Although games in one form or another had almost certainly been held earlier, tradition maintains that the first proper Olympics took place in 776 BC at Olympia in the Greek Peleponnese -- hence the competition's name.

CNN: The Ancient Olympics

As is by now well known, the partners of private equity firms such as Blackstone, KKR, Permira, TPC, CVC, BC Partners among many others became wealthy beyond most people's wildest dreams - to the tune of tens of millions of pounds, hundreds of millions of pounds and in some cases billions of pounds.

BBC: The financial lessons of Southern Cross

Dilmun, one of most important ancient civilisations of the region and said to date to the third millennium BC, was a hub on a major trading route between Mesopotamia - the world's oldest civilisation - and the Indus Valley in South Asia.

BBC: Bahrain digs unveil one of oldest civilisations