Mubarak Al-Sabah cavalry commander of the Military of Kuwait in many operations, including several Ottoman campaigns; most notably: 1871, 1892, and 1894 campaigns into Hasa, Qatar, and southern Iraq. For his long service Mubarak received the title istabl-i amire payesi, “(Rank of) The Grand Equerry of his Imperial Majesty” in August 1879 for a campaign into Qatif and southern Iraq. He was given four more Ottoman honors as reward for his services in the Qatar campaign, though the value of his contributions are disputed. Although Mubarak was widely known for his ties with the British after his ascension to sheikhdom in 1896,
Bahrain administrative reforms of the 1920s in "prosecution of war, piracy and slavery at sea" and Britain was to provide maritime protection. The treaty also recognized the Al Khalifa ruler as an "independent ruler". Six years later, in 1867–8, the British navy intervened after a Bahraini attack on Qatar. After two years, in 1869, they intervened again to end an internal struggle over power, and appointed Shaikh Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa, then aged 21 as ruler of Bahrain. In subsequent years, the British exercised increasing control over Shaikh Isa's communications with foreign powers, especially the Ottomans, who had claims over Bahrain and Qatar. The increasing