Qatar has been settled since the Stone Age, the first known inhabitants being Canaanite tribes. The country was later subject to various rulers, including Sargon of Akkad, who reigned about 2335 to 2279 bc, and it was most likely connected with the federation of Dilmun in the 1st millennium bc. Islam swept the peninsula in the 7th century ad, and Qatar then became a part, successively, of the Arab caliphate and the Ottoman Empire. Iranians long held sway in the country, but in the late 18th century Wahhabis from what is now Saudi Arabia took control. They were replaced in the early 19th century by the Thani dynasty, although its rule after the middle of the century was at the sufferance of the Ottoman government. In 1916 Qatar became a British protectorate but continued to be ruled as an absolute monarchy by the Thanis.

Qatar is first mentioned in literature by several 10th-century Arab writers. In the 18th century, when Al Khalifah (the Khalifah family) migrated to Az-Zubarah, in northwestern Qatar, from their homes farther west and north on the Arabian Peninsula, the Persians considered them a threat and in 1783 invaded Qatar. The Al Khalifah defeated them and moved their headquarters to Bahrain Island, ultimately becoming rulers of the independent State of Bahrain and claiming the territory surrounding Az-Zubarah as Bahraini. The rift between the sheikhs of Bahrain and their nominal subjects on Qatar grew, and in 1867 full-scale war broke out. Bahrain, aided by the sheikh of Abu Dhabi, routed the Qataris, and the town of Doha was completely destroyed. In the following year the British, concerned about the unrest in the area and the frequent outbreaks of piracy, installed Muhammad ibn Thani Al Thani, scion of the leading family in Qatar, as ruling sheikh; he signed an agreement referring all matters of dispute between him and his neighbours to the British resident for settlement.

Qatar was proclaimed independent when the British left the gulf area in 1971, and it then joined the United Nations. In 1972 the reigning emir, Ahmad bin Ali al-Thani, was deposed by his cousin Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, who attempted to modernize the country by introducing new industries such as steel and fertilizers. In foreign affairs Qatar has tended to lean close to Saudi Arabia, and it contributed substantially to the Arab struggle against Israel. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Qatar’s troops and air force were part of the 28-nation allied forces and were especially noted for their contributions in the air and on the ground, particularly during the retaking of Khafji.