Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa

Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa was born in 1848. Chosen as ruler in 1869 following decades of civil strife and foreign interventions, his remarkable six-decade reign brought long-lasting stability, prosperity, and territorial integrity to Bahrain.

Under his reign, Bahrain became the undisputed global capital of natural pearling, supporting thousands of pearling dhows. In 1919, he sponsored the creation of the Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia School in Muharraq, the very first modern public school in the Gulf. In 1920, he established the Manama Municipality, the first municipal council in the Arabian Peninsula. His historic palace in Muharraq remains a masterpiece of traditional Islamic Gulf architecture.