Arabian Peninsula#History

{{main|Etymology of Arab{{!}}Etymology of Arab}}

In antiquity, the term "Arabia" encompassed a larger area than the current term "Arabian Peninsula" and included the Arabian Desert and large parts of the Syrian–Arabian desert. During the Hellenistic period, the area was known as Arabia ({{langx|grc|Ἀραβία}}). The Romans named three regions "Arabia":

• Arabia Petraea ({{gloss|Stony Arabia}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Arabia Petraea |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Arabia-Petraea |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=18 February 2021 |ref=Arabia Petraea |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225171428/https://www.britannica.com/place/Arabia-Petraea |url-status=live }}): it consisted of the former Nabataean Kingdom in the southern Levant, the Sinai Peninsula and north-western Arabian Peninsula. It was the only one that became a province, with Petra (in Jordan) as its capital.
• Arabia Deserta ({{gloss|Desert Arabia}}): signified the desert lands of Arabia. As a name for the region, it remained popular into the 19th and 20th centuries, and was used in Charles M. Doughty's Travels in Arabia Deserta (1888).
• Arabia Felix ({{gloss|Fortunate Arabia}}): was used by geographers to describe the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, mostly what is now Yemen, which enjoys more rainfall, is much greener than the rest of the peninsula and has long enjoyed much more productive fields.

One of the nomes of Ptolemaic Egypt was named Arabia.{{Cite book |last=De Jong |first=Janneke |title=Arabia, Arabs, and "Arabic" in Greek Documents From Egypt in "New Frontiers of Arabic Papyrology Arabic and Multilingual Texts from Early Islam" |publisher=Brill |year=2017 |isbn=9789004345171}}

Arabians used a north–south division of Arabia: ash-Sham vs. al-Yaman, or Arabia Deserta vs. 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.{{cite book | last=Frankfurter | first=David | title=Pilgrimage and Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt | publisher=Brill | place=Leiden | date=1998 | isbn=90-04-11127-1 |page=163}}

The Arabs and the Ottoman Empire considered the west of the Arabian Peninsula region where the Arabs lived 'the land of the Arabs'—billad al-'Arab (Arabia), and its major divisions were the bilad al-Sham (Levant), bilad al-Yaman (Yemen), and bilad al-'Iraq (Iraq).{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vOJ15vTZV4C&pg=PA60 |title=A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered |first=Kamal Suleiman |last=Salibi |publisher=University of California Press |date=1988 |isbn=978-0-520-07196-4 |pages=60–61 |access-date=19 October 2015 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613100816/https://books.google.com/books?id=4vOJ15vTZV4C&pg=PA60 |url-status=live }} The Ottomans used the term Arabistan in a broad sense for the region 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.See for example Palestine: The Reality, Joseph Mary Nagle Jeffries, Published by Longmans, Green and co., 1939, [https://archive.org/details/PalestineTheReality/page/n4/mode/1up Page 11]

The provinces of Arabia were: al-Tih, the Sinai peninsula, Hejaz, Asir, Yemen, Hadramaut, Mahra and Shilu, Oman, Hasa, Bahrain, Dahna, Nufud, the Hammad, which included the deserts of Syria, Mesopotamia and Babylonia.see Review of Reviews and World's Work: An International Magazine, Albert Shaw ed., The Review of Reviews Corporation, 1919, page 408]{{cite encyclopedia|entry=Arabia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GRUoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA795|encyclopedia=New International Encyclopedia |edition=2nd |year=1914|access-date=24 October 2020|archive-date=24 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624035755/https://books.google.com/books?id=GRUoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA795|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Geography of Saudi Arabia|Geography of Yemen}}

File:Map of the regions of Arabia.svg

The Arabian Peninsula is located in the continent of Asia and is bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf on the north-east, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on the east, the Arabian Sea on the south-east, the Gulf of Aden, and the Guardafui Channel on the south, and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait on the south-west and the Red Sea, which is located on the south-west and west. The northern portion of the peninsula merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear borderline, although the northern boundary of the peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, also southern regions of Iraq and Jordan.

