/kuwait-in-bailout-effort-after-market-collapes.html|title=KUWAIT'S BUSTLING STOCK SOUK|date=5 April 1982|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE4DD1439F933A25750C0A965948260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |title=Kuwait Losses Affect Bahrain |work=The New York Times |date=10 April 1983}}</ref>

During the [[Iran–Iraq War]], Kuwait ardently supported Iraq. As a result, there were [[1983–1988 Kuwait terror attacks|various pro-Iran terror attacks]] across Kuwait, including the 1983 bombings, the attempted assassination of [[Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah|Emir Jaber]] in May 1985, 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.<ref name="s&t">{{cite book|title=Processing and Properties of Advanced Ceramics and Composites|url={{google books|V_uTkJTa4NAC|page=205|plainurl=yes}}|location=Hoboken, New Jersey|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|volume=240|page=205|isbn=978-1-118-74411-6|editor-first1=Narottam P.|editor-last1=Bansal|editor-first2=Jitendra P.|editor-last2=Singh|editor-first3=Song|editor-last3=Ko|editor-first4=Ricardo|editor-last4=Castro|editor-first5=Gary|editor-last5=Pickrell|editor-first6=Navin Jose|editor-last6=Manjooran|editor-first7=Mani|editor-last7=Nair|editor-first8=Gurpreet|editor-last8=Singh|date=1 July 2013}}</ref>

In 1986, the constitution was again suspended, along with the National Assembly.<ref name="loc" /> As with the previous suspension, popular opposition to this move emerged; indeed, the prodemocracy movement of 1989-90 took its name, the Constitutional Movement, from the demand for a return to constitutional life.<ref name="loc" />

After the Iran–Iraq War ended, Kuwait declined an Iraqi request to forgive its US$65 billion debt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_213.shtml|title=Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait; 1990|publisher=Acig.org|access-date=28 June 2010|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006231817/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_213.shtml|archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> An economic rivalry between the two countries ensued after Kuwait increased its oil production by 40 percent.<ref name="autogenerated6">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DejCbO1mvCYC&q=Kuwait+slant+drilling&pg=PA156 |title=The Colonial Present: Afghanistan. Palestine. Iraq. |publisher=Wiley |author=Derek Gregory |access-date=28 June 2010|isbn=978-1-57718-090-6|year=2004}}</ref>

The Iraq–Kuwait dispute also involved historical claims to Kuwait's territory. Kuwait had been a part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s [[Basra Vilayet|province of Basra]], something that Iraq said made Kuwait rightful Iraqi territory.<ref name="simons343344">{{cite book |first=Geoff |last=Simons |title=Iraq: from Sumer to post-Saddam |year=2003 |edition=3 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4039-1770-6}}</ref> Kuwait's ruling dynasty, the [[House of Sabah|Al Sabah family]], had concluded a [[protectorate]] agreement in 1899 that assigned responsibility for Kuwait's foreign affairs to the United Kingdom. The UK drew the border between Kuwait and Iraq in 1922, making Iraq almost entirely landlocked by limiting its access to the Persian Gulf coastline. Kuwait rejected Iraq's attempts to secure further coastline provisions in the region.<ref name="simons343344" /> Iraq accused Kuwait of exceeding its [[OPEC]] quotas for oil production. In order for the cartel to maintain its desired price of $18 per barrel, discipline was required. Kuwait was consistently overproducing; in part to repair infrastructure losses caused by the Iran–Iraq War attacks on Kuwait and to pay for the losses of economic scandals. The result was a slump in the oil price{{snd}}as low as {{convert|10|$/oilbbl|$/m3}}{{snd}}with a resulting loss of $7&nbsp;billion a year to Iraq, equal to its 1989 [[balance of payments]] deficit.<ref name="simons343344" /> Resulting revenues struggled to support the government's basic costs, let alone repair Iraq's damaged infrastructure. Iraq looked for more discipline, with little success.<ref name="simons343344" /> The Iraqi government described it as a form of economic warfare,<ref name="simons343344" /> which it claimed was aggravated by Kuwait [[Directional drilling|slant-drilling]] across the border into Iraq's [[Rumaila oil field]].<ref>Cleveland, William L. ''A History of the Modern Middle East. 2nd Ed'' pg. 464</ref> At the same time, Saddam looked for closer ties with those Arab states that had supported Iraq in the war. This move was supported by the US, who believed that Iraqi ties with pro-Western Gulf states would help bring and maintain Iraq inside the US' sphere of influence.<ref name="simons343344" />

In 1989, it appeared that Iraq–Kuwait relations, strong during the war, would be maintained. A pact of non-interference and non-aggression was signed between the countries, followed by a Kuwaiti-Iraqi deal for Iraq to supply Kuwait with water for drinking and irrigation, although a request for Kuwait to lease Iraq [[Umm Qasr]] was rejected.<ref name="simons343344" /> GCC-backed development projects were hampered by Iraq's large debts, even with the [[demobilization]] of 200,000 soldiers. Iraq also looked to increase arms production so as to become an exporter, although the success of these projects was also restrained by Iraq's obligations; in Iraq, resentment to OPEC's controls mounted.<ref name="simons343344" />

Iraq's relations with its other Arab neighbors were degraded by mounting violence in Iraq against expatriate groups, who were well-employed during the war, by unemployed Iraqis, among them demobilized soldiers. These events drew little notice outside the Arab world because of fast-moving events directly related to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. However, the US did begin to condemn Iraq's human rights record, including the well-known use of torture.<ref name="simons343344" /> The UK also condemned the execution of [[Farzad Bazoft]], a journalist working for the British newspaper ''[[Observer (newspaper)|The Observer]]''. Following Saddam's declaration that "binary chemical weapons" would be used on Israel if it used military force against Iraq, Washington halted part of its funding.<ref name="simons343344" /> A UN mission to the [[Israeli-occupied territories]], where riots had resulted in Palestinian deaths, was [[veto]]ed by the US, making Iraq deeply skeptical of US foreign policy aims in the region, combined with the reliance of the US on Middle Eastern energy reserves.<ref name="simons343344" />

