According to historical books, the oldest flag ever created for the Kingdom of Bahrain was only red. In the nineteenth century, by agreement with Great Britain, white was added to the flag color, but without the placement of triangles.

In 1932, the government added a white scalloped stripe to distinguish the flag from the flags of Dubai, Ajman and the old Abu Dhabi flag. During this period, the number of triangles was 28, decreasing in 1972 to eight, referring to the number of wars that took place between the Kingdom of Bahrain and its neighboring countries. On February 17, 2002, the flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain was changed to the form it has today, with only five triangles between the two colors, symbolizing the number of pillars of the Islamic religion.