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==History==
==History==
{{see also|History of Saudi Arabia}}
{{see also|History of Saudi Arabia}}
{{under construction}}
the history of the Arabian Peninsula goes back to the beginnings of human habitation in Arabia up to 20,000 years ago. The region has twice in world history had a global impact. The first was in the 7th century when it became the cradle of [[Islam]]. The second was from the mid-20th century when the discovery of vast oil deposits propelled it into a key economic and geo-political role. At other times, the region existed in relative obscurity and isolation, although from the 7th century the cities of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] had the highest spiritual significance for the [[Islamic world]], [[Mecca]] being the destination for the [[Hajj]] annual pilgrimage.

For much of its history most of the region has been controlled by a patchwork of tribal rulers.


===Ancient history===
===Ancient history===
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[[File:HistoricCoins.jpg|thumb|Historic coins from [[Failaka Island]], [[Kuwait]].]]
[[File:HistoricCoins.jpg|thumb|Historic coins from [[Failaka Island]], [[Kuwait]].]]
[[File:Panel Almaqah Louvre DAO18.jpg|thumb|Sabaean inscription addressed to the god [[Almaqah]], mentioning five Ancient Yemeni gods, two reigning sovereigns and two governors, 7th century BC.]]
[[File:Panel Almaqah Louvre DAO18.jpg|thumb|Sabaean inscription addressed to the god [[Almaqah]], mentioning five Ancient Yemeni gods, two reigning sovereigns and two governors, 7th century BC.]]
[[File:Thamudi.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Pre-Islamic [[Thamud]] dwellings carved into the cliffs at [[Mada'in Saleh]], Saudi Arabia]]

There is evidence that human habitation in the [[Arabian peninsula]] dates back to about 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.<ref name="Saudi Embassy US Website">[http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/history/ Saudi Embassy (US) Website] retrieved 20 January 2011</ref> However, the harsh climate historically prevented much settlement. In [[pre-Islamic Arabia]], apart from a small number of urban trading settlements, such as [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]], located in the [[Hejaz]] in the west of the peninsula, most of what was to become Saudi Arabia was populated by nomadic tribal societies or uninhabitable desert.

[[Archaeology]] has, however, revealed some early settled cultures: the [[Dilmun]] on the [[Persian Gulf]], and [[Thamud]] north of the [[Hejaz]]. The earliest known events in Arabian history are migrations from the peninsula into neighbouring areas.<ref>Philip Khuri Hitti (2002), History of the Arabs, Revised: 10th Edition</ref>


The Arabian peninsula has long been accepted as the original ''[[Urheimat]]'' of the [[Semitic languages]] by a majority of scholars.<ref>Gray, Louis Herbert (2006) ''Introduction to Semitic Comparative Linguistics''</ref><ref>Courtenay, James John (2009) ''The Language of Palestine and Adjacent Regions''</ref><ref>Kienast, Burkhart. (2001). ''Historische semitische Sprachwissenschaft''.</ref><ref>Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1995) ''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia''</ref>
The Arabian peninsula has long been accepted as the original ''[[Urheimat]]'' of the [[Semitic languages]] by a majority of scholars.<ref>Gray, Louis Herbert (2006) ''Introduction to Semitic Comparative Linguistics''</ref><ref>Courtenay, James John (2009) ''The Language of Palestine and Adjacent Regions''</ref><ref>Kienast, Burkhart. (2001). ''Historische semitische Sprachwissenschaft''.</ref><ref>Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1995) ''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia''</ref>
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There were many civilizations in the Arab Peninsula before Islam. One of them the [[Saba kingdom]]. It was located in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.<ref>Phoenician international center. (2012, 10 15). Retrieved from http://phoenicia.org/sabaeans.html</ref> Also, the [[kingdom of Kinda]] was located in the south of the Saudi capital Ryadh in 547 BC.<ref>A timeline of the arabs . (2012). Retrieved from http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/arabic.html </ref> [[Delmon]] civilization was one of the pre-Islam civilization which was in Bahrain and the east coast of Saudi Arabia.<ref>Countries and their cultures. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Bahrain.html </ref> Moreover, [[Masain Salih]] is a historical place in the north of Saudi Arabia. It belongs to the civilization that was during [[Salih]] time.<ref>Unesco. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1293 </ref>
There were many civilizations in the Arab Peninsula before Islam. One of them the [[Saba kingdom]]. It was located in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.<ref>Phoenician international center. (2012, 10 15). Retrieved from http://phoenicia.org/sabaeans.html</ref> Also, the [[kingdom of Kinda]] was located in the south of the Saudi capital Ryadh in 547 BC.<ref>A timeline of the arabs . (2012). Retrieved from http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/arabic.html </ref> [[Delmon]] civilization was one of the pre-Islam civilization which was in Bahrain and the east coast of Saudi Arabia.<ref>Countries and their cultures. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Bahrain.html </ref> Moreover, [[Masain Salih]] is a historical place in the north of Saudi Arabia. It belongs to the civilization that was during [[Salih]] time.<ref>Unesco. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1293 </ref>