===Gulf War (1990–91)===
{{main|Gulf War|Timeline of Gulf War (1990–1991)}}
Tensions increased further in summer 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]].<ref name="autogenerated6" /> In early July 1990, Iraq complained about Kuwait's behavior, such as not respecting their quota, and openly threatened to take military action. On the 23rd, the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] reported that Iraq had moved 30,000 troops to the Iraq-Kuwait border, and the US naval fleet in the [[Persian Gulf]] was placed on alert. Saddam believed an anti-Iraq conspiracy was developing{{snd}}Kuwait had begun talks with Iran, and Iraq's rival Syria had arranged a visit to Egypt.<ref name="simons343344" /> Upon review by the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], it was found that Syria indeed planned a strike against Iraq in the coming days. Saddam immediately used funding to incorporate central intelligence into [[Syria]] and ultimately prevented the impending air strike. On 15 July 1990, Saddam's government laid out its combined objections to the [[Arab League]], including that policy moves were costing Iraq $1&nbsp;billion a year, that Kuwait was still using the Rumaila oil field, that loans made by the UAE and Kuwait could not be considered debts to its "Arab brothers".<ref name="simons343344" /> He threatened force against Kuwait and the UAE, saying: "The policies of some Arab rulers are American&nbsp;... They are inspired by America to undermine Arab interests and security."<ref>Yousseff M. Ibrahim, [https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/18/business/iraq-threatens-emirates-and-kuwait-on-oil-glut.html "Iraq Threatens Emirates And Kuwait on Oil Glut"] ''New York Times'', 18 July 1990</ref> The US sent [[aerial refuelling]] planes and combat ships to the Persian Gulf in response to these threats.<ref>Michael R. Gordon, [https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/25/world/us-deploys-air-and-sea-forces-after-iraq-threatens-2-neighbors.html "U.S. Deploys Air and Sea Forces After Iraq Threatens 2 Neighbors"] ''New York Times'', 25 July 1990</ref> Discussions in [[Jeddah]] mediated on the Arab League's behalf by Egyptian president [[Hosni Mubarak]], were held on 31 July and led Mubarak to believe that a peaceful course could be established.<ref name="finlan2526">Finlan (2003). pp. 25–26.</ref>
[[File:USAF F-16A F-15C F-15E Desert Storm edit2.jpg|thumb| US and UK jet fighters flying over Kuwait, 1991]]
On the 25th, Saddam met with [[April Glaspie]], the [[United States Ambassador to Iraq|US Ambassador to Iraq]], in Baghdad. The Iraqi leader attacked American policy with regards to Kuwait and the UAE:

{{blockquote|So what can it mean when America says it will now protect its friends? It can only mean prejudice against Iraq. This stance plus maneuvers and statements which have been made has encouraged the UAE and Kuwait to disregard Iraqi rights&nbsp;... If you use pressure, we will deploy pressure and force. We know that you can harm us although we do not threaten you. But we too can harm you. Everyone can cause harm according to their ability and their size. We cannot come all the way to you in the United States, but individual Arabs may reach you&nbsp;... We do not place America among the enemies. We place it where we want our friends to be and we try to be friends. But repeated American statements last year made it apparent that America did not regard us as friends.<ref name="nytimes.com">[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/23/world/confrontation-in-the-gulf-excerpts-from-iraqi-document-on-meeting-with-us-envoy.html "CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; Excerpts From Iraqi Document on Meeting With U.S. Envoy"] ''New York Times'', 23 September 1990</ref>}}

Glaspie replied:

{{blockquote|I know you need funds. We understand that and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. But we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait&nbsp;... Frankly, we can only see that you have deployed massive troops in the south. Normally that would not be any of our business. But when this happens in the context of what you said on your national day, then when we read the details in the two letters of the Foreign Minister, then when we see the Iraqi point of view that the measures taken by the UAE and Kuwait is, in the final analysis, parallel to military aggression against Iraq, then it would be reasonable for me to be concerned.<ref name="nytimes.com" />}}

Saddam stated that he would attempt last-ditch negotiations with the Kuwaitis but Iraq "would not accept death".<ref name="nytimes.com" />

According to Glaspie's own account, she stated in reference to the precise border between Kuwait and Iraq. Glaspie similarly believed that war was not imminent.<ref name="finlan2526" />

[[File:An abandoned Iraqi Type 69 tank on the road into Kuwait City during the Gulf War.JPEG|thumb|Iraqi Type 69 tank on the road into [[Kuwait City]] during the Gulf War]]
The [[Invasion of Kuwait|invasion of Kuwait and annexation by Iraq]] took place on 2 August 1990. The initial [[casus belli]] was claimed to be support for a Kuwaiti rebellion against the Al Sabah family.<ref name="locpgw" />

An Iraqi-backed Kuwaiti puppet leader named [[Alaa Hussein Ali]] was installed as head of the "[[Republic of Kuwait|Provisional Government of Free Kuwait]]." Iraq annexed Kuwait on 8 August. The war was traumatic to both countries.

Kuwaiti civilians founded a local armed {{ill|Kuwaiti Resistance|lt=resistance movement|ar|المقاومة الكويتية}} following the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait.<ref name=IL>{{cite web|url=http://www.netanya.ac.il/ResearchCen/StrategicDialogue/AcademicPub/Documents/IRAN%20stUDY%20book-full.pdf|title=Iran, Israel and the Shi'ite Crescent|work=S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue|pages=14–15|access-date=5 March 2014|archive-date=6 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106055548/http://www.netanya.ac.il/ResearchCen/StrategicDialogue/AcademicPub/Documents/IRAN%20stUDY%20book-full.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/1022103 |title=Saddam's Security Apparatus During the Invasion of Kuwait and the Kuwaiti Resistance |journal=The Journal of Intelligence History |date=Winter 2003 |pages=74–75|last1=Al-Marashi |first1=Ibrahim |volume=3 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/16161262.2003.10555087 |s2cid=157844796 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf |title=Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait |work=Newcastle University |year=2010 |access-date=5 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019130212/https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2013 }}</ref> The Kuwaiti resistance's casualty rate far exceeded that of the coalition military forces and Western hostages.<ref name=resist/> The resistance predominantly consisted of ordinary citizens who lacked any form of training and supervision.<ref name=resist>{{cite journal |url=http://www.meforum.org/238/the-kuwaiti-resistance |title=The Kuwaiti Resistance |journal=[[Middle East Forum]] |date=March 1995|last1=Levins |first1=John M. }}</ref>

The underground resistance was punished by [[summary execution]]s and torture. Almost all Kuwaitis at the time lost some family member. In addition, half the population, including native and foreign-born fled Kuwait to escape persecution.<ref name=locpostwar>{{cite web|last=Crystal|first=Jill|title=Kuwait: Post-War Society|url=http://countrystudies.us/persian-gulf-states/33.htm|work=The Persian Gulf States: A Country Study|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref>

[[George H. W. Bush]] condemned the invasion, and led efforts to drive out the Iraqi forces. Authorized by the [[United Nations Security Council]], an American-led coalition of 34 nations fought the [[Gulf War]] to liberate Kuwait. Aerial bombardments began on 17 January 1991, and after several weeks a U.S.-led United Nations (UN) coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that achieved a complete removal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait in four days.