The most prominent feature of the peninsula is desert, but in the south-west, there are mountain ranges, which receive greater rainfall than the rest of the peninsula. Harrat ash Shaam is a large volcanic field that extends from north-western Arabia into Jordan and southern Syria.{{cite journal |last=Weinstein |first=Y. |title=A transition from strombolian to phreatomagmatic activity induced by a lava flow damming water in a valley|journal= Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |date=1 January 2007 |volume=159 |issue=1–3 |pages=267–284 |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2006.06.015|bibcode=2007JVGR..159..267W }}

File:Arabian Peninsula Map.svg

The Peninsula's constituent countries are (clockwise from north to south) Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the east, Oman on the south-east, Yemen on the south, and Saudi Arabia at the center. The island country of Bahrain lies just off the east coast of the Peninsula. Due to Yemen's jurisdiction over the Socotra Archipelago, the Peninsula's geopolitical outline faces the Guardafui Channel and the Somali Sea to the south.McLaughlin, Rob (2015). "The Continuing Conundrum of the Somali Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone". The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 30.2. 305–334.

The six countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).A.S. Alsharhan, Z. A. Rizk, A. E. M. Nairn [et al.], 2001, Waterology of an Arid Region, Elsevier.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia covers the greater part of the Peninsula. The Peninsula contains the world's largest reserves of oil. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are economically the wealthiest in the region. Qatar, the only peninsular country in the Persian Gulf on the larger peninsula, is home to the Arabic 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 United States–led 2003 invasion of Iraq.

{{Historical populations

|type =

|footnote = Political Definition: Gulf Cooperation Council and Yemen
Sources:1950–2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/region.php?N=%20Results%20&T=6&A=separate&RT=0&Y=1950,1960,1970,1980,1990,2000,2010&R=-1&C=BA,KU,MU,QA,SA,AE,YM|title=International Programs|work=census.gov|access-date=2017-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924122421/http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/region.php?N=%20Results%20&T=6&A=separate&RT=0&Y=1950,1960,1970,1980,1990,2000,2010&R=-1&C=BA,KU,MU,QA,SA,AE,YM|archive-date=2015-09-24|url-status=dead}} 2000–2014{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Asia.html|title=Asia: Population Statistics in Maps and Charts for Cities, Agglomerations and Administrative Divisions of all Countries in Asia|work=citypopulation.de|access-date=26 October 2014|archive-date=6 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106080903/http://citypopulation.de/Asia.html|url-status=live}}

|1950 | 9,481,713

|1960 | 11,788,232

|1970 | 15,319,678

|1980 | 23,286,256

|1990 | 35,167,708

|2000 | 47,466,523

|2010 | 63,364,000

|2014 | 77,584,000

|2018 | 86,221,765

|2023|93,900,000}}

{{Historical populations

|type =

|title = Historical population (Gulf 4)

|footnote = Population of 4 smallest (in area) GCC states with their coastline in the Persian Gulf: UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait
Sources:1950–2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/region.php?N=%20Results%20&T=6&A=both&RT=0&Y=1950,1960,1970,1980,1990,2000,2010&R=-1&C=BA,KU,QA,AE|title=International Programs|work=census.gov|access-date=2017-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924122419/http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/region.php?N=%20Results%20&T=6&A=both&RT=0&Y=1950,1960,1970,1980,1990,2000,2010&R=-1&C=BA,KU,QA,AE|archive-date=2015-09-24|url-status=dead}} 2000–2014

|1950 | 356,235

|1970 | 1,329,168

|1990 | 4,896,491

|2010 | 11,457,000

|2014 | 17,086,000

|2018 | 18,675,440

}}

Despite its historically sparse population, political Arabia stands out for its rapid population growth, driven by both significant inflows of migrant labor and persistently high birth rates. The population is characterized by its relative youth and a heavily skewed gender ratio favoring males. In several states, the number of South Asians surpasses that of the native population. The four smallest states (by area), with coastlines entirely bordering the Persian Gulf, showcase the world's most extreme population growth, nearly tripling every two decades. In 2014, the estimated population of the Arabian Peninsula was 77,983,936 (including expatriates).{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html|title=The World Fact book|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=2008-08-12 |date=2007-08-07| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080812233855/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html| archive-date= 12 August 2008 | url-status= dead}} The Arabian Peninsula is known for having one of the most uneven adult sex ratios in the world, with females in some regions (especially the east) constituting only a quarter of people aged between 20 and 40.Alrouh, Hekmat, Awatef Ismail, and Sohaila Cheema. "Demographic and health indicators in Gulf Cooperation Council nations with an emphasis on Qatar." Journal of Local and Global Health Perspectives (2013): p 4

