Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifa

Abdullah Al Khalifa was the son of Ahmad Al Khalifa, the ruler of Bahrain.[1] Abdullah and his elder brother, Salman bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, began to rule the country together in 1796 when their father, Ahmad, died in Manama, and this joint rulership continued until 1821 when Salman died.[3] In 1820 Abdullah signed a treaty with the British authorities which did not entitle him to British protection from the attacks of neighbouring states.[3] During the reign of Abdullah Al Khalifa Bahrain and Egypt signed a treaty in 1839.[4] Due to this agreement he was removed from the office by the British government in 1843.[4] His removal was also a result of the intra-family struggle which caused a civil war in 1842.[3] His successor was Muhammad bin Khalifa Al Khalifa[1] who was Abdullah's great-nephew.[3]

Abdullah Al Khalifa and his sons settled in Dammam island where one of his sons, Mubarak, was serving as the governor, and lived there for a while until the ruler of the Second Saudi state, Faisal bin Turki, made an agreement with Muhammad bin Khalifa Al Khalifa not to assist them.[3] Abdullah died in 1849 in exile, and his descendants have been living in exile since his removal in 1843.[2]