====Controversies====
{{Main|Aftermath of the Gulf War}}

=====Oil spill=====
{{Main|Gulf War oil spill}}
[[File:KuwaitiOilFires-STS037-152-91-(2).jpg|thumb|Smoke plumes from several Kuwaiti oil spill fires on April 7, 1991, as seen from a space shuttle during [[STS-37]].<ref name="gulflink.osd.mil">{{cite web |url=http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/owf_ii/owf_ii_s04.htm#IV.%20AIR%20POLLUTANTS%20FROM%20OIL%20FIRES%20AND%20OTHER%20SOURCES |title=IV. AIR POLLUTANTS FROM OIL FIRES AND OTHER SOURCES}}</ref><ref name="TAB J – Plume Configurations">{{cite web |url=http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/owf_ii/owf_ii_tabj.htm#TAB%20J%20%E2%80%93%20Plume%20Configurations |title=TAB J – Plume Configurations}}</ref>]]
On 23 January 1991, Iraq dumped {{convert|400|e6USgal|m3}} of [[crude oil]] into the Persian Gulf,{{#tag:Ref|Note: The cited supporting source<ref name=dukemag030403 /> uses the term ''Arabian Gulf'' to name this body of water. This article uses the proper name ''Persian Gulf''. For more information, see the [[Persian Gulf naming dispute]] article.}} causing the largest offshore [[oil spill]] in history at that time.<ref name=dukemag030403>{{cite web|url=http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/030403/oil1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613021006/http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/030403/oil1.html|archive-date=2010-06-13 |title=Duke Magazine-Oil Spill-After the Deluge |author=Jeffrey Pollack |date=Mar–Apr 2003 |work=Duke Magazine |access-date=1 February 2011}}</ref> It was reported as a deliberate natural resources attack to keep US Marines from coming ashore (''Missouri'' and ''Wisconsin'' had shelled Failaka Island during the war to reinforce the idea that there would be an amphibious assault attempt).<ref name="Desert Storm">{{cite web|title=V: "Thunder And Lightning"- The War With Iraq (Subsection:The War at Sea) |work=The United States Navy in "Desert Shield" / "Desert Storm" |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/dstorm/ds5.htm |publisher=[[United States Navy]] |access-date=26 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205022732/http://history.navy.mil/wars/dstorm/ds5.htm |archive-date=5 December 2006 }}</ref> About 30–40% of this came from allied raids on Iraqi coastal targets.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leckie |first= Robert |title=The Wars of America |url=https://archive.org/details/warsofamerica00robe |url-access=registration |publisher=Castle Books |year=1998|isbn=9780785809142 }}</ref>

The land based Kuwait oil spill surpassed the [[Lakeview Gusher]], which spilled nine million barrels in 1910, as the largest oil spill in recorded history.

=====Kuwaiti oil fires=====
{{Main|Kuwaiti oil fires}}
{{See also|Environmental impact of war}}
[[File:BrennendeOelquellenKuwait1991.jpg|thumb|Oil fires in Kuwait in 1991, which were a result of the [[scorched earth]] policy of [[Iraq]]i [[Military of Iraq|military forces]] retreating from Kuwait.]]
The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by the [[Military of Iraq|Iraqi military]] setting fire to 700 oil wells as part of a [[scorched earth]] policy while retreating from Kuwait in 1991 after conquering the country but being driven out by coalition forces. The fires started in January and February 1991, and the last one was extinguished by November.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://earthshots.usgs.gov/Iraq/Iraqtext|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021028200910/http://earthshots.usgs.gov/Iraq/Iraqtext|archive-date=2002-10-28|title="Iraq and Kuwait: 1972, 1990, 1991, 1997." Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change|last=Wellman|first=Robert Campbell|date=14 February 1999|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=27 July 2010}}</ref>

The resulting fires burned uncontrollably because of the dangers of sending in firefighting crews. [[Land mines]] had been placed in areas around the oil wells, and a military cleaning of the areas was necessary before the fires could be put out. Somewhere around {{convert|6|Moilbbl|m3|-4}} of oil were lost each day. Eventually, privately contracted crews extinguished the fires, at a total cost of US$1.5&nbsp;billion to Kuwait.<ref>{{cite book|last=Husain |first=T. |title=Kuwaiti Oil Fires: Regional Environmental Perspectives |year=1995 |publisher=BPC Wheatons Ltd |location=Oxford |page=68}}</ref> By that time, however, the fires had burned for approximately 10 months, causing widespread pollution in Kuwait.

The Kuwaiti Oil Minister estimated between twenty-five and fifty million barrels of unburned oil from damaged facilities pooled to create approximately 300 oil lakes, that contaminated around 40 million tons of sand and earth. The mixture of desert sand, unignited oil spilled and [[soot]] generated by the burning oil wells formed layers of hard "tarcrete", which covered nearly five percent of Kuwait's land mass.<ref>[[NASA|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]], [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] News, [http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/0321kuwaitfire.html ''1991 Kuwait Oil Fires''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150718095123/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/0321kuwaitfire.html |date=18 July 2015 }}, March 21, 2003.</ref><ref name="earthshots.usgs.gov">[[United States Geological Survey]], [http://earthshots.usgs.gov/Iraq/Iraqtext Campbell, Robert Wellman, ed. 1999. ''Iraq and Kuwait: 1972, 1990, 1991, 1997.'' Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change. U.S. Geological Survey. http://earthshots.usgs.gov] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429014811/http://earthshots.usgs.gov/Iraq/Iraqtext |date=April 29, 2012 }}, revised February 14, 1999.</ref><ref name="unep.org">[[United Nations]], [http://www.unep.org/dewa/westasia/data/Knowledge_Bases/Iraq/Reports/UNEPGCIraq1993.pdf ''Updated Scientific Report on the Environmental Effects of the Conflict between Iraq and Kuwait''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728104917/http://www.unep.org/dewa/westasia/data/Knowledge_Bases/Iraq/Reports/UNEPGCIraq1993.pdf |date=28 July 2010 }}, March 8, 1993.</ref>