===Medieval history===
===The Rise of Islam===
{{main|Muslim conquests|Islamic Golden Age}}
{{main|Muslim conquests|Islamic Golden Age}}
[[File:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|350px|thumb|Age of the [[Caliph]]s {{legend|#a1584e|Expansion under [[Muhammad]], 622–632/A.H. 1–11}} {{legend|#ef9070|Expansion during the [[Rashidun Empire|Rashidun Caliphate]], 632–661/A.H. 11–40}} {{legend|#fad07d|Expansion during the [[Umayyad]] [[Caliphate]], 661–750/A.H. 40–129}}.]]
[[File:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|350px|thumb|Age of the [[Caliph]]s {{legend|#a1584e|Expansion under [[Muhammad]], 622–632/A.H. 1–11}} {{legend|#ef9070|Expansion during the [[Rashidun Empire|Rashidun Caliphate]], 632–661/A.H. 11–40}} {{legend|#fad07d|Expansion during the [[Umayyad]] [[Caliphate]], 661–750/A.H. 40–129}}.]]
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* Holt (1977a), p.74
* Holt (1977a), p.74
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Islam | encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online | author=L. Gardet | coauthors=J. Jomier | accessdate=2007-05-02}}</ref>
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Islam | encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online | author=L. Gardet | coauthors=J. Jomier | accessdate=2007-05-02}}</ref>

The [[Prophet of Islam]], [[Muhammad]], was born in [[Mecca]] in about 570 and first began preaching in the city in 610, but [[Hijra (Islam)|migrated]] to [[Medina]] in 622. From there he and his companions united the [[tribes of Arabia]] under the banner of [[Islam]] and created a single Arab Muslim religious polity in the [[Arabian peninsula]].
[[File:Tribes english.png|thumb|280px|right|The [[Tribes of Arabia]] at the time of the [[Rise of Islam]] (expandable map)]]
Following Muhammad's death in 632, [[Abu Bakr]] became leader of the Muslims as the first [[Caliph]]. After putting down a rebellion by the Arab tribes (known as the [[Ridda wars]], or "Wars of Apostasy"), Abu Bakr attacked the [[Byzantine Empire]]. On his death in 634, he was succeeded by [[Umar]] as caliph, followed by [[Uthman ibn al-Affan]] and [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]]. The period of these first four caliphs is known as ''al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn (R.A)'': the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun or "rightly guided" Caliphate]]. Under the Rashidun Caliphs, and, from 661, their [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad successors]], the Arabs rapidly expanded the territory under Muslim control outside of Arabia. In a matter of decades Muslim armies decisively defeated the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine army]] and destroyed the [[Sassanid Empire|Persian Empire]], [[Muslim conquests|conquering huge swathes of territory]] from the [[Iberian peninsula]] to India. The political focus of the Muslim world then shifted to the newly conquered territories.<ref>See: Holt (1977a), p.57, Hourani (2003), p.22, Lapidus (2002), p.32, Madelung (1996), p.43, Tabatabaei (1979), p.30–50</ref><ref name="L. Gardet">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Islam|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|author=L. Gardet|coauthors=J. Jomier}}</ref>

Nevertheless, [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] remained the spiritually most important places in the [[Muslim world]]. The [[Qu'ran]] requires every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it, as one of the [[five pillars of Islam]], to make a pilgrimage, or [[Hajj]], to [[Mecca]] during the [[Islamic calendar|Islamic month]] of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]] at least once in his or her lifetime.<ref>Farah, Caesar (1994). Islam: Beliefs and Observances (5th ed.),pp.145–147 ISBN 978-0-8120-1853-0</ref> The [[Masjid al-Haram]] (the Grand Mosque) in [[Mecca]] is the location of the [[Kaaba]], Islam's holiest site, and the [[Masjid al-Nabawi]] (the Prophet's Mosque) in [[Medina]] is the location of [[Muhammad]] tomb; as a result, from the 7th century, [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] became the pilgrimage destinations for large numbers of Muslims from across the [[Islamic world]].<ref>Goldschmidt, Jr., Arthur; Lawrence Davidson (2005). A Concise History of the Middle East (8th ed.), p.48 ISBN 978-0-8133-4275-7</ref>


