Kuwait is a country in the Arabian Peninsula, surrounding the Gulf of Kuwait at the head of the Persian Gulf. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Kuwait was a prosperous trade port. During the Ubaid period, Kuwait was the central site of interaction between the peoples of Mesopotamia and Neolithic Eastern Arabia centered in As-Subiya in northern Kuwait; the earliest evidence of human habitation in Kuwait dates back 8000 B. C. where Mesolithic tools were found in Burgan. As-Subiya in northern Kuwait is the earliest evidence of urbanization in the whole Persian Gulf basin area. Mesopotamians first settled in the Kuwaiti island of Failaka in 2000 B. C. Traders from the Sumerian city of Ur ran a mercantile business; the island had many Mesopotamian-style buildings typical of those found in Iraq dating from around 2000 B. C; the Neolithic inhabitants of Kuwait were among the world's earliest maritime traders. One of the world's earliest reed-boats was discovered in northern Kuwait dating back to the Ubaid period.

The earliest recorded mention of Kuwait was in 150 AD in the geographical treatise Geography by Greek scholar Ptolemy. Ptolemy mentioned the Bay of Kuwait as Hieros Kolpos. In 4000 BC until 2000 BC, the bay of Kuwait was home to the Dilmun civilization. Dilmun's control of the bay of Kuwait included Kuwait City's Shuwaikh Port, Umm an Namil Island and Failaka island. At its peak in 2000 BC, the Dilmun empire controlled the trade routes from Mesopotamia to India and the Indus Valley civilization. Dilmun's commercial power began to decline after 1800 BC. Piracy flourished throughout the region during Dilmun's decline. After 600 BC, the Babylonians added Dilmun to their empire. In 4th century BC, the ancient Greeks colonized the bay of Kuwait under Alexander the Great, the ancient Greeks named mainland Kuwait Larissa and Failaka was named Ikaros. According to Strabo and Arrian, Alexander the Great named Failaka Ikaros because it resembled the Aegean island of that name in size and shape. Remains of Greek colonization include Greek temples.

In 224 AD, Kuwait became part of the Sassanid Empire. At the time of the Sassanid Empire, Kuwait was known as Meshan, an alternative name of the kingdom of Characene. Akkaz was a Partho-Sassanian site. In 636 AD, the Battle of Chains between the Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate was fought in Kuwait near the town of Kazma. At the time, Kuwait was under the control of the Sassanid Empire; the Battle of Chains was the first battle of the Rashidun Caliphate in which the Muslim army sought to extend its frontiers. As a result of Rashidun victory in 636 AD, the bay of Kuwait was home to a city known as "Kadhima" or "Kāzimah" in the early Islamic era. Medieval Arabic sources contain multiple references to the bay of Kuwait in the early Islamic period; the city functioned as a trade port and resting place for pilgrims on their way from Iraq to Hejaz. The city was controlled by the kingdom of Al-Hirah in Iraq. In the early Islamic period, the bay of Kuwait was known for being a fertile area; the city was a stop for caravans coming from Persia and Mesopotamia en route to the Arabian Peninsula.

The poet Al-Farazdaq was born in the city. Al-Farazdaq is recognized as one of the greatest classical poets of the Arabs. In 1521, Kuwait was under Portuguese control. In the late 16th century, the Portuguese built a defensive settlement in Kuwait. In 1613, the town of Kuwait was founded in the present-day location of Kuwait City. Kuwait was under the control of the Bani Khalid clan, who built a fishing village in present-day Kuwait Bay; the beginning of the eighteenth century witnessed the contention of Kuwait by the Bani Utub confederation. They migrated to Kuwait in 1682; as a result of successive matrimonial alliances, they were able to wrest control of Kuwait sometime after the death of Barrak Bin Urair and the fall of the Bani Khaled Emirate. The Al Jalahma and Al Khalifa families relocated to Zubarah in 1766, leaving the only remaining Utub of Al Sabah as sole proprietors of Kuwait. In the eighteenth century, Kuwait prospered and became the principal commercial center for the transit of goods between India, Muscat and Arabia.