Cleaning efforts were led by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and the Arab Oil Co., who tested a number of technologies including the use of [[petroleum-degrading bacteria]] on the oil lakes.<ref name="HMM" />

Vegetation in most of the contaminated areas adjoining the oil lakes began recovering by the mid-1990s, but the dry climate has also partially solidified some of the lakes. Over time the oil has continued to sink into the sand, with potential consequences for Kuwait's small groundwater resources.<ref name="TED">{{cite web
| url = http://www.american.edu/TED/kuwait.htm
| title = The Economic and Environmental Impact of the Gulf War on Kuwait and the Persian Gulf
| access-date = February 14, 2007
| date = December 1, 2000
| work = The Trade & Environment Database
| publisher = [[American University]]}}</ref><ref name="HMM">{{cite news |author=Heather MacLeod McClain |title=Environmental impact: Oil fires and spills leave hazardous legacy |url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/gulf.war/legacy/environment/index.html |work=[[CNN]] |year=2001 |access-date=February 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061222103323/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/gulf.war/legacy/environment/index.html |archive-date=December 22, 2006 }}</ref>

=====Highway of Death=====
{{Main|Highway of Death}}
[[File:Demolished vehicles line Highway 80 on 18 Apr 1991.jpg|thumb|Destroyed civilian and military vehicles on the [[Highway of Death]]]]
On the night of 26–27 February 1991, several Iraqi forces began leaving Kuwait on the main highway north of [[Al Jahra]] in a column of some 1,400 vehicles. A patrolling [[Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS|E-8 Joint STARS]] aircraft observed the retreating forces and relayed the information to the DDM-8 air operations center in Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite web|author=John Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/systems/jstars-back.htm |title=E-8 Joint-DEATH STAR [JSTARS] |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref> These vehicles and the retreating soldiers were subsequently attacked by two [[A-10]] aircraft, resulting in a 60&nbsp;km stretch of highway strewn with debris—the Highway of Death. ''New York Times'' reporter Maureen Dowd wrote, "With the Iraqi leader facing military defeat, Mr. Bush decided that he would rather gamble on a violent and potentially unpopular ground war than risk the alternative: an imperfect settlement hammered out by the Soviets and Iraqis that world opinion might accept as tolerable."<ref>{{cite web |last=Chediac |first=Joyce |title=The massacre of withdrawing Soldiers on the highway of death |url=http://deoxy.org/wc/wc-death.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814211443/http://deoxy.org/wc/wc-death.htm |archive-date=14 August 2014}}</ref>

Chuck Horner, Commander of US and allied air operations, has written:

{{blockquote|[By February 26], the Iraqis totally lost heart and started to evacuate occupied Kuwait, but airpower halted the caravan of Iraqi Army and plunderers fleeing toward Basra. This event was later called by the media "The Highway of Death." There were certainly a lot of dead vehicles, but not so many dead Iraqis. They'd already learned to scamper off into the desert when our aircraft started to attack. Nevertheless, some people back home wrongly chose to believe we were cruelly and unusually punishing our already whipped foes.
...<br />
By February 27, talk had turned toward terminating the hostilities. Kuwait was free. We were not interested in governing Iraq. So the question became "How do we stop the killing."<ref>{{Harvnb|Clancy|Horner|1999|pp=499–500}}.</ref>}}

=====Nayriah testimony=====
{{Main|Nayirah testimony}}

The [[Nayirah testimony]] was a false testimony given before the United States [[Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission|Congressional Human Rights Caucus]] in October 1990 by a 15-year-old girl who was publicly identified by only her first name, Nayirah. The testimony was widely publicized in the American media and was cited numerous times by United States senators and President [[George H. W. Bush]] in their rationale to back Kuwait in the Gulf War. In 1992, it was revealed that Nayirah's last name was [[House of Al Sabah|Al-Ṣabaḥ]] ({{langx|ar|نيرة الصباح}}) and that she was the daughter of [[Saud bin Nasir Al-Sabah]], the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States. Furthermore, it was revealed that her testimony was organized as part of the [[Citizens for a Free Kuwait]]  public relations campaign, which was run by the American public relations firm [[Hill & Knowlton]] for the [[Kuwaiti government]]. Following this, al-Sabah's testimony has come to be regarded as a classic example of modern [[atrocity propaganda]].<ref name=csmon>{{cite journal |last=Regan |first=Tom |title=When contemplating war, beware of babies in incubators |journal=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0906/p25s02-cogn.html |access-date=October 31, 2013|date=2002-09-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Morris |first=Al |title=Civilisation Hijacked: Rescuing Jesus from Christianity and the human spirit From Bondage |year=2009 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-1440182426}}</ref>

In her emotional testimony, Nayirah claimed that after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait she had witnessed Iraqi soldiers take babies out of [[Incubator (neonatal)#Incubator|incubator]]s in a Kuwaiti hospital, take the incubators, and leave the babies to die.