File:Riyadh Skyline.jpg, Saudi Arabia, the most populous city in the Arabian Peninsula]]

The eleven most populous cities on the Arabian Peninsula are:

{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical

|image1=A journey.jpg |caption1=A caravan crossing Ad-Dahna Desert in central Saudi Arabia

|image2=Ras al jinz flickr01.jpg |caption2=Ras al-Jinz in southeastern Arabia (Oman), also known as the 'Turtle Beach'

|image3=Arabian Plate map-uni.png |caption3=AR-Arabian Plate, velocities with respect to Africa in millimeters per year

}}

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 Najd, with fertile valleys and pastures used for the grazing of sheep and other livestock
2. A range of deserts: the Nefud in the north,{{cite book|last=Prothero|first=G.W.|title=Arabia|year=1920|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|location=London|page=15|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11767/view/1/15/|access-date=8 September 2013|archive-date=31 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031163556/https://www.wdl.org/en/item/11767/view/1/15/|url-status=live}} which is stony; the Rub' al Khali or Great Arabian Desert in the south, with sand estimated to extend {{cvt|600|ft}} below the surface; between them, the Dahna Mountains{{cite book |author=Robert D. Burrowes |title=Historical Dictionary of Yemen |pages=5–340 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tjXRfqBv_0UC |isbn=978-0-8108-5528-1 |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215025046/https://books.google.com/books?id=tjXRfqBv_0UC |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last=McLaughlin |first=Daniel |title=Yemen |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |chapter=1: Background |page=3 |isbn=978-1-8416-2212-5 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQvhZaEVzjcC |year=2008 |access-date=29 December 2018 |archive-date=2 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702224444/https://books.google.com/books?id=eQvhZaEVzjcC |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last=Cavendish |first=Marshall |author-link=Marshall Cavendish |title=World and Its Peoples |volume=1 |chapter=Geography and climate |date=2007 |publisher=Cavendish Square Publishing |isbn=978-0-7614-7571-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worlditspeoplesm0000unse/page/n151 8]–19 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j894miuOqc4C&pg=PA8 |url=https://archive.org/details/worlditspeoplesm0000unse |url-access=limited }}
3. Stretches of dry or marshy coastline with coral reefs on the Red Sea side (Tihamah)
4. Oases and marshy coast-land in Eastern Arabia, the most important of which are those of the Al Ain emirate (Tawam region) and Hofuf/Al-Ahsa (in modern-day Saudi Arabia), according to an author
5. The south-west monsoon coastline of Dhofar and Eastern Yemen (Mahra).

File:Dune - panoramio (1).jpg is part of the larger Arabian Desert]]

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 world's 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 cool, humid breezes in summer due to cold upwelling offshore. The peninsula has no thick forests. Desert-adapted wildlife is present throughout the region.

A plateau more than {{convert|2500|ft}} 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 characterized by cuestas and valleys, drained by a system of wadis. A crescent of sand and gravel deserts lies to the east.

File:Kawkaban -68 (353668857).jpg in the west of present-day Yemen include Arabia's highest mountain, Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb or Jabal Hadhur near Sanaa.]]

There are mountains at the eastern, southern and north-western borders of the peninsula. Broadly, the ranges can be grouped as follows:

