Historically, the region comprising modern-day Kuwait was known by several older names and settlements. In antiquity, the island of Failaka was called Ikaros by the ancient Greeks following Alexander the Great's campaigns. Long before its formal establishment as an independent sheikhdom in the early 18th century, the coastal area and its central port town were frequently referred to as Qurain (meaning "little hill"), a diminutive form derived from the topographical features of the local bay before the modern name Kuwait—derived from an Arabic word meaning a fortress built near water—was officially adopted.