===The Middle Ages===
Despite its spiritual importance, in political terms Arabia soon became a peripheral region of the [[Islamic world]], in which the most important [[Caliphate|medieval Islamic states]] were based at various times in such far away cities as [[Damascus]], [[Baghdad]], and [[Cairo]].
[[File:Ottoman Empire 1914 h.PNG|thumb|left|200px|The Ottoman Empire in 1914, including nominal and vassal Ottoman territories &ndash; the position in Arabia had largely been the same for the previous 400 years]]

However, from the 10th century (and, in fact, until the 20th century) the [[Hashemite]] [[Sharifs of Mecca]] maintained a state in the most developed part of the region, the [[Hejaz]]. Their domain originally comprised only the holy cities of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] but in the 13th century it was extended to include the rest of the [[Hejaz]]. Although, the Sharifs exercised at most times independent authority in the [[Hejaz]], they were usually subject to the [[suzerainty]] of one of the major Islamic empires of the time. In the Middle Ages, these included the [[Abbasids]] of [[Baghdad]], and the [[Fatimids]], [[Ayyubids]] and [[Mamluks]] of Egypt.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Online: History of Arabia"/>


===Modern history===
===Modern history===

Revision as of 10:37, 8 January 2013

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File:Arahhhbian Peninsula dust SeaWiFS-2.jpg
The Arabian Peninsula.
This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the ISS on a pass from Western Europe to the Arabian Peninsula.
A map of the Arabian peninsula made in 1720 by the German publisher Christoph Weigel

The Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية shibh al-jazīrah al-ʻarabīyah or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻArab) is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia[1] or the Arabian subcontinent,[2] it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 mi2).[3] The area is an important part of the Asian continent and plays a critical geopolitical role of the Middle East and Arab World due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56 and 23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.

Geography

See also: Geography of Saudi Arabia
Africa, Arabian subcontinent (Asia), and Eurasia.

The Arabian Peninsula is located in the Asia continent and bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf on the northeast, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on the east, the Arabian Sea on the southeast and south, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Bab-el-Mandeb strait on the southwest, and the Red Sea on the southwest and west.[4] The northern portion of the peninsula merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear border line, although the northern boundary of the Arabian Peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.[4]

The most prominent feature of the peninsula is desert, but in the southwest there are mountain ranges which receive greater rainfall than the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. Harrat ash Shaam is a large volcanic field that extends from the northwestern Arabian Peninsula into Jordan and southern Syria.[5]

Political boundaries

The Arabian Peninsula.

The peninsula's constituent countries are (clockwise north to south) Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the east, Oman on the southeast, Yemen on the south and Saudi Arabia at the center.[4] The island nation of Bahrain lies off the east coast of the peninsula.

Six countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), also known as the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. This is however a disputed term. Iranians assert that it is a historical and internationally-recognized convention to name it the Persian Gulf, while Arab States, and most notably the six GCC member countries, have been claiming that the Gulf is Arabian since its shallow marine depths are a geological continuity of the Arabian peninsula's Eastern low-lying coasts, from Kuwait to the UAE's Northern Emirates.[6]

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia covers the greater part of the peninsula. The majority of the population of the peninsula live in Saudi Arabia and in Yemen. The peninsula contains the world's largest reserves of oil. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are economically the wealthiest in the region. Qatar, a small peninsula in the Persian Gulf on the larger peninsula, is home of the famous Arabic-language television station Al Jazeera and its English-language subsidiary Al Jazeera English. Kuwait, on the border with Iraq, is an important country strategically, forming one of the main staging grounds for coalition forces mounting the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Population

As of 2000,the estimated population of the Arabian Peninsula is 77,983,936.[7] In the Arab States of the Persian Gulf there are many residents who are non-nationals: in Saudi Arabia they are 10% of the population, in the United Arab Emirates they are 83%, in Qatar they are 80%, in Oman they are 15%, in Bahrain they are 55%, while in Kuwait they are 66%.

Landscape

A caravan crossing ad-Dahna Desert in central Saudi Arabia.
Ras Aljinz, southeastern Arabia (Oman) also known as the 'Turtle Beach'.
AR-Arabian Plate, velocities with respect to Africa in millimeters per year.
Salalah is a famous tourist destination in Arabia for its annual khareef season.

Geologically, this region is perhaps more appropriately called the Arabian subcontinent because it lies on a tectonic plate of its own, the Arabian Plate, which has been moving incrementally away from the rest of Africa (forming the Red Sea) and north, toward Asia, into the Eurasian plate (forming the Zagros mountains). The rocks exposed vary systematically across Arabia, with the oldest rocks exposed in the Arabian-Nubian Shield near the Red Sea, overlain by earlier sediments that become younger towards the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the best-preserved ophiolite on Earth, the Semail ophiolite, lies exposed in the mountains of the UAE and northern Oman.

