Zubarah (Arabic: الزبارة), also called Al Zubarah or Az Zubarah, is an ancient town that is now in ruins. It is located on the northwestern coast of the Qatar peninsula, in the Al Shamal municipality, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the capital city of Doha. The town was founded by the Bani Utbah tribal group, who moved there from Kuwait in the mid-1700s. In 2013, Zubarah was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Zubarah was once an important center for global trade and pearl fishing. It was located halfway between the Strait of Hormuz and the western part of the Persian Gulf. It is one of the largest and best-preserved examples of an 18th–19th century settlement in the region. The way the town was arranged and built has been preserved in a way that is unique compared to other settlements in the Persian Gulf. This helps people learn about the daily lives, how the town was organized, and the history of the region before oil and gas were discovered in the 20th century.

Zubarah covers an area of about 400 hectares (60 hectares inside the outer town wall). It is Qatar's largest archaeological site. The site includes a fortified town with an older outer wall and a later inner wall, a harbor, a sea canal, two screening walls, Qal'at Murair (Murair Fort), and the more recent Al Zubara Fort.

Etymology

The name Zubarah comes from an Arabic word meaning a raised sand mound or small hill. This is supported by the area's natural land features. The first settlement was built on a raised area that overlooked the sea. This location would have helped people see along the coastline and provided a good position for defense. This meaning matches the use of the Arabic word "zuba (زُبى)," which refers to high ground.

History

During the early Islamic period, trade and commerce grew quickly in northern Qatar. People began building homes along the coast, especially between the towns of Zubarah and Umm Al Maa. A village from the early Islamic period was found near Zubarah.

Between September 1627 and April 1628, a Portuguese naval group led by D. Goncalo da Silveira burned several nearby coastal villages. Zubarah’s growth during this time is linked to people moving there after their homes were destroyed in these attacks.

The origins of Zubarah are debated by historians. A 1986 book called Qatar's Memorial claimed that a self-governing settlement existed in the area before the Bani Utbah tribe arrived. The book cited two documents, but they were later proven to be fake, created by Qatari officials during a dispute with Bahrain over the site’s ownership.

A more widely accepted story says Zubarah’s founding is tied to the Bani Utbah migration. Before 1698, the Bani Utbah, made up of families from the Anaza tribe like the Al Sabah, Al Khalifa, and Al Jalahma, moved from the Najd region of central Arabia because of a long drought. Their journey took them through Al Aflaj, Qatif, and Al Ahsa, eventually reaching Freiha in northwestern Qatar, near where Zubarah would later be built.

After settling in Freiha, the Bani Utbah formed alliances with local Qatari tribes, such as the Al-Maadeed and Al Sulaim. This group became known as the Bani Utbah and later included other families. They built Freiha as a strong coastal town connected to trade routes and pearling waters. After fighting with the Al Musallam tribe, who were part of the Bani Khalid and supported by the Ottoman Empire, the Bani Utbah left for Iraq and later Kuwait in 1716.

In the mid-1700s, likely around the 1760s, several Bani Utbah tribes, including the Al Bin Ali, Al-Maadeed, and Al Jalahmah, returned to Qatar’s northern coast and settled in Zubarah, about 100 meters from their earlier home in Freiha. By this time, the area had become a small but active village. A 1766 document called Lamʿ al-Shihāb fī Sīrat Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb mentions Zubarah as a recognized port. It records that Sheikh Sulayman Al Humaid of the Bani Khalid ordered a trade ban between Uyayna and coastal areas like Zubarah, showing the town’s importance as a trade center.

Later, Sheikh Muhammad bin Khalifa of the Al Khalifa family moved from Kuwait and was invited by Zubarah’s residents, who were part of the Bani Utbah, to live there. At the time, nearby areas like Al Huwaila were controlled by the Al Musallam clan. As the Al Khalifa family’s influence grew, tensions with the Al Musallam increased. The Al Musallam demanded tribute, but Sheikh Muhammad refused, leading to battles. To protect themselves, the Al Khalifa built a strong settlement called Qal’at Murair by 1768. This coastal fortress had walls, towers, and a canal to the sea. Other forts and towers built earlier also existed in the area.