Her story was initially corroborated by [[Amnesty International]], a British [[NGO]], which published several independent reports about the killings<ref name="lrb">{{cite news|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v13/n03/alexander-cockburn/right-stuff|title=Alexander Cockburn reviews "An American Life" by Ronald Reagan · LRB 7 February 1991|pages=9|publisher=lrb.co.uk|access-date=September 23, 2014|newspaper=London Review of Books|date=1991-02-07|last1=Cockburn|first1=Alexander}}</ref> and testimony from evacuees. Following the liberation of [[Kuwait]], reporters were given access to the country. An ABC report found that "patients, including premature babies, did die, when many of Kuwait's nurses and doctors ... fled" but Iraqi troops "almost certainly had not stolen hospital incubators and left hundreds of Kuwaiti babies to die."<ref name="Fowler, p. 22">Fowler, p. 22</ref> Amnesty International reacted by issuing a correction, with executive director John Healey subsequently accusing the [[Presidency of George H. W. Bush|Bush administration]] of "opportunistic manipulation of the international human rights movement".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Healey|first1=John|title=Amnesty Responds to President Bush|url=http://newspapers.bc.edu/cgi-bin/bostonsh?a=d&d=bcheights19910128.2.41|access-date=26 May 2015|work=The Heights|issue=1|date=28 January 1991}}</ref>

=====Palestinian exodus from Kuwait=====
{{Main|Palestinian exodus from Kuwait (1990–91)}}
Significant demographic changes occurred in Kuwait as a result of the Gulf War. During the [[Invasion of Kuwait|Iraqi occupation of Kuwait]],<ref name="fra"/> 200,000 Palestinians voluntarily fled Kuwait due to various reasons (fear or persecution,<ref name=fra>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6sWAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67|title=The Palestinian Diaspora|pages=67|quote=During autumn 1990 more than half of the Palestinians in Kuwait fled as a result of fear or persecution.|isbn=9781134496686|last1=Schulz|first1=Helena Lindholm|date=2005-07-27|publisher=Routledge }}</ref> food shortages, medical care difficulties, financial shortages, fear of arrest and mistreatment at roadblocks by Iraqis).<ref name="fra"/><ref name=ir>{{cite web|title=The PLO in Kuwait|url=http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/1457|date=8 May 1991|quote=But in September and October 1990, large numbers of Palestinians began to leave. In addition to the fear of arrest, and their mistreatment at roadblocks by Iraqis, food shortages were becoming serious and medical care difficult. Kuwaitis and Palestinians alike were penniless. They were forced to sell their cars and electrical appliances at improvised markets to anyone who had cash, even to Iraqi civilians coming from Iraq to buy on the cheap. Thus by December 1990, Kuwait's Palestinian population had dwindled from a pre-invasion strength of 350,000 to approximately 150,000.|access-date=28 October 2013|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307074924/https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/1457|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History of Palestine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ju8kNK0RlLIC&pg=PA100|pages=100|last1=Islamkotob}}</ref> After the Gulf War in 1991, nearly 200,000 Palestinians fled Kuwait, partly due to economic burdens, regulations on residence and fear of abuse by Kuwaiti security forces.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the Palestinians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkbzYoZtaJMC&pg=PA290|pages=289–290|isbn=9780816069866|last1=Mattar|first1=Philip|year=2005| publisher=Infobase }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6sWAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67|title=The Palestinian Diaspora| pages=67|quote=Regulations on residence were considerably tightened and the general environment of insecurity triggered a continuous Palestinian exodus.|isbn=9781134496686|last1=Schulz|first1=Helena Lindholm|date=2005-07-27|publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Kuwait: Building the Rule of Law: Human Rights in Kuwait|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XX4qAAAAYAAJ&q=great+exodus|pages=35|quote=There was a great exodus of Palestinians from Kuwait during July and August, partly attributable to fear of abusive actions by the Kuwaiti security forces, but also brought about by economic necessity.|isbn=9780934143493|date=1992-01-01|last1 = Hicks|first1 = Neil| publisher=Lawyers Committee for Human Rights }}</ref>

Prior to the Gulf War, Palestinians numbered 400,000 of [[Demographics of Kuwait|Kuwait's population]] of 2.2 million.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://countrystudies.us/persian-gulf-states/19.htm | title=Kuwait - Population }}</ref> The Palestinians who fled Kuwait were mostly [[Jordanian people|Jordanian citizens]].<ref name=jor>{{cite journal|author1=Yann Le Troquer |author2=Rozenn Hommery al-Oudat |title=From Kuwait to Jordan: The Palestinians' Third Exodus|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|volume=28 |issue=3 |date=Spring 1999|pages=37–51|jstor=2538306 |doi=10.2307/2538306 }}</ref> In 2012, relations resumed and 80,000 Palestinians resided in Kuwait.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/palestinians-open-kuwait-embassy.html|work=Al Monitor|title=Palestinians Open Kuwaiti Embassy|date=23 May 2013}}</ref>

===Aftermath of Gulf War liberation (1991–2006)===
Immediately after liberation in 1991, the United Nations, under [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 687|Security Council Resolution 687]], demarcated the Iraq-Kuwait boundary on the basis of the 1932 and the 1963 agreements between the two states. In November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait, which had been further spelled out in [[United Nations Security Council Resolution|Security Council Resolutions]] [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 773|773]] (1992) and [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 833|833]] (1993).<ref>{{cite web| url = https://undocs.org/S/RES/833(1993)| title = S/RES/833(1993)}}</ref>

Criticism of the [[House of Sabah|Al Sabah]] family in Kuwait became more pronounced following the country's return to sovereignty in 1991.<ref name="loc" /> The Al Sabah family were criticized for their actions during the Iraqi occupation. They were the first to flee Kuwait during the invasion. In early 1992, many press restrictions were lifted in Kuwait.<ref name="loc" /> After the October 1992 election, the National Assembly exercised a constitutional right to review all emiri decrees promulgated while the assembly was in dissolution.<ref name="loc" /> It has been suggested that the United States significantly pressured Kuwait to implement a more "democratic" political system as a condition for the country's liberation in 1991.

The United Nations Security Council has passed nearly 60 resolutions on Iraq and Kuwait since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The most relevant to this issue is Resolution [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 678|678]], passed on 29 November 1990. It authorizes "member states co-operating with the Government of Kuwait ... to use all necessary means" to (1) implement Security Council Resolution [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 660|660]] and other resolutions calling for the end of Iraq's occupation of Kuwait and withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwaiti territory and (2) "restore international peace and security in the area". Resolution [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 678|678]] has not been rescinded or nullified by succeeding resolutions and Iraq was not alleged after 1991 to invade Kuwait or to threaten to do so.

