Like the other Arab emirates on the Persian Gulf -
Kuwait,
Bahrain, the
United Arab Emirates, (leaving aside the separate history of
Oman) -
Qatar has been inhabited for
millennia, a part of the
Persian Empire and
Persian Gulf trade route connecting Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Societies retain their tribal structures based on extended family kinships and
clientage. In 1843,Shaikh
Isa Bin Tarif Al Bin Ali and his tribe
Al Bin Ali, moved to the town of Al-Bida ( Known today as Al Doha ) and re established it after the removal of the Al-Sudan Tribe from it. In Al-Bida, Shaikh
Isa Bin Tarif Al Bin Ali, built a wall to the sea from both the East and West
[1] In Al-Bida, Shaikh
Isa Bin Tarif Al Bin Ali was considered as the Shaikh of Al-Bida which at that time meant Shaikh of Qatar since the power was centraliised in Al-Bida. After the death of Shaikh
Isa Bin Tarif Al Bin Ali in 1847,
Thani bin Mohammed, the founder of the Al-Thani family was elected Sheikh of Qatar, where he ruled in Al-Bida (now known as
Doha) in 1850.
The Al Khalifa family of Bahrain occupied the northern part of Qatar until 1868