To strengthen his position, Sheikh Muhammad married into powerful families like the Al Bin Ali and Al Bu Kuwara. After refusing to pay taxes, the Al Khalifa attacked Al Huwaila, forcing the Al Musallam to flee to Najd.

After the Bani Khalid were driven out of northern Qatar, the Bani Utbah focused on turning Zubarah into a major port. Its natural harbor and strong defenses made it a key trading center in the Persian Gulf. Merchants from India, Oman, Iraq, and Kuwait traded goods like dates, pearls, spices, and metals through Zubarah.

Removing trade taxes under the Bani Utbah boosted commerce, attracting traders from other Gulf ports. Zubarah’s growth increased further after the Ottoman–Persian War (1775–1776) and the Persian occupation of Basra. Disrupted trade in southern Iraq led many merchants and refugees to move to Zubarah.

One of these new arrivals was the wealthy merchant Muhammad ibn Husayn ibn Rizq al-Ruzayqi and his son Ahmad, who helped develop Zubarah. With the help of Khalifa bin Muhammad, who became leader in 1777, Muhammad built a large residential and commercial complex. Ahmad invited the scholar Uthman ibn Sanad al-Basri to serve as the town’s judge. In his writings, al-Basri described Zubarah’s administration and noted the arrival of other important figures like the theologian Abd al-Djalil al-Tabatabai.

During the 1770s, people from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar moved to Zubarah because of instability in the Gulf, including attacks and disease outbreaks. The conflict between the Bani Khalid and the rising Wahhabi movement also made Zubarah a safer place. Thani bin Mohammed, founder of the House of Thani, was born during this time and later became a successful pearl trader, giving his tribe, the Al-Maadeed, more influence in the town.

Tensions between Zubarah and Persian-ruled Bahrain worsened in 1782 after an attack on the island of Sitra. A servant of the Al Khalifa family named Salem was sent to buy supplies but was killed by local Shi‘a residents. Survivors returned to Zubarah, and Sheikh Ahmad bin Muhammad Al Khalifa protested to Nasr Al-Madhkur, the Persian ruler of Bahrain. When Nasr did not respond, the Al Khalifa attacked Bahrain on September 9, 1782, destroying parts of Manama. A short battle followed, and after three days, the people of Zubarah returned to the mainland with a captured Persian boat used for collecting a treaty.

Geography

Zubarah covers an area of 400 hectares along the northwestern coast of the Qatar peninsula and is about 105 km (65 mi) from Doha, the capital of Qatar. It lies on a low, coastal hill. The two main types of habitats in the area are sabkha and stony desert. The northern and southeastern parts of the site are bordered by sabkhas. In the past, fresh water was very hard to find. To collect water, Murair Fort was built 1.8 km (1.1 mi) to the east of the original settlement, near the edge of the desert. The fort helped people access wells that reached shallow freshwater layers beneath the ground.

Holocene deposits are found in large numbers in the sabkha and mud plain areas near the city ruins and the sea. Most buildings in Zubarah were made using materials from these deposits. An area that includes the city ruins and a project site, known as a proto-sabkha habitat, also has many Holocene fossils. Further inland, where the habitat is a stony, dry desert, Eocene limestone is the main type of rock.

Zubarah Beach is near the archaeological site and is only open to people on guided tours.

Vegetation in Zubarah is limited, but three common seagrass species in the Persian Gulf have been found there. These include Halophila ovalis, Halophila stipulacea, and Halodule uninervis.

In the area of the town, 48 fish species, 40 mollusk species, 17 reptile species, and 170 arthropod species have been recorded. Early studies of Zubarah discovered four new species of tardigrades. Eleven species of Heterotardigrada, a group of tardigrades, have been found in the area. Spiny-tailed lizards are the most common reptile species there. They are often seen on plants. Mesalina brevirostris, a type of short-nosed lizard, is also found in large numbers throughout the area.