In March 2003, Kuwait became the springboard for the US-led [[invasion of Iraq]]. In preparation for the invasion, 100,000 U.S. troops assembled in [[Kuwait]] by 18 February.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/02/18/sprj.irq.deployment/index.html |title= U.S. has 100,000 troops in Kuwait |publisher= CNN |date= 18 February 2003 |access-date= 29 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108211421/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/02/18/sprj.irq.deployment/index.html |archive-date= 8 November 2012 |url-status= live |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

===Political crisis and economic turmoil (2006–present)===
From 2006 onwards, Kuwait has suffered from chronic political deadlocks and longstanding periods of cabinet reshuffles and dissolutions.<ref name="economic4">{{cite web |author=Ahmed Helal |date=18 November 2020 |title=Kuwait's fiscal crisis requires bold reforms |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/kuwaits-fiscal-crisis-requires-bold-reforms/ |website=[[Atlantic Council]]}}</ref> This has significantly hampered investment and economic reforms in Kuwait, making the country's economy much more dependent on oil.<ref name="economic4" />

On 15 January 2006, Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed died and his crown prince, Sheikh [[Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah|Saad Al-Abdullah]] of the Salem branch was named Emir.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Next in Line: Succession and the Kuwaiti Monarchy|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/2020/08/next-in-line-succession-and-the-kuwaiti-monarchy?lang=en|access-date=2021-09-19|website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|language=en}}</ref> On 23 January 2006, the assembly unanimously voted in favor of Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah abdicating in favor of Sheikh [[Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah|Sabah Al-Ahmed]], citing his illness with a form of dementia.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Ulrichsen|first1=Kristian|last2=Henderson|first2=Simon|date=October 4, 2019|title=Kuwait: A Changing System Under Stress|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/kuwait-changing-system-under-stress-sudden-succession-essay-series|journal=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy}}</ref> Instead of naming a successor from the Salem branch as per convention, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed named his half-brother Sheikh [[Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah|Nawaf Al-Ahmed]] as crown prince and his nephew Sheikh [[Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah|Nasser Al-Mohammed]] as prime minister.<ref name=":3" />

In August 2011, supporters of Sheikh [[Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah]] "discovered" documents that incriminated up to one-third of Kuwaiti politicians in what quickly became the largest political corruption scandal in Kuwaiti history.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Everyone's a loser as Kuwait's "Black Wednesday" leaves opposition weaker and regime foundering {{!}} Gulf States Newsletter|url=https://www.gsn-online.com/article/everyones-loser-kuwaits-black-wednesday-leaves-opposition-weaker-and|access-date=17 October 2020|website=www.gsn-online.com}}</ref> By October 2011, 16 Kuwaiti politicians were alleged to have received payments of $350m in return for their support of government policy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Diwan|first=Kristin Smith|title=Kuwait's constitutional showdown|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/11/17/kuwaits-constitutional-showdown/|access-date=17 October 2020|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US}}</ref>

In December 2013, allies of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad claimed to possess tapes purportedly showing that Sheikh [[Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah]] and [[Jassem Al-Kharafi]] were discussing plans to topple the Kuwaiti government.<ref>{{Cite news|date=18 March 2015|title='Fake' video tape ends Kuwait coup investigation|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31947945|access-date=17 October 2020}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad appeared on local channel [[Al-Watan (Kuwait)|Al-Watan]] TV describing his claims.<ref>{{Cite web|title=فيديو: أحمد الفهد الصباح عبر قناة الوطن: يشرح قصة (الشريط) وكيف تعامل معه: وصلني من مصدر مجهول !|url=https://alziadiq8.com/77818.html|access-date=17 October 2020|website=مدونة الزيادي|language=ar}}</ref>

In March 2014, [[David S. Cohen (attorney)|David S. Cohen]], then [[Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence]], accused Kuwait of funding terrorism.<ref name="extremism">{{Cite web |title=Kuwait: Extremism and Terrorism {{pipe}} Counter Extremism Project |url=https://www.counterextremism.com/countries/kuwait |website=www.counterextremism.com}}</ref> Since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, accusations of [[Kuwait and state-sponsored terrorism|Kuwait funding terrorism]] have been very common and come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports, Western government officials, scholarly research, and renowned journalists.<ref name="isis">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kuwait-top-ally-on-syria-is-also-the-leading-funder-of-extremist-rebels/2014/04/25/10142b9a-ca48-11e3-a75e-463587891b57_story.html|title=Kuwait, ally on Syria, is also the leading funder of extremist rebels|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref name="how">{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/kuwait/11077537/How-our-allies-in-Kuwait-and-Qatar-funded-Islamic-State.html|title=How our allies in Kuwait and Qatar funded Islamic State|website=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref><ref name="carn">{{Cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/commentary/new-kuwaiti-justice-minister-has-deep-extremist-ties-9719|title=New Kuwaiti Justice Minister Has Deep Extremist Ties|author=David Andrew Weinberg|date=16 January 2014}}</ref> From 2014 to 2015, Kuwait was frequently described as the world's [[Kuwait and state-sponsored terrorism|biggest source of terrorism funding]], particularly for [[ISIS]] and [[Al-Qaeda]].<ref name=isis /><ref name="how"/><ref name=carn/>

In April 2014, the Kuwaiti government imposed a total [[media blackout]] to ban any reporting or discussion on the issue.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kuwait orders media blackout on "coup" video|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2014/4/11/kuwait-orders-media-blackout-on-coup-video|access-date=17 October 2020|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}</ref> In March 2015, Kuwait's public prosecutor dropped all investigations into the alleged coup plot and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad read a public apology on Kuwait state television renouncing the coup allegations.<ref>{{Cite news|date=19 November 2018|title=Indicted Kuwaiti Sheikh Steps Aside From I.O.C. (Published 2018)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|agency=The Associated|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/sports/indicted-kuwaiti-sheikh-steps-aside-from-ioc.html|access-date=17 October 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Since then, "numerous associates of his have been targeted and detained by the Kuwaiti authorities on various charges,"<ref name=":1" /> most notably members of the so-called "[[Fintas Group]]" that had allegedly been the original circulators of the fake coup video.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Kuwaiti royals jailed after appeal in social media case fails|url=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/kuwaiti-royals-jailed-after-appeal-in-social-media-case-fails-639130.html|access-date=17 October 2020|website=ArabianBusiness.com|language=en}}</ref>