The peninsula consists of:

  1. a central plateau, the Nejd, with fertile valleys and pastures used for the grazing of sheep and other livestock.
  2. a range of deserts: the Nefud in the north, which is stony; the Rub' Al-Khali or Great Arabian Desert in the south, with sand estimated to extend 600 ft (180 m). below the surface; between them, the Dahna.
  3. stretches of dry or marshy coastland with coral reefs on the Red Sea side (Tihamah).
  4. ranges of mountains, paralleling the Red Sea coast on the west (e.g., Asir province) but also at the southeastern end of the peninsula (Oman). The mountains show a steady increase in altitude westward as they get nearer to Yemen, and the highest peaks and ranges are all located in Yemen. The highest, Jabal Al-Nabi Shu'ayb in Yemen, is 3666 m high.

Arabia has few lakes or permanent rivers. Most areas are drained by ephemeral watercourses called wadis, which are dry except during the rainy season. Plentiful ancient aquifers exist beneath much of the peninsula, however, and where this water surfaces, oases form (e.g., Al-Hasa and Qatif, two of the worlds largest oases) and permit agriculture, especially palm trees, which allowed the peninsula to produce more dates than any other region in the world. In general, the climate is extremely hot and arid, although there are exceptions. Higher elevations are made temperate by their altitude, and the Arabian Sea coastline can receive surprisingly cool, humid breezes in summer due to cold upwelling offshore. The peninsula has no thick forests, although desert-adapted wildlife is present throughout the region.

A plateau more than 2,500 feet (760 m) high extends across much of the Arabian Peninsula. The plateau slopes eastwards from the massive, rifted escarpment along the coast of the Red Sea, to the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf. The interior is characterised by cuestas and valleys, drained by a system of wadis. A crescent of sand and gravel deserts lies to the east.

Land and sea

Dofar road near Salalah.
Coconut palms line corniches of Oman (Al Hafa).
Red sea coral reefs.

Most of the Arabian Peninsula is unsuited to agriculture, making irrigation and land reclamation projects essential.The narrow coastal plain and isolated oases, amounting to less than 1% of the land area, are used to cultivate grains, coffee and tropical fruits.Goat, sheep, and camel husbandry is widespread elsewhere throughout the rest of the Peninsula.Some areas have a summer humid tropical monsoon climate, in particular the Dhofar and Al Mahrah areas of Oman and Yemen. These areas allow for large scale coconut plantations. Much of Yemen has a tropical monsoon rain influenced mountain climate. The plains usually have either a tropical or subtropical arid desert climate or arid steppe climate.The sea surrounding the Arabian Peninsula is generally tropical sea with a very rich tropical sea life and some of the world's largest, undestroyed and most pristine coral reefs. In addition, the organisms living in symbiosis with the Red Sea coral, the protozoa and zooxanthellae, have a unique hot weather adaptation to sudden rise (and fall) in sea water temperature. Hence these coral reefs are not affected by coral bleaching caused by rise in temperature as elsewhere in the indopacific coral sea. The reefs are also unaffected by mass tourism and diving or other large scale human interference. However, some reefs where destroyed in the Persian Gulf, mostly caused by phosphate water pollution and resultant increase in algae growth as well as oil pollution from ships and pipeline leakage.

Terraced fields in Yemen

The fertile soils of Yemen have encouraged settlement of almost all of the land from sea level up to the mountains at 10,000 feet (3,000 m). In the higher reaches elaborate terraces have been constructed to facilitate grain, fruit, coffee, ginger and khat cultivation.

Etymology

Main article: Arab (etymology)

During the Hellenistic period the area was known as Arabia or Aravia (in Greek: Αραβία). The Romans named three regions with the prefix "Arabia", encompassing a larger area than the current term "Arabian Peninsula":

The Arab inhabitants used a north-south division of Arabia: Al Sham-Al Yaman, or Arabia Deserta-Arabia Felix. Arabia Felix had originally been used for the whole peninsula, and at other times only for the southern region. Because its use became limited to the south, the whole peninsula was simply called Arabia. Arabia Deserta was the entire desert region extending north from Arabia Felix to Palmyra and the Euphrates, including all the area between Pelusium on the Nile and Babylon. This area was also called Arabia and not sharply distinguished from the peninsula.[8]