By the mid 1700s, Kuwait had established itself as the major trading route from the Persian Gulf to Aleppo. During the Persian siege of Basra in 1775—1779, Iraqi merchants took refuge in Kuwait and were instrumental in the expansion of Kuwait's boat-building and trading activities; as a result, Kuwait's maritime commerce boomed. Between the years 1775 and 1779, the Indian trade routes with Baghdad, Aleppo and Constantinople were diverted to Kuwait; the East India Company was diverted to Kuwait in 1792. The East India Company secured the sea routes between Kuwait and the east coasts of Africa. After the Persians withdrew from Basra in 1779, Kuwait continued to attract trade away from Basra; the flight of many of Basra's leading merchants to Kuwait continued to play a significant role in Basra's commercial stagnation well into the 1850s. Regional geopolitical turbulence helped foster economic prosperity in Kuwait in the second half of the 18th century. Kuwait became prosperous due to Basra's instability in the late 18th century.

In the late 18th century, Kuwait functioned as a haven for Basra's merchants fleeing Ottoman government persecution. Kuwait was the center of boat building in the Persian Gulf region. Kuwaiti ship vessels were renowned throughout the Indian Ocean. Kuwaitis developed a reputation as the best sailors in the Persian Gulf. In the 19th century, Kuwait became significant in the horse trade, horses were shipped by the w

La Dame de chez Maxim is a comedy play by the French writer Georges Feydeau which premiered on 17 January 1899 at the Théâtre des Nouveautés in Paris. After taking an innocent night out with his male friends, a respectable man becomes mixed up with a coquette, it was in the style of the writer's other stage farces and has been described as "Feydeau's masterpiece". The play has been adapted into film a number of times beginning with the 1912 silent film La dame de chez Maxim's. Other adaptations, in three different languages, include a 1923 Italian film and a 1933 British version The Girl from Maxim's directed by Alexander Korda. In 2013, a musical version of That Lady from Maxim's, adapted by Bryan Williams was presented at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Maxim's Felicia Hardison. Words at Play: Creative Writing and Dramaturgy. SIU Press, 2005

Eugenio di Savoia was a Condottieri-class light cruiser, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She survived the war but was given as a war reparation to the Hellenic Navy in 1947, she was renamed Elli and served until 1964. Eugenio di Savoia was part of the fourth group of Condottieri-class light cruisers known as the Duca d'Aosta class; the design of the Duca d'Aosta class was based on the Montecuccoli class, with a slight increase in size and a significant increase in armour. The machinery was re-arranged. Eugenio di Savoia was built by Ansaldo and named after Prince Eugene of Savoy; as results of the pact between Franco and Mussolini during the Spanish Civil War, on 13 February 1937, the ship went into action off the coast of Barcelona, bombarding the city and causing 18 deaths. The cruiser joined the 7th cruiser division and went on a circumnavigation of the globe with her sister ship in 1938-39, returning to La Spezia in March 1939. During World War II she fought in the following actions: Battle of Punta Stilo Operation Harpoon - the battle in which she crippled HMS Bedouin finished off by a torpedo bomber.

Operation PedestalShe was hit during an air strike carried out by Liberator bombers while berthed in Napoli on 4 December 1942. Two other cruisers, Raimondo Montecuccoli and Muzio Attendolo were badly hit and the latter sunk. After the armistice in 1943, she was used as a training ship at Suez. After the end of the war, she was transferred to Greece in 1950 as war reparation; the Greek flag was raised in 1951 and the ship was renamed Elli. The ship became the headquarters for the Commander in Chief of the Hellenic Fleet; the ship was moved to Souda Bay in 1959 where she was used as headquarters to the Admiral C-in-C of Cretan and Ionian seas. She served for state visits of King Paul to Constantinople in June 1952, Yugoslavia in September 1955, France in June 1956, Lebanon in May 1958. In 1959 she was moved to Souda Bay, where she was used as headquarters of the Ionian and Cretan Seas Command. Decommissioned in 1965, she was used as a naval prison ship. Certain naval personnel were detained there during the 1967-1974 junta because of their resistance activities.

She was auctioned off in 1973. Brescia, Maurizio. Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8. Chesneau, Roger, ed.. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7. Fraccaroli, Aldo. Italian Warships of World War II. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0002-6. Whitley, M. J.. Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-141-6. Video: Italian newsreel footage of an IMAM Ro.43 reconnaissance floatplane launching from a catapult aboard Eugenio di Savoia can be viewed at I. M. A. M Ro 43 Hidroavion Catapultable Regia Marina