On 26 June 2015, a [[2015 Kuwait mosque bombing|suicide bombing took place]] at a Shia Muslim mosque in Kuwait. The [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] claimed responsibility for the attack. Twenty-seven people were killed and 227 people were wounded. In the aftermath, a lawsuit was filed accusing the Kuwaiti government of negligence and direct responsibility for the terror attack.<ref name="kuwait.tt">{{Cite web|url=http://alwatan.kuwait.tt/articledetails.aspx?id=570738&yearquarter=20183|title=تفجير مسجد الصادق رفض إلزام الحكومة تعويض المتضررين|language=ar|date=4 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hasanews.com/6534967.html|title=حكم نهائي يُخلي مسؤولية الحكومة الكويتية من تعويض متضرري تفجير مسجد الإمام الصادق {{pipe}} صحيفة الأحساء نيوز|date=4 September 2018|language=ar|access-date=2 October 2021|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922003555/https://www.hasanews.com/6534967.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In December 2015, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad was convicted of "disrespect to the public prosecutor and attributing a remark to the country's ruler without a special permission from the emir's court," issuing a suspended six-month prison sentence and a fine of 1,000 Kuwaiti Dinar. In January 2016, the Kuwaiti appeals court overturned the prior ruling and cleared Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad of all charges.<ref>{{Cite news|date=26 January 2016|title=Kuwaiti court overturns conviction of ruling family member - media|language=pt|work=Reuters|url=https://br.reuters.com/article/uk-kuwait-trial-sheikhahmad-idUKKCN0V411W|access-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020024549/https://br.reuters.com/article/uk-kuwait-trial-sheikhahmad-idUKKCN0V411W|archive-date=20 October 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Ahmed Al-Fahad.jpg|thumb|Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad during a press conference in [[Tehran]]]]
In November 2018, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad, along with four other defendants, were charged in Switzerland with [[forgery]] related to the fake coup video.<ref name="forgery">{{Cite web|date=17 November 2018|title=Powerful Kuwaiti IOC member to be tried in Switzerland for forgery|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181117-powerful-kuwaiti-ioc-member-be-tried-switzerland-forgery|access-date=17 October 2020|work=France 24|language=en}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad temporarily stepped aside from his role at the [[International Olympic Committee]], pending an ethics committee hearing into the allegations.<ref>{{Cite news|date=19 November 2018|title=Indicted Kuwaiti Sheikh Steps Aside From I.O.C. (Published 2018)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/sports/indicted-kuwaiti-sheikh-steps-aside-from-ioc.html|access-date=17 October 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=19 November 2018|title=Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah stands down from IOC amid forgery allegations|url=http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/nov/19/sheikh-ahmad-al-sabah-stands-down-ioc-forgery-allegations-olympic|access-date=20 October 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

In June 2019, government official [[Fahad Al Rajaan]] and his spouse were given life sentences in absentia by the Kuwait criminal court; personal property was confiscated, and they were ordered to repay $82 million, as well as being fined "twice that amount.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/court-sentences-ex-pifss-chief-wife-to-life-in-jail-for-funds-embezzlement/| title=Court sentences ex-PIFSS chief, wife to life in jail for funds embezzlement| date=April 6, 2017| work=Arab Times| access-date=June 15, 2020}}</ref>

In November 2019, former deputy prime minister and minister of interior [[Khaled Al Jarrah Al Sabah|Sheikh Khaled Al Jarrah Al Sabah]] was dismissed from office after minister of defense [[Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah|Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah]] filed a complaint with the Kuwaiti Attorney General alleging embezzlement of 240 million Kuwaiti dinars ($794.5 million) of Kuwait government funds had taken place during Khaled's tenure as minister of defense.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kuwait Defence Minister Shaikh Nasser takes aim at outgoing premier Jaber|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-defence-minister-shaikh-nasser-takes-aim-at-outgoing-premier-jaber-1.67890248|access-date=2021-09-02|website=gulfnews.com|language=en}}</ref>

The [[COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait|COVID-19 pandemic]] has exacerbated Kuwait's economic crisis.<ref name="cashstrapped">{{cite web|url=https://thearabweekly.com/cash-strapped-kuwait-struggles-paying-government-salaries|title=Cash-strapped Kuwait struggles with paying government salaries|date=19 August 2020|website=The Arab Weekly}}</ref> Kuwait's economy faced a budget deficit of $46 billion in 2020.<ref name="undermine_reforms">{{cite web|url=https://mei.edu/publications/kuwaits-fractious-politics-undermine-much-needed-fiscal-measures|title=Kuwait's fractious politics undermine much-needed fiscal measures|date=11 March 2021|website=MEI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/kuwait-emir-urges-parliament-cast-aside-fabricated-conflicts|title=Kuwait emir urges MPs to end conflict and help tackle liquidity crunch|date=15 December 2020|website=The New Arab}}</ref><ref name="economic4"/> Kuwait was downgraded by [[S&P Global Ratings]] two times in less than two years because of declining oil revenue and delayed fiscal reforms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-16/kuwait-credit-rating-cut-for-second-time-in-two-years-by-s-p|title=Kuwait Credit Rating Cut for Second Time in Two Years by S&P|date=16 July 2021|website=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]}}</ref><ref name="toolate">{{cite web|url=https://www.euromoney.com/article/28gk87i7dpxgv6dhweznk/capital-markets/financial-markets-is-it-too-late-for-kuwait|title=Financial markets: Is it too late for Kuwait?|date=30 April 2021|author=Eric Ellis|website=[[Euromoney]]}}</ref>

In July 2020, the [[United States Department of Justice|US Department of Justice]] filed an [[asset forfeiture]] claim against [[The Mountain Beverly Hills]] and other real property in the United States, alleging a group of three Kuwaiti officials, including Sheikh Khaled Al Jarrah, set up unauthorized accounts in the name of the country's Military Attache Office in London, known as the 'Army Fund.' They allegedly funded the accounts with over $100m of Kuwaiti public money and used it for their own purposes.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-07-16|title=Stolen Kuwaiti Money in Beverly Hills "Mountain," U.S. Says|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-16/stolen-kuwaiti-money-behind-beverly-hills-mountain-u-s-says|access-date=2021-09-19}}</ref>

In September 2020, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh [[Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah]] became the 16th Emir of Kuwait and the successor to Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who died at the age of 91.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/30/sheikh-nawaf-al-ahmad-al-sabah-becomes-kuwaits-new-ruling-emir|title=Kuwait swears in new emir after Sheikh Sabah's death|access-date=30 September 2020|website=Aljazeera}}</ref> In October 2020, Sheikh [[Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah]] was appointed as the Crown Prince.<ref name="Al Jazeera 2020">{{cite web|title=Sheikh Meshaal sworn in as Kuwait's new crown prince – Middle East| website=Al Jazeera|date=8 October 2020|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/8/kuwait-parliament-endorses-sheikh-meshaal-as-crown-prince|access-date=16 October 2020}}</ref>

