Kuwait City
The capital of Kuwait on the Gulf coast, grown from an eighteenth-century port town around its old kut (fort).
- Country
- Kuwait
- Region
- Kuwait Bay, northwestern Gulf
- Known for
- Historic pearling and trading port
Overview
Kuwait City is the capital of Kuwait, on Kuwait Bay in the northwestern Gulf. The name is a diminutive of kūt, a word used in the Gulf for a fort or fortified house.
History
The town rose in the twelfth century AH (eighteenth century CE) as a port for pearling, boat-building and caravan trade, and regional histories record the settlement there of the Utub families from whom its later leadership emerged.
Sources
- ياقوت الحموي، معجم البلدان، 626هـ — للسياق التاريخي لسواحل الخليج؛ يُوسَّع من التاريخ المحلي
Last reviewed: 2026-07-14