great desert peninsula, extreme SW Asia, bounded on the N by Jordan and Iraq, on the E by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the S by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and on the W by the Red Sea. With an area of about 3 million sq km (about 1,160,000 sq mi) and a population (1989 est.) of about 32 million, it is one of the most sparsely inhabited areas of the world. It comprises the independent states of Saudi Arabia (which occupies nearly three-quarters of the peninsula), Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and the island state of Bahrain.

LAND AND RESOURCES

The peninsula is essentially a vast plateau, rimmed on the W and S by mountains and sloping gently E to the Persian Gulf. It contains some of the largest sandy desert areas in the world, notably the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) in the S and an-Nafud in the N. The climate is extremely arid, few places receiving more than 178 mm (7 in) of rain a year, and no permanent streams exist. Summer temperatures reach as high as 54.4° C (130° F) in some areas. Various minerals, including gold, silver, sulfur, and salt, are produced. The region, however, owes its modern economic life to the vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas, found largely in the area around the Persian Gulf. Major cities include Riyadh, Mecca, Aden, Sana, Abu Dhabi, and Kuwait.

HISTORY

Until comparatively recent times knowledge of Arabia was limited to that provided by ancient Greek and Roman writers and by a few Arab geographers; a large part of this material was unreliable. Ignorance of Arabia persisted because much of the peninsula was forbidden territory to non-Muslims. 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 neighboring 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. 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.

Ancient Kingdoms.

The better watered, higher portions of southwest Arabia supported three early kingdoms. The first, the Minaean, was centered in the interior of what is now northern 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, 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, Marib, probably flourished as did no other city of ancient Arabia, partly because it was a focal point of caravan routes between seaports of the Mediterranean and 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.

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 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, the holy book 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 4th century the Abyssinians, who had adopted Christianity of the Monophysite type (see MONOPHYSITISM,), spread into Arabia, conquering a large part of it. 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 Sassanid kings, assumed control of a substantial part of Arabia, particularly of the region occupied by present-day Yemen.

Islam and the Caliphate.

The rise of Islam was the most significant event in the history of Arabia.. Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570 and died in Medina in 632. Mecca became the spiritual center of the new religion. From 632 to 661 Medina was the political center of a united Muslim state under the caliphs (vice-regents) who followed Muhammad. Arabian armies conquered Syria, Egypt, and Sassanid Persia. After Egypt fell (642), the tide of Muslim conquest swept west over the whole of northern Africa and then over the Spanish Peninsula. During this period of conquest the Koran was completed and canonized. Upon the removal of the caliphate to Damascus in 658, Arabia became less important. The shift (751) of the center of Islam to Baghdad resulted in a further decline.

From the 8th to the early 10th century Arabia was merely a province under the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. Then the rule of Baghdad was successfully contested by the Qarmatians, a new Muslim sect, who controlled all of Arabia for a time during the 10th century. Toward the end of the 10th century the Qarmatians lost their power to various Bedouin tribes, and Arabia, again completely disunited, was divided among 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 the same year Mecca and al-Hijaz (the Hejaz) region came under the control of emirs (Muslim princes) from Egypt. When the Turks conquered Egypt in 1517, they took control of al-Hijaz and thereafter exerted considerable power in the rest of Arabia.

The Wahhabis.

The history of Arabia from about 1750 to the present time 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 (1703–92), not only was a great religious revival initiated in Arabia, 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. In World War I Ibn Saud cooperated with Great Britain in fighting Turkey. Final Turkish defeat resulted in its expulsion from al-Hijaz, Asir, and Yemen. Six years of civil war followed between adherents of Ibn Saud and followers of various other Arabian princes and chieftains. In 1924–25 Ibn Saud conquered al-Hijaz, becoming its king in 1926. In 1927 he proclaimed himself king of al-Hijaz and of Najd and its dependencies, and in 1932 he gave his two dominions the name of Saudi Arabia. His annexation of the principality of Asir to al-Hijaz in 1933 caused a war (March–May 1934) between Ibn Saud and the imam of Yemen. The treaty signed by the two countries on May 20, 1934, provided that Asir and the inland region of Najran were to remain within Saudi Arabia.

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 (UAE),; YEMEN, REPUBLIC OF,.

For further information on this topic, see the Bibliography, sections 857. Arabic literature, 876. Arabs, 1046. Arabia–1049. North Yemen.