The Arabs and the Ottoman Empire considered the west of the Arabian Peninsula region where the Arabs lived 'the land of the Arabs' – bilad al-Arab (Arabia), and its major divisions were the bilad al-Sham (Syria), bilad al-Yaman (the Land of the southern Peninsula), and Bilad al-Iraq and modern day Kuwait (the Land of the River Banks).[9] The Ottomans used the term Arabistan in a broad sense for the subcontinent itself starting from Cilicia, where the Euphrates river makes its descent into Syria, through Palestine, and on through the remainder of the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas[10]

The provinces of Arabia were: Al Tih, the Sinai peninsula, Hedjaz, Asir, Yemen, Hadramaut, Mahra and Shilu, Oman, Hasa, Bahrian, Dahna, Nufud, the Hammad, which included the deserts of Syria, Mesopotamia and Babylonia.[11][12]

History

See also: History of Saudi Arabia

the history of the Arabian Peninsula goes back to the beginnings of human habitation in Arabia up to 20,000 years ago. The region has twice in world history had a global impact. The first was in the 7th century when it became the cradle of Islam. The second was from the mid-20th century when the discovery of vast oil deposits propelled it into a key economic and geo-political role. At other times, the region existed in relative obscurity and isolation, although from the 7th century the cities of Mecca and Medina had the highest spiritual significance for the Islamic world, Mecca being the destination for the Hajj annual pilgrimage.

For much of its history most of the region has been controlled by a patchwork of tribal rulers.

Ancient history

Main article: Pre-Islamic Arabia
The old part of Sana'a, Yemen.
Historic coins from Failaka Island, Kuwait.
Sabaean inscription addressed to the god Almaqah, mentioning five Ancient Yemeni gods, two reigning sovereigns and two governors, 7th century BC.
File:Thamudi.jpg
Pre-Islamic Thamud dwellings carved into the cliffs at Mada'in Saleh, Saudi Arabia

There is evidence that human habitation in the Arabian peninsula dates back to about 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.[13] However, the harsh climate historically prevented much settlement. In pre-Islamic Arabia, apart from a small number of urban trading settlements, such as Mecca and Medina, located in the Hejaz in the west of the peninsula, most of what was to become Saudi Arabia was populated by nomadic tribal societies or uninhabitable desert.

Archaeology has, however, revealed some early settled cultures: the Dilmun on the Persian Gulf, and Thamud north of the Hejaz. The earliest known events in Arabian history are migrations from the peninsula into neighbouring areas.[14]

The Arabian peninsula has long been accepted as the original Urheimat of the Semitic languages by a majority of scholars.[15][16][17][18]

"Shamir of Dhu-Raydan and Himyar had called in the help of the clans of Habashat for against the kings of Saba; but Ilmuqah granted... the submission of Shamir of Dhu-Raydan and the clans of Habashat."[19]

The historical importance of the Persian Sassanid port, Siraf to ancient trade is only now being realised. Discovered there in past archaeological excavations are ivory objects from east Africa, pieces of stone from India, and lapis from Afghanistan. Sirif dates back to the Parthian era.[20]

Pre-Islam history

There were many civilizations in the Arab Peninsula before Islam. One of them the Saba kingdom. It was located in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.[21] Also, the kingdom of Kinda was located in the south of the Saudi capital Ryadh in 547 BC.[22] Delmon civilization was one of the pre-Islam civilization which was in Bahrain and the east coast of Saudi Arabia.[23] Moreover, Masain Salih is a historical place in the north of Saudi Arabia. It belongs to the civilization that was during Salih time.[24]

The Rise of Islam

Main articles: Muslim conquests and Islamic Golden Age
Age of the Caliphs
  Expansion under Muhammad, 622–632/A.H. 1–11
  Expansion during the Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661/A.H. 11–40
  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750/A.H. 40–129
.

The seventh century saw the introduction of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. The Islamic prophet Muhammad established a new unified polity in the Arabian peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Arab power well beyond the Arabian peninsula in the form of a vast Muslim Arab Empire with an area of influence that stretched from the northwest Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula, to the Pyrenees.

Muhammad began preaching Islam at Mecca before migrating to Medina, from where he united the tribes of Arabia into a singular Arab Muslim religious polity. With Muhammad's death in 632 AD, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community. Umar ibn al-Khattab, a prominent companion of Muhammad, nominated Abu Bakr, who was Muhammad's intimate friend and collaborator. Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph. This choice was disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, had been designated his successor. Abu Bakr's immediate task was to avenge a recent defeat by Byzantine (or Eastern Roman Empire) forces, although he first had to put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode known as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy".[25]

His death in 634 resulted in the succession of Umar as the caliph, followed by Uthman ibn al-Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib. These four are known as al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn ("Rightly Guided Caliphs"). Under them, the territory under Muslim rule expanded deeply into Persian and Byzantine territories.[26]

The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, was born in Mecca in about 570 and first began preaching in the city in 610, but migrated to Medina in 622. From there he and his companions united the tribes of Arabia under the banner of Islam and created a single Arab Muslim religious polity in the Arabian peninsula.

