[4][5] The name "Manāmah" (without the Al-) was first recorded around the year 730 AH (approximately 1330 AD) during the visit of Turān Shah of Hurmuz to the island.

Evidence of an ancient large rural population was confirmed by one of Alexander the Great's ship captains, during voyages in the Persian Gulf.

[15] In the first century AD, the Roman writer Pliny the Elder wrote of Tylos, the Hellenic name of Bahrain in the classical era, and its pearls and cotton fields.

During this time, Bahrain was engaged in long distance marine trading, evident from the discovery of Chinese coins dating between 600 and 1200 AD, in Manama.

[12] Bahrain, particularly Manama and the nearby settlement of Bilad Al Qadeem, became a centre of Shia scholarship and training for the ulema, it would remain so for centuries.

The ulema would help fund pearling expeditions and finance grain production in the rural areas surrounding the city.

The position of Shaikh al-Islam lay under the jurisdiction of the central Safavid government and as such, candidates were carefully vetted by the Isfahan courts.

During the Safavid era, the islands continued to be a centre for Twelver Shi'ism scholarship, producing clerics for use in mainland Persia.

[19] Additionally, the rich agricultural northern region of Bahrain continued to flourish due to an abundance of date palm farms and orchards.

[17] Another factor that contributed to Bahrain's agricultural wealth was the migration of Shia cultivators from Ottoman-occupied Qatif and al-Hasa, fearing religious persecution, in 1537.

Political instability in the 19th century had disastrous effects on Manama's economy; Invasions by the Omanis in 1800 and by the Wahhabis in 1810–11, in addition to a civil war in 1842 between Bahrain's co-rulers saw the town being a major battleground.

The instability paralysed commercial trade in Manama; the town's port was closed, most merchants fled abroad to Kuwait and the Persian coast until hostilities ceased.

[21] The English scholar William Gifford Palgrave, on a visit to Manama in 1862, described the town as having a few ruined stone buildings, with a landscape dominated with the huts of poor fishermen and pearl-divers.

With the ascension of Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in 1869, Manama became the centre of British activity in the Persian Gulf, though its interests were initially strictly commercial.

A municipal government was established in Manama in 1919, the Customs office was reorganised in 1923 and placed under the supervision of an English businessman, the pearling industry was later reformed in 1924.

[27] Charles Belgrave, from the Colonial office, was appointed in 1926 by the British to carry on further reforms and manage administration as a financial advisor to the King.

[31] During the war, the country served as a strategic airbase between Britain and India as well as hosting RAF Muharraq and a naval base in Juffair.

Though the NUC advocated peaceful demonstrations, buildings and enterprises belonging to Europeans (the British in particular) as well as the main Catholic church in the city and petrol stations, were targeted and set ablaze.

[37] The construction of the Diplomatic Area district in the city's northeast helped facilitate diversification of the country's economy from oil by exploiting the lucrative financial industry.

[38] Religious activism migrated from Manama to the suburban districts of Bani Jamra, Diraz and Bilad Al Qadeem, hotspots of unrest in the 1990s uprising that called for the reinstatement of an elected parliament.

While petroleum has decreased in importance in recent years due to depleting reserves and growth in other industries, it is still the mainstay of the economy.

There is also a large retail sector in the shopping malls around Seef, while the center of Manama is dominated by small workshops and traders.

[44] The role of Manama as a regional port city in the Persian Gulf made it a hub for migrant workers in search of a better living.

[46] In 1904, it was estimated that Manama's population numbered 25,000, out of which half were believed to have been foreigners from Basra, Najd, al-Hasa and Iran, as well as from India and Europe.

The Shia community is represented by the native Arab Baharna, the Hasawis and Qatifis of mainland Arabia and the Persian Ajam.

The widening of roads in the old districts of Manama and the development of a national network linking the capital to other settlements commenced as early as the arrival of the first car in 1914.

[49] The school was, in fact, the brainchild of Shaikh Abdulla, who suggested the idea after returning from post-World War I celebrations in England.

In common with the rest of Bahrain, Manama experiences extreme climatic conditions, with summer temperatures up to 45 °C (113 °F), and winter as low as 7 °C (45 °F) with even hail on rare occasions.

The most pleasant time in Bahrain is spring when sunshine is comparatively low, coupled with mild temperatures moderated by soft breezes.

[55][56] The central areas of Manama are also the main location for Muharram processions in the country, attracting hundreds of thousands of people annually from Bahrain and across the Gulf.