page_title: History of Bahrain (1783–1971)
section_title: Ruler's authority
hierarchical_section_title: History of Bahrain (1783–1971) / Economy and administration during reign of Isa bin Ali (1869–1923) / Ruler's authority
caption_attribution_description: English: A photograph of Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa (1848 – 1932), the Hakim of Bahrain since 1869 to 1923. Date unknown though likely early 20th century.
context_page_description: The History of Bahrain (1783–1971) covers the history of Bahrain since the invasion of Al Khalifa until the independence from the British Empire.
  Bahrain was a dependency of the Persian Empire when in 1783, the Bani Utbah tribe led by Al Khalifa invaded it from their base in Al Zubarah. The ruler of Al Khalifa was Ahmed bin Muhammad who became known as the conqueror. His successors faced many challenges over the next 75 years, yet they managed to keep Bahrain under their control. Externally, the island was under continuous threats from Oman and Wahhabis, both of which controlled it for short periods. Persians and Ottomans also made several claims over the country. In 1820 and later in 1861, Britain signed peace treaties with Bahrain and acknowledged Al Khalifa as its rulers.
  In 1867, a war erupted between Bahrain and Qatar, leading to British intervention and independence of Qatar from Bahrain. The British appointed a new Al Khalifa ruler, Isa bin Ali. During Isa's reign, there were no external challenges to the country as Britain defended it. He and his family enjoyed absolute powers, ruling over people as subjects and controlling much of the country as feudal estates.
context_section_description: Unlike regular tribal councils, the ruler had a supreme council known as diwan and used physical coercion to collect tax or whatever they wanted from people. In the words of Khuri (1980) the ruler was "the 'government' without offices, the 'administration' without bureaucracy [and] the 'state' without public delegation or consent, standardized law or equity." The autonomy of the ruler was not much different in terms of quality from that of other sheikhs (members of Al Khalifa family) who controlled an estate, except that he had higher quantity of resources and assets. The Ruler controlled all ports and markets, and many estates including Manama and Muharraq, the two largest cities of the country. The administration apparatus at Manama and Muharraq was headed by a high ranking fidawi known as emir and composed of thirty other fidawis. In Riffa, where Sunni Arab tribes lived, the emir was an Al Khalifa member.
  There was no distinction between the ruler's private income and public revenue, instead all public revenues including taxes and rentals were considered private earnings of the ruler. Much of the revenue was spent on ruler's retinue and so little or none at all on infrastructure such as schools and roads, and when it occurred, it was thought of as a personal act of charity. Distant relatives of the ruler were assigned to manage his estates and his brothers and sons were given their own estates in order to avoid internal conflicts. Government-related jobs were exclusive to the Sunnis whereas market-related were confined to the Shia and foreigners. The ruler and most sheikhs lived in Muharraq city and none lived in the Shia villages. Their fidawis and council members followed them wherever they lived.
  Fidawis were the military arm of the authority; their main job was to execute sheikhs orders via physical coercion. They were composed of Baluchis, African slaves and Sunni Arabs who's tribal origin could not be traced. They had sticks and were authorized to interrogate, arrest and punish those deemed wrongdoers. Fidawis arbitrary way of handling law and order was complained about by Bahrainis. Fidawis were also responsible for claiming forced labor, known as sukhra (Arabic: السخرة‎) in which they would round up a random group of adult males from public places such as the market and then assign them using force to a specific task. The men would not be freed until they complete the task, which usually did not require skillful labor and could be finished in no more than two days (e.g. construction).
caption: A portrait of Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa, date unknown.
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