The Tribes of Arabia at the time of the Rise of Islam (expandable map)

Following Muhammad's death in 632, Abu Bakr became leader of the Muslims as the first Caliph. After putting down a rebellion by the Arab tribes (known as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy"), Abu Bakr attacked the Byzantine Empire. On his death in 634, he was succeeded by Umar as caliph, followed by Uthman ibn al-Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib. The period of these first four caliphs is known as al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn (R.A): the Rashidun or "rightly guided" Caliphate. Under the Rashidun Caliphs, and, from 661, their Umayyad successors, the Arabs rapidly expanded the territory under Muslim control outside of Arabia. In a matter of decades Muslim armies decisively defeated the Byzantine army and destroyed the Persian Empire, conquering huge swathes of territory from the Iberian peninsula to India. The political focus of the Muslim world then shifted to the newly conquered territories.[27][28]

Nevertheless, Mecca and Medina remained the spiritually most important places in the Muslim world. The Qu'ran requires every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it, as one of the five pillars of Islam, to make a pilgrimage, or Hajj, to Mecca during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah at least once in his or her lifetime.[29] The Masjid al-Haram (the Grand Mosque) in Mecca is the location of the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, and the Masjid al-Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque) in Medina is the location of Muhammad tomb; as a result, from the 7th century, Mecca and Medina became the pilgrimage destinations for large numbers of Muslims from across the Islamic world.[30]


The Middle Ages

Despite its spiritual importance, in political terms Arabia soon became a peripheral region of the Islamic world, in which the most important medieval Islamic states were based at various times in such far away cities as Damascus, Baghdad, and Cairo.

The Ottoman Empire in 1914, including nominal and vassal Ottoman territories – the position in Arabia had largely been the same for the previous 400 years

However, from the 10th century (and, in fact, until the 20th century) the Hashemite Sharifs of Mecca maintained a state in the most developed part of the region, the Hejaz. Their domain originally comprised only the holy cities of Mecca and Medina but in the 13th century it was extended to include the rest of the Hejaz. Although, the Sharifs exercised at most times independent authority in the Hejaz, they were usually subject to the suzerainty of one of the major Islamic empires of the time. In the Middle Ages, these included the Abbasids of Baghdad, and the Fatimids, Ayyubids and Mamluks of Egypt.[31]

Modern history

Ottoman territories acquired between 1481 and 1683 (See: list of territories).

The provincial Ottoman Army for Arabia (Arabistan Ordusu) was headquartered in Syria, which included Lebanon, Palestine, and the Transjordan region. It was put in charge of Syria, Cilicia, Iraq, and the remainder of the Arabian Peninsula.[32][33] The Ottomans never had any control over central Arabia also known as The Najd region, Oman, or Yemen.

The Damascus Protocol of 1914 provides an illustration of the regional relationships. Arabs living in one of the existing districts of the Arabian peninsula, the Emirate of Hejaz, asked for a British guarantee of independence. Their proposal included all Arab lands south of a line roughly corresponding to the northern frontiers of present-day Syria and Iraq. They envisioned a new Arab state, or confederation of states, adjoining the southern Arabian Peninsula. It would have comprised Cilicia – İskenderun and Mersin, Iraq with Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine.[34]

In the modern era, the term bilad al-Yaman came to refer specifically to the southwestern parts of the peninsula. Arab geographers started to refer to the whole peninsula as 'jazirat al-Arab', or the peninsula of the Arabs.[35]

Late Ottoman rule and the Hejaz Railway

In the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottomans embarked on an ambitious project: the construction of a railway connecting Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire and the seat of the Islamic Caliphate, and Hejaz with its holiest shrines of Islam which are the yearly pilgrimage destination of the Hajj. Another important goal was to improve the economic and political integration of the distant Arabian provinces into the Ottoman state, and to facilitate the transportation of military troops in case of need.

The Hejaz Railway was a narrow gauge railway (1050 mm) that ran from Damascus to Medina, through the Hejaz region of Arabia. It was a part of the Ottoman railway network and was built in order to extend the previously existing line between Istanbul and Damascus (which began from the Haydarpaşa Terminal) all the way to the holy city of Mecca (eventually being able to reach only Medina due to the interruption of the construction works caused by the outbreak of World War I).

