I.

Introduction

Arabian Peninsula, great desert peninsula in extreme south-west Asia, bordered on the north by Jordan and Iraq, on the east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and on the west by the Red Sea. With an area of about 3 million sq km (1,160,000 sq mi) and a population (1989 estimate) of about 32 million, the Arabian Peninsula is one of the most sparsely populated areas of the world. It encompasses the independent nations of Saudi Arabia (which occupies nearly three-quarters of the peninsula), Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, and the island state of Bahrain.

II.

Land and Resources

The peninsula is essentially a vast plateau, bordered on the west and south by mountains that rise steeply from the Red Sea. In the east, the peninsula slopes gently to the Persian Gulf. It contains some of the world's largest sandy desert areas, notably the Rub‘ al Khali ('Empty Quarter') in the south and An Nafūd in the north. The climate is extremely arid; few places receive more than 178 mm (7 in) of rain a year and no permanent streams exist. Hot, dry winds sweep the peninsula, and summer temperatures can reach as high as 54.4° C (130° F). Various minerals, including gold, silver, sulphur, and salt, are produced. The region, however, owes its modern economic life and importance to the vast reserves of oil and natural gas, found mainly in the area around the Persian Gulf. Major cities include Riyadh, Mecca, Medina, Aden, Jiddah, Sana'a, Abu Dhabi, and Kuwait.

III.

History

Until comparatively recent times knowledge of the Arabian Peninsula was limited to that provided by ancient Greek and Roman writers and by early Arab geographers; much of this material was unreliable. In the 20th century, however, archaeological exploration has added considerably to the knowledge of the area.

The earliest known events in Arabian history are migrations from the peninsula into neighbouring areas. About 3500 bc, Semitic-speaking peoples of Arabian origin migrated into the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia, supplanted the Sumerians, and became the Assyro-Babylonians (see Sumer). Another group of Semites left Arabia about 2500 bc and settled along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea; some of these migrants became the Amorites and Canaanites of later times.

A.

Ancient Kingdoms

The better-watered, higher portions of the extreme south-west portion of the Arabian Peninsula supported three early kingdoms. The first, the Minaean, was centred in the interior of what is now Yemen, but probably embraced most of southern Arabia. Although dating is difficult, it is generally believed that the Minaean Kingdom existed from 1200 to 650 bc. The second kingdom, the Sabaean (see Sheba), was founded about 930 bc and lasted until about 115 bc; it probably supplanted the Minaean Kingdom and occupied substantially the same territory. The Sabaean capital and chief city, Ma’rib, probably flourished as did no other city of ancient Arabia, partly because of its controlling position on the caravan routes linking the seaports of the Mediterranean with the frankincense-growing region of the Hadhramaut and partly because a large nearby dam provided water for irrigation. The Sabaean Kingdom was widely referred to as Saba, and it has been suggested that the Queen of Sheba mentioned in the Bible, who visited King Solomon of Israel in Jerusalem in the 10th century bc, was Sabaean. The Himyarites followed the Sabaeans as the leaders in southern Arabia; the Himyarite Kingdom lasted from about 115 bc to about ad 525. In 24 bc the Roman emperor Augustus sent the prefect of Egypt, Aelius Gallus, against the Himyarites, but his army of 10,000, which was unsuccessful, returned to Egypt. The Himyarites prospered in the frankincense, myrrh, and spice trade until the Romans began to open the sea routes through the Red Sea.

B.

From Nabataeans to Persians

Several states are known to have existed in northern Arabia in the pre-Christian and early Christian era. Earliest among these was the Nabataean Kingdom, which for a brief period (about 9 bc to ad 40) extended as far north as Damascus. The ruins in south-west Jordan of Petra, the Nabataean capital city, attest to a high degree of culture. The Nabataean form of writing developed into the Arabic script used in the Koran (Arabic, Quran), the sacred scripture of Islam. Rome gained control of the Nabataean Kingdom in ad 106 and established most of it as the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, which lasted little longer than a century. Other north Arabian states were established by other invading peoples.

