This book is an edited volume surveying the history of the Persian Gulf from ancient times until the present day. Chapters by leading authorities summarize the internal history of the region and highlight the role outsiders, including the Portuguese, Dutch, Ottomans, British and Americans, have played there. A major theme is the unity and distinct identity of Gulf society and how the Gulf historically has been part of a cosmopolitan Indian Ocean world. Until now, an inability to conceptualize the Gulf's history as a whole has resulted in scholarly attention being focused on small parts of it. This book will instead focus on the society of the entire Gulf littoral and emphasize the connections between the Arab and Persian coasts.