The railway was started in 1900 at the behest of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II and was built largely by the Turks, with German advice and support. A public subscription was opened throughout the Islamic world to fund the construction. The railway was to be a waqf, an inalienable religious endowment or charitable trust.[36]

The Arab Revolt and the unification of Saudi Arabia

The major developments of the early 20th century were the Arab Revolt during World War I and the subsequent collapse and partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The Arab Revolt (1916–1918) was initiated by the Sherif Hussein ibn Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Empire and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen. During World War I, the Sharif Hussein entered into an alliance with the United Kingdom and France against the Ottomans in June 1916.

These events were followed by the unification of Saudi Arabia under King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. In 1902 Ibn Saud had captured Riyadh. Continuing his conquests, Abdul Aziz subdued Al-Hasa, the rest of Nejd, and the Hejaz between 1913 and 1926, defeating the Sherif Hussein ibn Ali, and founded the modern state of Saudi Arabia. Ibn Saud was not the first Saudi ruler to control much of Arabia. The house of Saud had been ruling parts of Arabia since the 17th century AD. Two Saudi states were formed and controlled much of Arabia before Ibn Saud was even born. Ibn Saud however, established the third Saudi state.

Oil reserves

The oil boom in Kuwait converted Kuwait City from a small city to a financial hub.

The second major development has been the discovery of vast reserves of oil in the 1930s. Its production brought great wealth to all countries of the region, with the exception of Yemen.

Civil war in Yemen

The North Yemen Civil War was fought in North Yemen between royalists of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen and factions of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1962 to 1970. The war began with a coup d'etat carried out by the republican leader, Abdullah as-Sallal, which dethroned the newly crowned Imam Al-Badr and declared Yemen a republic under his presidency. The Imam escaped to the Saudi Arabian border and rallied popular support.

The royalist side received support from Saudi Arabia, while the republicans were supported by Egypt and the Soviet Union. Both foreign irregular and conventional forces were also involved. The Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, supported the republicans with as many as 70,000 troops. Despite several military moves and peace conferences, the war sank into a stalemate. Egypt's commitment to the war is considered to have been detrimental to its performance in the Six-Day War of June 1967, after which Nasser found it increasingly difficult to maintain his army's involvement and began to pull his forces out of Yemen.

By 1970, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia recognized the republic and a truce was signed. Egyptian military historians refer to the war in Yemen as their Vietnam.[37]

Kuwait and the Gulf War

Demolished military and civil vehicles line Highway 80 in the Gulf War in 1991.

The British proposed a treaty with the Ottoman Empire in 1913 to establish Kuwait as an autonomous kaza. It was a district of the vilayet of Basra. The treaty was never ratified due to the outbreak of World War I. In 1990 Iraq made claims upon Kuwaiti territory, and insisted that the borders had never been properly delimited by the British in 1951.[38]

The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces led to the 1990–91 Gulf War. Egypt, Qatar, Syria and Saudi Arabia joined a multinational coalition that opposed Iraq. Displays of support for Iraq by Jordan and the Palestinians resulted in strained relations between many of the Arab states. After the war, a so-called "Damascus Declaration" formalized an alliance for future joint Arab defensive actions between Egypt, Syria, and the GCC states.[39]

Transport and industry

The extraction and refining of oil and gas are the major industrial activities in the Arabian Peninsula. The region also has an active construction sector, with many cities reflecting the wealth generated by the oil industry. The service sector is dominated by financial and technical institutions, which, like the construction sector, mainly serve the oil industry. Traditional handicrafts such as carpet-weaving are found in rural areas.