In the 3rd century Abyssinians of the Kingdom of Āksum in modern Ethiopia—who had adopted Christianity of the Monophysite type—spread into Arabia, conquering large parts of the south-west. Judaism, too, was introduced into the region. Both religions were established and to a considerable degree supplanted the existing religious beliefs, which were based mainly on astrology and occultism. Late in the following century, Persia, under the Sasanian kings, assumed control of a substantial part of Arabia, particularly of the region occupied by present-day Yemen.

C.

Islam and the Caliphate

The rise of Islam was the most significant event in the history of Arabia. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca about 570 and died in Medina in 632. Mecca became the spiritual centre of the new religion. From 632 to 661 Medina was the political centre of a united Muslim state under the caliphs (vice regents) who followed Muhammad. Arabian armies conquered Syria, Egypt, and Sasanian Persia. After Egypt fell in 642, the tide of Muslim conquest swept west over the whole of northern Africa and then over the Spanish Peninsula. During this period the followers of Muhammad completed the compilation of his divine revelations into the Koran, the first known work in Arabic prose. In 658 the first Umayyad caliph, Muawiyah, removed the caliphate to Damascus and Arabia declined in importance. The rise of the Abbasids after 750 and the shift in the centre of Islam to Baghdad resulted in a further decline.

From the 8th to the early 10th century Arabia was reduced to a province under the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. By the mid-10th century the rule of Baghdad had been successfully contested by the Qarmatians, a new Muslim sect, which controlled all of the Arabian peninsula. Towards the end of the 10th century, the Qarmatians lost their power to various Bedouin tribes. The Arabian peninsula, completely disunited, was divided into numerous petty governments. From 1075 to 1094, however, Arabia acknowledged the spiritual leadership of the Abbasid caliph at Baghdad. In 1258 the Mongols conquered Baghdad, and from that time on Baghdad had no influence over Arabia. In 1269 Mecca and Al Ḩijāz (the Hejaz) came under the control of emirs (Muslim princes) from Egypt. When the Turks conquered Egypt in 1517, they took control of Al Ḩijāz and thereafter exerted considerable power over the rest of the peninsula.

D.

The Wahhabis

The history of the Arabian peninsula from about 1750 to the present is to a great extent the history of the Wahhabis. Under the founder of this religious sect, the stern reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, not only was a great religious revival initiated in the peninsula, but Arabian national spirit was aroused against Turkish domination. The Wahhabis took Mecca from the Turks in 1802 and Medina in 1804. In this period the Wahhabi empire extended to the boundaries of modern Yemen and Oman. Under the leadership of the viceroy of Egypt, however, the Turks regained the two cities in 1812.

The conflict between the Turks and the Wahhabis endured until the end of World War I; in the last quarter of the 19th century there was also considerable warfare between various Wahhabi factions. By 1906 the Wahhabis had come under the leadership of the resourceful and intelligent Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, sultan of Najd, and under his direction the Wahhabi state expanded greatly. During World War I, Ibn Saud cooperated with Great Britain in fighting Turkey. Final Turkish defeat resulted in its expulsion from Al Ḩijāz, Asir, and Yemen. Six years of civil war followed between adherents of Ibn Saud and followers of various other Arabian princes and chieftains. In 1924 and 1925, Ibn Saud conquered Al Ḩijāz, becoming its king in 1926. In 1927 he proclaimed himself king of Al Ḩijāz, and of Najd and its dependencies; in 1932 he gave his two dominions the name of Saudi Arabia. His annexation of the principality of Asir to Al Ḩijāz in 1933 caused a war (March to May 1934) with Yemen. The treaty signed by the two countries on May 20, 1934 provided that Asir and the inland region of Najrān were to remain within Saudi Arabia.

The various small states along the Persian Gulf, meanwhile, came under the influence of Great Britain after the 1850s, becoming protectorates after the 1890s (see Persian Gulf States).

For the subsequent history of Arabia and of its various political divisions and for other information on these states, see Bahrain; Kuwait; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen, Republic of.