• North-east: The Hajar range, of UAE and Oman
• South-east: The Dhofar Mountains of southern Oman, contiguous with the eastern Yemeni Hadhramaut{{cite book |last=Scoville |first=Sheila A. |title=Gazetteer of Arabia: a geographical and tribal history of the Arabian Peninsula |volume=2 |pages=117–288 |publisher=Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AH8YAQAAMAAJ&q=hadhramaut+mountains |isbn=978-0-7614-7571-2 |year=2006 |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031101208/https://books.google.com/books?id=AH8YAQAAMAAJ&q=hadhramaut+mountains |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last=Ghazanfar |first=Shahina A. |author-link=Shahina A. Ghazanfar |title=Vegetation of the Arabian Peninsula |last2=Fisher |first2=Martin |date=2013-04-17 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-9-4017-3637-4 |location=Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat |pages=27–55 |chapter=1–2 |access-date=24 October 2020 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uc_tCAAAQBAJ&q=hadhramaut+highlands&pg=PA52 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031101205/https://books.google.com/books?id=uc_tCAAAQBAJ&q=hadhramaut+highlands&pg=PA52 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |url-status=live}}
• West: Bordering the eastern coast of the Red Sea are the Sarawat, which can be seen to include the Haraz Mountains to the east of Yemen, as well as those of 'Asir (once part of Yemen) {{cite book |last=Overstreet |first=William Courtney |title=Tertiary laterite of the As Sarat Mountains, Asir Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |publisher=Directorate General of Mineral Resources |volume=2 |pages=iii–2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KmxPAQAAIAAJ&q=sarat+mountains |year=1977 |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=8 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208154921/https://books.google.com/books?id=KmxPAQAAIAAJ&q=sarat+mountains |url-status=live }} and Hejaz{{cite book |last=Mandal |first=Ram Bahadur |title=Patterns of Regional Geography: World regions |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |chapter=VI: A Regional Geography |page=354 |isbn=978-8-1702-2292-7 |location=New Delhi, India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XWwCHWwgKt0C&q=sarawat+mountains&pg=PA354 |year=1990 |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603000536/https://books.google.com/books?id=XWwCHWwgKt0C&q=sarawat+mountains&pg=PA354 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossein |author-link=Hossein Nasr |title=Mecca the Blessed, Medina the Radiant: The Holiest Cities of Islam |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |chapter=1: The Holiest Cities of Islam |isbn=978-1-4629-1365-7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RvQAgAAQBAJ&q=sarat+mountains |year=2013 |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031101203/https://books.google.com/books?id=4RvQAgAAQBAJ&q=sarat+mountains |url-status=live }} the latter including the Midian in what is now north-western Saudi Arabia
• North-west: Aside from the Sarawat, the northern portion of Saudi Arabia hosts the Jabal Shamar Mountains, which include the Aja and Salma subranges
• Central: The Najd hosts the Tuwaiq Escarpment or Tuwair range

From the Hejaz southwards, 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 An-Nabi Shu'ayb or Jabal Hadhur{{Cite book |last=زبارة |first=محمد بن محمد بن يحيى اليمني/الصنعاني |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4dyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT359 |title=نيل الوطر من تراجم رجال اليمن في القرن الثالث عشر 1–2 ج1 |date=1998-01-01 |publisher=Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah (دار الكتب العلمية) |isbn=978-2-7451-2623-8 |language=ar |access-date=18 April 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225083339/https://books.google.nl/books?id=L4dyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT359&redir_esc=y |url-status=live }}{{cite book |publisher=Qatar Digital Library |title=Gazetteer of Arabia |volume=II [1044] (81/688) |url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023727632.0x000052 |year=1917 |access-date=2020-04-17 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309051759/https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023727632.0x000052 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |publisher=Mindat.org |title=Jabal an-Nabī Shu'ayb, Bani Matar, Sanaa, Yemen |url=https://www.mindat.org/feature-72377.html |access-date=2020-04-17 |archive-date=12 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612211036/https://www.mindat.org/feature-72377.html |url-status=live }} of the Haraz subrange of the Sarawat range, is {{convert|3666|m|0}} high. By comparison, the Tuwayr, Shammar and Dhofar generally do not exceed {{cvt|1000|m}} in height.

Not all mountains in the peninsula are visibly within ranges. Jebel Hafeet in particular, on the border of the UAE and Oman, measuring between {{cvt|1100|and|1300|m|abbr=on}},{{cite web |last=Gardner |first=Andrew Somerville |title=The reptiles of Jebel Hafeet |publisher=ADCO and Emirates Natural History Group |pages=149–168 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235918847 |date=January 2004 |access-date=2019-01-14 |archive-date=14 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114153347/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235918847_The_reptiles_of_Jebel_Hafit |url-status=live }}{{cite book |title=Towards the rational use of high salinity tolerant plants: Vol 2: Agriculture and forestry under marginal soil water conditions |date=2012-12-06 |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media |isbn=978-9-4011-1860-6 |editor-last1=Lieth |editor-first1=Helmut |volume=2: Agriculture and forestry under marginal soil water conditions |pages=271–274 |chapter=Reclamation potentials of saline degraded lands in Abu Dhabi eastern region using high salinity-tolerant woody plants and some salt marsh species |access-date=13 January 2019 |editor-last2=Al Masoom |editor-first2=A. A. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-fqCAAAQBAJ&q=hafit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330131859/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-fqCAAAQBAJ&q=hafit |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=live |name-list-style=and}} is not within the Hajar range, but may be considered an outlier of that range.