See also

References

  1. ^ see page 61 of Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd Edition, entry for Arabian Peninsula
  2. ^ Quaternary Deserts and Climatic Change, A. S. Alsharhan, IGCP Project 349, page 279
  3. ^ http://answers.askkids.com/Weird_Science/what_is_the_world_largest_peninsula
  4. ^ a b c "Arabia". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  5. ^ Weinstein, Y. (1 January 2007). "A transition from strombolian to phreatomagmatic activity induced by a lava flow damming water in a valley". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 159 (1–3): Pages 267–284. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2006.06.015.
  6. ^ A.S. Alsharhan, Z. A. Rizk, A. E. M. Nairn [et al.], 2001, Hydrogeology of an Arid Region, Elsevier.
  7. ^ "[[The World Fact book]]". Central Intelligence Agency. 2007-08-07. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-12. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ See Pilgrimage and Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt, David Frankfurter, BRILL, 1998, ISBN 90-04-11127-1, page 163
  9. ^ A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered, By Kamal Suleiman Salibi, Published by University of California Press, 1988, ISBN 0-520-07196-4, pages 60–61
  10. ^ .see for example Palestine: The Reality, Joseph Mary Nagle Jeffries, Published by Longmans, Green and co., 1939, Page 4]
  11. ^ see Review of Reviews and World's Work: An International Magazine, Albert Shaw ed., The Review of Reviews Corporation, 1919, page 408]
  12. ^ New International Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition, Dodd, Mead, Co., 1914 page 795
  13. ^ Saudi Embassy (US) Website retrieved 20 January 2011
  14. ^ Philip Khuri Hitti (2002), History of the Arabs, Revised: 10th Edition
  15. ^ Gray, Louis Herbert (2006) Introduction to Semitic Comparative Linguistics
  16. ^ Courtenay, James John (2009) The Language of Palestine and Adjacent Regions
  17. ^ Kienast, Burkhart. (2001). Historische semitische Sprachwissenschaft.
  18. ^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1995) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
  19. ^ Stuart Munro-Hay. Aksum: A Civilization of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh: University Press. 1991. pp. 66.
  20. ^ "Foreign Experts Talk of Siraf History". Cultural Heritage News Agency. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
  21. ^ Phoenician international center. (2012, 10 15). Retrieved from http://phoenicia.org/sabaeans.html
  22. ^ A timeline of the arabs . (2012). Retrieved from http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/arabic.html
  23. ^ Countries and their cultures. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Bahrain.html
  24. ^ Unesco. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1293
  25. ^ See:
    • Holt (1977a), p.57
    • Hourani (2003), p.22
    • Lapidus (2002), p.32
    • Madelung (1996), p.43
    • Tabatabaei (1979), p.30–50
  26. ^ See
    • Holt (1977a), p.74
    • L. Gardet. "Islam". Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ See: Holt (1977a), p.57, Hourani (2003), p.22, Lapidus (2002), p.32, Madelung (1996), p.43, Tabatabaei (1979), p.30–50
  28. ^ L. Gardet. "Islam". Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ Farah, Caesar (1994). Islam: Beliefs and Observances (5th ed.),pp.145–147 ISBN 978-0-8120-1853-0
  30. ^ Goldschmidt, Jr., Arthur; Lawrence Davidson (2005). A Concise History of the Middle East (8th ed.), p.48 ISBN 978-0-8133-4275-7
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference Encyclopædia Britannica Online: History of Arabia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ see History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Stanford J. Shaw, Ezel Kural Shaw, Cambridge University Press, 1977, ISBN 0-521-29166-6, page 85
  33. ^ The Politics of Interventionism in Ottoman Lebanon, 1830–1861, by Caesar E. Farah, explains that Mount Lebanon was in the jurisdiction of the Arabistan Army, and that its headquarters was briefly moved to Beirut.
  34. ^ As cited by R, John and S. Hadawi's, Palestine Diary, pp. 30–31, the 'Damascus Protocol' stated: "The recognition by Great Britain of the independence of the Arab countries lying within the following frontiers: North: The Line Mersin_Adana to parallel 37N. and thence along the line Birejek-Urga-Mardin-Kidiat-Jazirat (Ibn 'Unear)-Amadia to the Persian frontier; East: The Persian frontier down to the Persian Gulf; South: The Indian Ocean (with the exclusion of Aden, whose status was to be maintained). West: The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea back to Mersin. The abolition of all exceptional privileges granted to foreigners under the capitulations. The conclusion of a defensive alliance between Great Britain and the future independent Arab State. The grant of economic preference to Great Britain." see King Husain and the Kingdom of Hejaz, By Randall Baker, Oleander Press, 1979, ISBN 0-900891-48-3, pages 64–65
  35. ^ A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered, By Kamal Suleiman Salibi, Published by University of California Press, 1988, ISBN 0-520-07196-4, pages 60–61
  36. ^ King Hussein And The Kingdom of Hejaz, Randall Baker, Oleander Press 1979, ISBN 0-900891-48-3, page 18
  37. ^ Aboul-Enein, Youssef (2004-01-01). "The Egyptian-Yemen War: Egyptian perspectives on Guerrilla warfare". Infantry Magazine. No. Jan–Feb, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
  38. ^ see Richard Schofield, Kuwait and Iraq: Historical Claims and Territorial. Disputes, London: Royal Institute of International Affairs 1991, ISBN 0-905031-35-0 and The Kuwait Crisis: Basic Documents, By E. Lauterpacht, C. J. Greenwood, Marc Weller, Published by Cambridge University Press, 1991, ISBN 0-521-46308-4
  39. ^ Egypt's Bid for Arab Leadership: Implications for U.S. Policy, By Gregory L. Aftandilian, Published by Council on Foreign Relations, 1993, ISBN 0-87609-146-X, pages 6–8
  • Global Nomads – Multi-media website documenting the current perspective of living in a diverse Oil Company Expatriate Community.

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