Economy and trade

Zubarah was mainly a trading center and a place where people collected pearls. It used its closeness to pearl beds, its large harbor, and its central location along trade routes in the Gulf. The town’s economy relied on the pearl diving season, which happened during the long summer months. People from the interior of Qatar and other parts of the Persian Gulf came to Zubarah to dive for pearls, trade goods, and protect the town while others were at sea.

Boats from Zubarah sailed to pearl beds along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, from Bahrain to the United Arab Emirates. These trips lasted several weeks. Divers worked in pairs: one would dive for about a minute, and the other stayed on the boat to help pull the diver back up with the pearls they found.

Archaeological evidence of pearling includes tools like pearl boxes, diving weights, and small measuring weights used for trading.

During its peak in the late 1700s, Zubarah was a central point in a large trade network. Before cultured pearls were introduced in the early 1900s, pearl trading was the most important industry in the Persian Gulf. It employed up to one-third of the male population in the region. Zubarah, as a major pearling and trading town, influenced the political, social, and cultural history of the Gulf region.

Artifacts found at Zubarah, such as ceramics, coins, and food remains, show its trade connections with places like eastern Asia, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, Africa, Europe, and the Persian Gulf. Diving weights and other items reveal how daily life in the town was connected to pearling and trading. Coffee cups and tobacco pipes found in excavations show how important these items became in the Persian Gulf during the 1700s and 1800s. A carved image of a merchant’s dhow—a traditional wooden boat—on plaster in a building shows how closely the town’s people linked their lives to long-distance trade. Date trading also played a key role in the local economy.

Small storage rooms found near the souq (market) of Zubarah suggest the area was used for trading. The variety of goods found in these rooms shows the souq was the town’s economic and social center. Items like tools made by blacksmiths were sold there.

Historical architecture

The architecture of Zubarah mainly included courtyard houses, a traditional type of Arabic buildings found in the Middle East. These houses had a large central courtyard, with small rooms arranged around it. Most daily activities happened in the courtyard. A portico, or covered walkway, opened onto the courtyard on the south side to provide shade from the sun. The houses were built using soft local stone or limestone from the nearby town of Freiha. The stone was then covered with a thick layer of gypsum plaster. Doorways and niches were decorated with geometric stucco patterns. Housing units had a doorway and a bent corridor to prevent outsiders from seeing inside and to keep sand out. Evidence of temporary shelters, such as tents or huts made from palm leaves, near the beach may have been used by people like pearl fishers and mariners, who were important to Zubarah’s economy.

The largest building complex in Zubarah was about 110 meters by 110 meters (about 360 feet by 360 feet) and was called "the palace." It had the same layout as the homes in the town but was much bigger. Nine connected compounds made up the structure, each with a courtyard and surrounding rooms. Stucco designs decorated the entrances and rooms. Staircases found inside suggest the buildings had multiple floors. The nine compounds were surrounded by a high wall with circular towers at each corner, each able to hold a small cannon. The size and importance of the palace suggest it was used by wealthy and powerful sheikhs who led the town’s social and economic life.

Protecting the town and its wealth was important. In the late 18th century, a large wall was built around the town and its bay in a 2.5-kilometer (1.6-mile) arc. The wall had 22 semi-circular towers placed evenly along its length. It had a parapet with a walkway, likely used by soldiers to operate cannons. Access to the town was limited to a few gates on the land side or through the harbor. There was no wall along the beach, but a strong fort protected the main landing area.

Despite these defenses, Zubarah was attacked several times. Two major attacks happened in 1778 and 1782, ordered by Nasr Al-Madhkur. The town also fought a war with the Banu Kaab of Khuzestan during the late 18th century.

Many date-pressing rooms (madbassat) were found in homes throughout the town. These were small rooms with sloped, ridged floors that led to a corner where a jar was placed. Dates were placed in sacks on the floor, and weights were put on top to press out the juice, creating a sweet syrup called dibs. The jar collected and stored the syrup for later use. In 2014, an excavation revealed the largest date-pressing site found so far, with 27 date presses, including 11 in one building.