File:Salalah Oman.jpg|Dhofar

File:Yemen landscape 05.jpg|At-Tawilah, Al Mahwit, Yemen

File:شعيب جو بجبال أجـــا - panoramio.jpg|A subrange of the Jabal Shammar mountains in the desert region of Ha'il, Saudi Arabia

{{multiple image

| align = right

| direction = vertical

| image1 = Al hafa corniche.jpg

| caption1 = Coconut palms line corniches of Al-Hafa, Oman.

| image2 = Coral Reef in the Red Sea.JPG

| caption2 = Red Sea coral reefs

| image3 = Al-Shaggain, Mukalla.jpg

| caption3 = Al-Shaggain in Mukalla, Yemen

}}

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 with a very rich sea life and some of the world's largest and most pristine coral reefs. In addition, the protozoa and zooxanthellae living in symbiosis with Red Sea corals 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 temperatures, as Indo-Pacific coral reefs are. The reefs are also unaffected by mass tourism and diving or other large scale human interference. The Persian gulf has suffered significant loss and degradation of coral reefs with the biggest ongoing threat believed to be coastal construction activity altering the marine environment.{{cite book |last1=Riegl |first1=Bernhard |last2=Purkis |first2=Samuel|date=2011 |editor-last=Hopley |editor-first=D |title= Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs |publisher=Springer |pages=790–798 |chapter=Persian/Arabian Gulf Coral Reefs |isbn=978-90-481-2639-2|doi=10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_123}}

The fertile soils of Yemen have encouraged settlement of almost all of the land from sea level up to the mountains at {{convert|10000|ft}}. In the higher elevations, elaborate terraces have been constructed to facilitate grain, fruit, coffee, ginger and khat cultivation. The Arabian peninsula is known for its rich oil, i.e. petroleum production due to its geographical location.{{cite web |last=Sorkhabi |first=Rasoul |title=The Emergence of the Arabian Oil Industry |url=https://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2008/06/the-emergence-of-the-arabian-oil-industry |website=Geoexpro |date=June 2008 |access-date=16 April 2021 |archive-date=1 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601235624/https://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2008/06/the-emergence-of-the-arabian-oil-industry |url-status=live }}

According to NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data (2003–2013) analysed in a University of California, Irvine (UCI)-led study published in Water Resources Research on 16 June 2015, the most over-stressed aquifer system in the world is the Arabian Aquifer System, upon which more than 60 million people depend for water.{{citation |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4626 |work=NASA |date=16 June 2015 |access-date=26 June 2015 |title=Study: Third of Big Groundwater Basins in Distress |archive-date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627045543/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4626 |url-status=live }} Twenty-one of the 37 largest aquifers "have exceeded sustainability tipping points and are being depleted" and thirteen of them are "considered significantly distressed".

Stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic age along with fossils of other animals discovered at Ti's al Ghadah, in north-western Saudi Arabia, might imply that hominins migrated through a "Green Arabia" between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago.{{cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=Patrick |last2=Stewart |first2=Mathew |last3=Alagaili |first3=Abdulaziz N. |last4=Breeze |first4=Paul |last5=Candy |first5=Ian |last6=Drake |first6=Nick |last7=Groucutt |first7=Huw S. |last8=Scerri |first8=Eleanor M. L. |last9=Lee-Thorp |first9=Julia |author-link9=Julia Lee-Thorp |last10=Louys |first10=Julien |last11=Zalmout |first11=Iyad S. |last12=Al-Mufarreh |first12=Yahya S. A. |last13=Zech |first13=Jana |last14=Alsharekh |first14=Abdullah M. |last15=al Omari |first15=Abdulaziz |date=29 October 2018 |title=Fossil herbivore stable isotopes reveal middle Pleistocene hominin palaeoenvironment in 'Green Arabia' |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0698-9.epdf |url-status=live |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |publisher=Nature |volume=2 |issue=12 |pages=1871–1878 |bibcode=2018NatEE...2.1871R |doi=10.1038/s41559-018-0698-9 |pmid=30374171 |s2cid=53099270 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614014654/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0698-9.epdf?referrer_access_token=hySAQNyjvRiQRNjo0mIXTNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0N9kU6ZdocH1K5tlqbulC1NGihAtdUvadgd-Ce3IG8XflefNUJloWb0eiaik74msA1h2rnnGtKxsacM4n3oeY0ox3pyrnXIUsPX-0WqdUkvypjbH2-2zqzS6cX7GNA5XLxPMYuIOIGe73T9jrg26kRslQtiKDIo-6b8uybLbkRmsnPtcQEVDKKZEyjcImvRdVONyF_xvx1mOlrO4zI7po2NWcmKfmlFba5CH0PjStE6EJ1Ro0X_YiKSXL-TWWd0OVI%3D&tracking_referrer=sciencenews.org |archive-date=14 June 2020 |access-date=1 November 2018 |hdl-access=free |last16=Boivin |first16=Nicole |last17=Petraglia |first17=Michael |hdl=10072/382068}} Two-hundred-thousand-year-old stone tools were discovered at Shuaib Al-Adgham in the eastern Al-Qassim Province, which would indicate that many prehistoric sites, located along a network of rivers, had once existed in the area.{{cite web |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1785951/saudi-arabia |title=Saudi Arabia's Qassim stone axe find points to prehistoric 'crossroads' |website=Arab News |date=2 January 2021 }} Acheulean tools found in Sadaqah, Riyadh Region reveal that hominids lived in the Arabian Peninsula around 188,000 years ago.{{cite journal | last1=Scerri | first1=Eleanor M. L. | last2=Shipton | first2=Ceri | last3=Clark-Balzan | first3=Laine | last4=Frouin | first4=Marine | last5=Schwenninger | first5=Jean-Luc | last6=Groucutt | first6=Huw S. | last7=Breeze | first7=Paul S. | last8=Parton | first8=Ash | last9=Blinkhorn | first9=James | last10=Drake | first10=Nick A. | last11=Jennings | first11=Richard | last12=Cuthbertson | first12=Patrick | last13=Al Omari | first13=Abdulaziz | last14=Alsharekh | first14=Abdullah M. | last15=Petraglia | first15=Michael D. | title=The expansion of later Acheulean hominins into the Arabian Peninsula | journal=Scientific Reports | volume=8 | issue=1 | pages=17165 | date=29 November 2018 | doi=10.1038/s41598-018-35242-5 | pmid=30498259 | pmc=6265249 | bibcode=2018NatSR...817165S }} Human habitation in Arabia may have occurred as early as 130,000 years ago.{{Cite journal|last1=Uerpmann|first1=Hans-Peter|last2=Usik|first2=Vitaly I.|last3=Parker|first3=Adrian G.|last4=Marks|first4=Anthony E.|last5=Jasim|first5=Sabah A. |last6=Armitage|first6=Simon J.|date=2011-01-28|title=The Southern Route "Out of Africa": Evidence for an Early Expansion of Modern Humans into Arabia |journal=Science |language=en |volume=331 |issue=6016 |pages=453–456 |doi=10.1126/science.1199113 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=21273486 |bibcode=2011Sci...331..453A |s2cid=20296624}} A fossilized Homo sapiens finger bone found at Al Wusta in the Nefud Desert dates to approximately 90,000 years ago and is the oldest human fossil discovered outside of Africa and the Levant. This indicates human migrations from Africa to Arabia occurred around this time.{{cite web|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/mpif-fhm040418.php|title=First human migration out of Africa more geographically widespread than previously thought|work=Eurek Alert|date=9 April 2018|access-date=1 November 2018|archive-date=2 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202070454/https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/mpif-fhm040418.php|url-status=live}} The Arabian Peninsula may have been the homeland of a 'Basal Eurasian' population, which diverged from other Eurasians soon after the Out-of-Africa migration, and subsequently became isolated, until it started to mix with other populations in the Middle East around 25,000 years ago. These different Middle Eastern populations would later spread Basal Eurasian ancestry via the Neolithic Revolution to all of Western Eurasia.{{Cite journal |last1=Vallini |first1=Leonardo |last2=Zampieri |first2=Carlo |last3=Shoaee |first3=Mohamed Javad |last4=Bortolini |first4=Eugenio |last5=Marciani |first5=Giulia |last6=Aneli |first6=Serena |last7=Pievani |first7=Telmo |last8=Benazzi |first8=Stefano |last9=Barausse |first9=Alberto |last10=Mezzavilla |first10=Massimo |last11=Petraglia |first11=Michael D. |last12=Pagani |first12=Luca |date=2024-03-25 |title=The Persian plateau served as hub for Homo sapiens after the main out of Africa dispersal |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=1882 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-46161-7 |pmid=38528002 |issn=2041-1723|pmc=10963722 |bibcode=2024NatCo..15.1882V }}