Since January 2021, Kuwait has been experiencing its worst political crisis in many decades.<ref name="AUM">{{cite news|author=Fiona MacDonald|title=This $600 Billion Wealth Fund Got Caught in a Power Struggle |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-20/how-a-600-billion-wealth-fund-got-caught-in-political-crossfire|work=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=19 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="deadlock">{{cite news|author=Courtney Freer|title=Political Gridlock Is Damaging the Kuwaiti Economy|url=https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29617/political-gridlock-is-damaging-the-kuwaiti-economy|date=30 April 2021|website=World Politics Review}}</ref> Kuwait is also facing a looming debt crisis according to various media sources.<ref name="crisis1">{{cite web|url=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/politics-economics/458217-kuwait-facing-immediate-crisis-as-it-seeks-cash-to-plug-deficit|title=Kuwait facing "immediate crisis" as it seeks cash to plug deficit|date=3 February 2021|website=Arabian Business}}</ref><ref name="crisis2">{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/24/when-kuwait-emerged-from-a-monthslong-coronavirus-lockdown-hundr|title=Oil-rich Kuwait faces looming debt crisis|date=24 November 2020|website=Al Jazeera}}</ref><ref name="undermine_reforms"/> Kuwait is widely considered the region's most oil-dependent country with the least amount of economic diversification.<ref name="economic4" /><ref name="toolate" /> According to the World Economic Forum, Kuwait is the least economically developed Gulf country.<ref name="least_developed">{{cite web|date=15 February 2021|title=Expat Exodus Adds To Gulf Region's Economic Diversification|url=https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/research/articles/210215-expat-exodus-adds-to-gulf-region-s-economic-diversification-challenges-11800970|website=[[S&P Global]]}}</ref> Kuwait has the weakest infrastructure in the entire GCC region.<ref name="least_developed" /><ref name="economic4" />

In March 2021, the Kuwaiti ministerial court ordered the detention of Sheikh Khaled Al Jarrah, who was then arrested and imprisoned.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-15|title=Kuwait transfers ex-interior minister to prison pending probe|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210315-kuwait-transfers-ex-interior-minister-to-prison-pending-probe/|access-date=2021-09-02|website=Middle East Monitor|language=en-GB}}</ref>

On April 13, 2021, a Kuwaiti court ordered the detention of former prime minister [[Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah|Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah]] on corruption charges related to the 'Army Fund.'<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|title=Former Kuwaiti premier held on corruption charges|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/former-kuwaiti-premier-held-on-corruption-charges/2207608|website=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref> He is the first former Kuwaiti prime minister to face pre-trial detention over [[Graft (politics)|graft]] charges.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kuwait: Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah detained|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-sheikh-jaber-al-mubarak-al-sabah-detained-1.1618337641631|website=gulfnews.com}}</ref> The crimes allegedly took place during Jaber Al-Sabah's 2001–11 term as defense minister.<ref name="auto4" />

In August 2021, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad attended court in Switzerland alongside three of the other four defendants.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-08-30|title=Trial of Olympic sheikh on forgery charges opens in Geneva|url=https://apnews.com/article/sports-europe-middle-east-geneva-2020-tokyo-olympics-82b934f59092f963bd8895e9f9dea5f5|access-date=2021-08-31|website=AP NEWS|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Olympic official quizzed for 5 hours in Geneva forgery trial|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/olympic-official-quizzed-hours-geneva-forgery-trial-79753447|access-date=2021-09-01|website=ABC News|language=en}}</ref> In September 2021, the Swiss court convicted Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad of [[forgery]] along with the four other defendants.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Farge|first=Emma|date=10 September 2021|title=Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmad convicted of forgery in Geneva trial|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/kuwaits-sheikh-ahmad-convicted-forgery-geneva-trial-2021-09-10/|access-date=}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite news|last=Panja|first=Tariq|date=10 September 2021|title=Olympics Power Broker Convicted in Forgery Case|work=[[New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/sports/soccer/ahmad-al-Sabah-convicted.html}}</ref> He denied wrongdoing and plans to appeal.<ref name=":22"/> 

In December 2023, Sheikh [[Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah]] was appointed as 17th Emir of Kuwait after the death of [[Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf dies at 86, Sheikh Meshaal named successor |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/16/kuwaits-emir-sheikh-nawaf-al-ahmad-al-jaber-al-sabah-dies-at-86-state-tv |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Commons category|History of Kuwait}}
* [[Mesopotamia]]
* [[Dilmun]]
* [[Timeline of Kuwait City]]
* [[List of museums in Kuwait]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Anscombe |first=Frederick F. |title=The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S9E83Enczl4C |access-date=2010-09-23 |year=1997 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-231-10839-3}}
*{{citation |last1=Black |first1=Jeremy |first2=Anthony |last2=Green |title=Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary |publisher=The British Museum * Press |year=1992 |isbn=0714117056}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clancy |first1=Tom |last2=Horner |first2=Chuck |title=Every Man a Tiger: The Gulf War Air Campaign |publisher=Putnam |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-399-14493-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/everymantiger00clan |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last=Slot |first=B. J. |title=Mubarak Al-Sabah: Founder of Modern Kuwait 1896–1915 |year=2005 |publisher=Arabian Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-0-9544792-4-4}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | title=Kuwait and the sea: a brief social and economic history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFHtQwAACAAJ | publisher=Arabian Publishing |last=Al-Hijji |first= Yacoub Yusuf | year=2010 | location=London | isbn=978-0-9558894-4-8}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_FtAAAAMAAJ|title=History of eastern Arabia, 1750–1800: the rise and development of Bahrain and Kuwait|editor=Ahmad Mustafa Abu-Hakima|year=1965|last1=Abu-Hakima|first1=Ahmad Mustafa|publisher=Khayats |isbn=9780866854733}}

{{Kuwait topics}}
{{History of Asia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Kuwait}}
[[Category:History of Kuwait| ]]
[[Category:Persian Gulf]]