Attractions

Zubarah is famous for the Zubarah Fort, built in 1938 and named after the town. The fort follows a traditional design with a square shape, sloping walls, and corner towers. Three towers are round, and the fourth, the southeast tower, is rectangular. All towers have curved, pointed edges on their tops, with the southeast tower having the most openings for defense. The fort’s design shows features from earlier Arab and Gulf fort architecture but uses concrete foundations instead of stone. This marks a change from stone buildings to ones made with cement, even though the design remains traditional.

Originally, the fort was built as a base for the Qatari military and police to protect the northwest coast of Qatar. It was part of a series of forts along the coastline. In 1987, the fort was restored, and some later buildings added to house soldiers were removed. After restoration, the fort became a popular heritage site and briefly housed a local museum. However, because the fort was not a good place to store and display artifacts, the items were moved to Doha in 2010. From 2011 to 2013, the Qatar Museums Authority worked to monitor and repair the fort to keep it in good condition. During this time, parts of the fort were closed to visitors.

The Murair Fort (Qal'at Murair in Arabic) is located 1.65 km east of Zubarah. It was built soon after the town was settled. The fort helped protect Zubarah and secured its main water source: groundwater from shallow wells. Inside the fort’s walls were a mosque, homes, and at least one large well. Around the fort, there were enclosures that suggest the area had fields, plantations, and places to keep animals, showing it was also an agricultural settlement.

Soon after Zubarah was founded, two screening walls were built from the outer town wall toward Qal'at Murair. These walls ran east-west and had round towers placed regularly to improve their defense. The walls likely helped protect the movement of water from the wells inside Qal'at Murair to Zubarah. In the hot summers of the Persian Gulf, water was very valuable. The walls also directed traffic to and from the town across open salt flats.

Tourism

Zubarah was added to UNESCO's World Heritage tentative list in 2008. Since 2009, the site has been studied together by the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project (QIAH) and Copenhagen University. It has also been developed as a protected heritage site. To protect the area, most of the site is surrounded by a fence. Visitors must go through a guard to enter the heritage town.

Before being added to the World Heritage List, the town had no visitor center. Few visitor facilities were available. A small information stand near the Al Zubara Fort in a parking lot gave visitors an overview of the site, fort, and town. Restrooms were located near the fort, but there were no places to buy food or drinks nearby.

On June 22, 2013, UNESCO added the site to its World Heritage List. The UNESCO report noted that the town was special because of how well it was preserved and because it showed how people lived by pearl diving and trade. After being added to the list, the partially restored fort became a visitor center. Some rooms in the fort were used to display information about pearling and astronomy.

Guided tours of the town are available. Schools are including field trips to the site in their history lessons. A self-guided tour is also offered, with signs to help visitors explore on their own. After renovations were completed in 2014, tourism at the site increased quickly. More than 30,000 visitors came in the first three months of 2014, which was a 170% increase compared to the whole year of 2013.

Sports

The town is currently the location of the Tour of Al Zubarah, a men's one-day bicycle race that has a rating of 2.2 from the UCI and is part of the UCI Asia Tour. The event was chosen as the host to gain more media attention for the area, which helps to increase tourism. Additionally, Zubarah is one of the host cities for both the men's and women's Tour of Qatar. This stage of the race is known as one of the most challenging and longest parts of the course.

A horse racing event called the Al Zubarah Cup takes place in the town. A horse breeding farm, which is planned to be one of the largest in the region, is currently under construction there. The project is being funded by the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club.

Developments

The Qatar–Bahrain Friendship Bridge is planned to be the longest fixed link in the world. It will connect the northwest coast of Qatar near Zubarah with Bahrain, specifically south of Manama. The bridge’s location, several kilometers south of Zubarah, was chosen to avoid harming the heritage site. Originally expected to be completed by 2022, the project has faced many delays. In February 2024, during a meeting of the Qatari–Bahraini Follow-up Committee, officials from both countries confirmed they were "taking necessary steps to implement the project."