{{main|Pre-Islamic Arabia|History of the Romans in Arabia}}

File:Near East in 1000bc (en).jpg

{{further|Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia}}

File:Pre_Islamic_Arabian_Tribes_(Harold_Dixon).svg, showing the locations of Arab tribes in West Asia, 1914]]

There is evidence that human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 106,000 to 130,000 years ago.[http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/history/ Saudi Embassy (US) Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062348/http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/history/ |date=2016-03-04 }} retrieved 20 January 2011 The harsh climate historically{{when|date=July 2019}} prevented much settlement in the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula, apart from a small number of urban trading settlements, such as Mecca and Medina, located in the Hejaz in the west of the peninsula.{{cite book |title=The Rise of Islam |url=https://archive.org/details/riseofislam0000gord |url-access=registration |last=Gordon |first=Matthew |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-313-32522-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/riseofislam0000gord/page/4 4]|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}

Archaeology has revealed the existence of many civilizations in pre-Islamic Arabia (such as the Thamud), especially in South Arabia.{{cite book|author=Robert D. Burrowes|year=2010|title=Historical Dictionary of Yemen|page=319|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0810855281}}{{cite book|author=Kenneth Anderson Kitchen|year=2003|title=On the Reliability of the Old Testament|url=https://archive.org/details/onreliabilityold00kitc|url-access=limited|page=[https://archive.org/details/onreliabilityold00kitc/page/n139 116]|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0802849601}} South Arabian civilizations include the Himyarite Kingdom, the Kingdom of Awsan, the Kingdom of Ma'īn, and the Sabaean Kingdom (usually considered to be the biblical land of Sheba). From 106 AD to 630 AD north-western Arabia was under the control of the Roman Empire, which renamed it Arabia Petraea.{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Jane|title=Petra|publisher=Aurum Press Ltd|year=2005|isbn=9957-451-04-9|location=London|pages=25–31}} Central Arabia was the location of the Kingdom of Kinda in the 4th, 5th and early 6th centuries. Eastern Arabia was home to the Dilmun civilization. The earliest known events in Arabian history are migrations from the peninsula into neighbouring areas.Philip Khuri Hitti (2002), History of the Arabs, Revised: 10th Edition

The Arabian Peninsula has long been accepted as the original Urheimat of the Semitic languages by most scholars.Gray, Louis Herbert (2006) Introduction to Semitic Comparative LinguisticsCourtenay, James John (2009) The Language of Palestine and Adjacent RegionsKienast, Burkhart. (2001). Historische semitische Sprachwissenschaft.Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1995) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

{{main|Early Muslim conquests|Islamic Golden Age}}

File:Umayyad750ADloc.png (661–750)]]

The seventh century saw the rise of Islam as the peninsula's dominant religion. The Islamic prophet 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 the first Islamic state—a single Arab Muslim religious polity in the Arabian Peninsula.

Under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates, rapid expansion of Arab power well beyond the Arabian peninsula formed a vast Muslim Arab Empire with an area of influence that stretched from the north-west Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula, to the Pyrenees.

