Tylos facts for kids

Bahrain was once known by the ancient Greeks as Tylos. This island was a very important place for trading pearls. A man named Nearchus, who worked for the famous Alexander the Great, explored Tylos and found it was a busy center for this trade.

From about 600 BC to 200 BC, Bahrain was part of the powerful Persian Empire. A Greek historian named Theophrastus wrote that many cotton trees grew on the islands. Tylos was also known for selling special walking sticks that were popular in the ancient city of Babylon. The people of ancient Bahrain, called the Baharna, and the Greek settlers both worshipped a god named Ares.

It's not completely clear if Bahrain was part of the Seleucid Empire, another Greek kingdom that came after Alexander. Alexander the Great had plans to settle Greek people along the eastern coast of the Persian Gulf. In Tylos, the important people spoke Greek, and the island even hosted Greek sports competitions, just like the famous Olympic Games!

Later Empires Rule Tylos

As the power of the Greeks became weaker, Tylos became part of other kingdoms. From around 200 BC until the arrival of Islam in the 600s AD, Bahrain was ruled by two other big empires from Iran: the Parthians and the Sassanids. These empires controlled the region for many centuries, shaping its history and culture.

Images for kids

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  Asia in 600 CE, showing the Sassanid Empire before the Arab conquest.

See also

In Spanish: Tylos para niños