Najd, the Heart of Arabia

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/arabstudquar.37.3.0282
• Published date: 01 July 2015
• Date: 01 July 2015
• Pages: 282-299
• Author: Sharifah M. AlOboudi
• Subject Matter: Najd,location,geography,topography and history of Najd,culture in Najd,the inhabitants of Najd,the explorers of Najd

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NAJD, THE HEART OF ARABIA

Sharifah M. AlOboudi

Abstract: Throughout history and up until the middle of the twentieth century, available

information about Najd, the vast central region of the present-day Saudi Arabia, had generally

been scarce, especially in languages other than Arabic. Najd of the past had a unique and

distinctive culture that deserves to be known in the West. This article aims at brief‌ly examining

available information concerning Najd from antiquity up until the middle of the twentieth

century, showing that more than one factor participated in the shortage of information

concerning Najd of the past and its culture. The objective of this article is to def‌ine the physical

features of Najd in order to show how these features had participated in its external isolation

and eventually the lack of information encompassing the unique culture of Najd of the past. A

brief review of the history of Najd provides the necessary information on how Najd had suffered

from neglect, misunderstanding, and underestimation of its culture. This article ends by referring

to the fact that time, with its change of circumstances, has brought and is still bringing more on

the past of Najd and its inhabitants and culture.

Keywords: Najd, location, geography, topography and history of Najd, culture in Najd, the

inhabitants of Najd, the explorers of Najd

Introduction

Najd, the central region of the present-day Saudi Arabia, is probably one of the last

regions in the old world to open up to the rest of the world following the sweeping

waves of modernization and later on the reach of globalization. Today, there is

ample information on almost all the cultural aspects of life and living in modern

Najd; however, before World War II, life in Najd was different. Najd has a unique

location and topographical features that shaped the lives and culture of its people

and created distinctive life styles that have not been fully investigated and studied.

Starting from the beginning of the nineteenth century and up until the middle

of the twentieth century, several Western countries successively sent explorers

to Najd to inspect the political strength of the Emirates governing the area. The

explorers were faced with the harsh climate of the area and its wide seas of sand

that were very difcult to surpass. The explorers were also surprised to nd, at the

heart of those sands, oases of ourishing towns and villages with complex and

intricate cultural properties. Although those explorers in their travel texts have

Sharifah M. AlOboudi, PhD, Freelance Writer.

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given ample information about Najd, its inhabitants and unique culture, their texts

still do not reect the richness of the Najdi culture, and that was because of several

factors. These factors included the secluded location, geography, and topography

of Najd that made the area nearly inaccessible. These same factors had helped Najd

to become self-sustained with a unique culture that was difcult to be understood,

especially by people who came from vastly different cultures and environments.

Therefore, the culture of Najd was underestimated.

Location

Throughout history, the location of Arabia as a whole has been important. Situated

in the southwestern corner of Asia, Arabia has always been a bridge between Asia,

Africa, and Europe; its sea ports along the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the

Red Sea are vital to international trade and international political stability, and

its present natural resources of oil and gas are equally vital to humanity. Despite

its important location, its interior has remained relatively unknown to much of

the world for thousands of years. In his book that was published in 1904, David

Hogarth says that Arabia is “a land larger than peninsular India, lies in the heart

of the Old World, and beside its main road of commerce, but we know much of

it hardly better than the Antarctic continent.” Hogarth adds in the same source

that in spite of all the ignorance concerning Arabia, “few regions of the world

have played a greater part in the history of mankind.”1 It is important to note that

Hogarth’s comments were written before the discovery of oil and gas in Arabia.

From the beginning of the twentieth century, since Hogarth wrote about Arabia

and until today, the importance of Arabia to the history of mankind has grown

tremendously. Also, available information concerning Arabia has accumulated

with the passage of time and with the change in political and economic interests.

However, what was usually known about Arabia long before Hogarth’s comments

was mainly concentrated on areas along the three seas that are the eastern, western,

and southern borders of Arabia. The northern part of Arabia has also been relatively

known as several locations, like Tayma and al-Juf, were important parts of ancient

international trade routes. The part of Arabia that was least known to the West in

particular was its heart, Najd.

Najd is the heart of Arabia, and Arabia, which is also called Jazeerat Al Arab

(Island of the Arabs) or Shibh AlJazeera AlArabia (The Arabian Peninsula),

is the world’s largest peninsula with an area of more than three million square

kilometers. That vast area is expanded even more with some geographical and

historical sources including all of the Levant within the peninsula making the

northern borders of Arabia reach Toros (Taurus) Mountains in southern Turkey.2

Najd (literally meaning highland in Arabic) is a plateau that constitutes today

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