In 2014, the Public Works Authority announced plans to expand Zubarah Road, a one-lane road leading to the archaeological site. The expansion includes adding three additional lanes.

Archaeology and conservation

In March 1956, the Zubarah site was part of the first Danish expeditions to Qatar. A team from Aarhus University and Moesgård Museum conducted an initial survey of the area. In 1962, Moesgård Museum archaeologist Hans Jørgen Madsen returned to Zubarah and performed additional surveys of the ruins.

The Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) and its earlier organizations carried out two excavation projects in Zubarah. The first occurred in the early 1980s, and the second took place from 2002 to 2003. The 1980s excavations were more detailed than the later ones.

In 2009, the QMA partnered with the University of Copenhagen to launch the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project (QIAH). This ten-year initiative aimed to study archaeological sites, preserve their remains, and prepare them for public viewing. The project was led by QMA’s chairperson, H.E. Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and vice-chairperson, H.E. Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani.

The QIAH project completed a full topographic survey of the Zubarah site, the nearby Murair site, and the Al Zubara Fort. Archaeological work was conducted at Zubarah and Qal`at Murair, along with studies of the surrounding landscape. Many sites from different time periods were identified and recorded, and exploratory excavations were carried out at locations such as Freiha and Fuwayrit.

A team from the University of Hamburg used a 3D scanner to record the architectural remains of Zubarah in great detail. To protect the site, a restoration program was started using special, salt-resistant materials. This work followed UNESCO guidelines and aimed to keep the site’s original features intact. Interactive displays on mobile devices were also added to improve the visitor experience.

Sovereignty disputes

Since the time of Ottoman rule, Qatar and Bahrain have had separate claims over the territory of Zubarah. After the Al Thani family signed the 1868 sovereignty treaty, the first recorded disagreement over ownership happened in 1873. At that time, the Bahraini emir claimed control of Zubarah after receiving false news about a military group planning to attack the area. In 1937, before the Qatari–Bahraini conflict began, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain informed the local political resident about the long-standing dispute. The resident then sent the issue to the political resident in Bushehr. The Bushehr political resident responded by writing:

In 1939, Hamad ibn Isa again wrote to the political resident in Bahrain, informing him that Abdullah Al Thani had built a fort in Zubarah. He argued that the construction was illegal because he believed Bahrain had ownership of the land. In 1944, a meeting mediated by the Saudis led to a settlement. Qatar acknowledged Bahrain’s traditional rights, such as grazing and visiting without formal requirements. However, Abdullah later broke the agreement by building a fort in the town. Relations between the two countries improved in 1950 after Ali Al Thani became ruler.

In 1953, Bahrain renewed its claims over Zubarah by sending students and teachers to the area. They wrote "Bahrain" on the walls of Al Zubara Fort. Bahrain’s Education Department also published maps showing Bahraini control over the northwest coast of the peninsula. In response, Ali Al Thani occupied the fort in 1954 and added police forces there in 1956.

After Qatar gained independence from the British Empire in 1971, Bahrain continued to challenge Qatari ownership of Zubarah. This dispute was resolved in Qatar’s favor in 2001 by a ruling from the International Court of Justice.

The issue of ownership arose again during the Qatar diplomatic crisis. In June 2018, Bahrain’s DERASAT organization held a conference discussing the Al Khalifa family’s historical control of Qatar until 1868. They encouraged the Bahraini government to reassert its claims over Zubarah. In August, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met with the Naim tribe, who are from Zubarah and historically supported the King. He stated, "We will not forget the illegal aggression against Zubarah," referring to Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani’s actions against the Naim tribe in 1937.

In popular culture

The book Dead Six, written by Larry Correia and Micheal Kupari, is a military thriller. Much of the story takes place in an independent and modernized version of Zubarah, which is spelled Zubara.