With Muhammad's death in 632, 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".See:

• Holt (1977a), p.57
• Hourani (2003), p.22
• Lapidus (2002), p.32
• Madelung (1996), p.43
• Tabatabaei (1979), p.30–50

Image:Ayyubid.png's empire and its vassals shown in red]]

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: 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.See: Holt (1977a), p.57, Hourani (2003), p.22, Lapidus (2002), p.32, Madelung (1996), p.43, Tabatabaei (1979), p.30–50{{cite encyclopedia|title=Islam|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online|last1=Gardet|first1=L.|last2=Jomier|first2=J.}}

Nevertheless, Mecca and Medina remained the spiritually most important places in the Muslim world. The Qur'an 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.Farah, Caesar (1994). Islam: Beliefs and Observances (5th ed.), pp.145–147 {{ISBN|978-0-8120-1853-0}} 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's grave; as a result, from the 7th century, Mecca and Medina became the pilgrimage destinations for large numbers of Muslims from across the Islamic world.Goldschmidt, Arthur Jr.; Lawrence Davidson (2005). A Concise History of the Middle East (8th ed.), p.48 {{ISBN|978-0-8133-4275-7}}

File:Persian Gulf z1507-1750.gif in Arabia]]

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.

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.[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31568/history-of-Arabia Encyclopædia Britannica Online: History of Arabia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503091224/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31568/history-of-Arabia |date=3 May 2015 }} retrieved 18 January 2011

File:First saudi state.png from 1744 to 1814]]

File:Arabia 1914.png

File:Saudi Unification Map.png (1902–1934)]]

The provincial Ottoman Army for Arabia (Arabistan Ordusu) was headquartered in Syria, which included Palestine, the Transjordan region in addition to Lebanon (Mount Lebanon was, however, a semi-autonomous mutasarrifate). It was put in charge of Syria, Cilicia, Iraq, and the remainder of the Arabian Peninsula.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[https://books.google.com/books?id=Uxkz9D4Ff_sC&pg=PA417 The Politics of Interventionism in Ottoman Lebanon, 1830–1861, by Caesar E. Farah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514211350/https://books.google.com/books?id=Uxkz9D4Ff_sC&pg=PA417&dq=&lr=&ei=BoDxSP2rFZbMzQTO3MXtBg&client= |date=14 May 2016 }}, explains that Mount Lebanon was in the jurisdiction of the Arabistan Army, and that its headquarters was briefly moved to Beirut. The Ottomans never had any control over central Arabia, also known as the Najd region.

The emergence of what was to become the Saudi royal family, known as the Al Saud, began in Najd in central Arabia in 1744, when Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the dynasty, joined forces with the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, a strict puritanical form of Sunni Islam.{{cite book |title=Contemporary Religions: A World Guide |first1=Ian |last1=Harris |first2=Stuart|last2=Mews|first3=Paul|last3=Morris|first4= John |last4= Shepherd |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-582-08695-1 |page=369|publisher=Longman }} The Emirate of Diriyah established in the area around Riyadh rapidly expanded and briefly controlled most of the present-day territory of Saudi Arabia, sacking Karbala in 1802, and capturing Mecca in 1803."[http://countrystudies.us/saudi-arabia/7.htm The Saud Family and Wahhabi Islam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316131703/http://countrystudies.us/saudi-arabia/7.htm |date=16 March 2017 }}". Library of Congress Country Studies.

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, Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, Jordan, and Palestine.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 [https://books.google.com/books?id=n706ShSYt-sC King Husain and the Kingdom of Hejaz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322142502/http://books.google.com/books?id=n706ShSYt-sC&printsec=toc&dq=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0#PPA65,M1 |date=22 March 2015 }}, By Randall Baker, Oleander Press, 1979, {{ISBN|0-900891-48-3}}, pages 64–65

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

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.King Hussein and the Kingdom of Hejaz, Randall Baker, Oleander Press 1979, {{ISBN|0-900891-48-3}}, page 18

File:Map Arabia 1929 - Touring Club Italiano CART-TRC-10.jpg

File:الملك عبد العزيز مع الشيخ جابر الأحمد الصباح.jpg, the founding father and first king 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.

File:Map_of_the_states_of_the_Arabian_Peninsula_(1905-1923).svg

These events were followed by the foundation of Saudi Arabia under King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. After the collapse of the Emirate of Diriyah, the House of Sand regrouped and in 1824 founded the Second Saudi State, which would control most of Arabia for the next two-thirds of a century. Ibn Saud, after his family lost power in 1891, would establish the Third Saudi State, capturing Riyadh in 1902, and, successively subduing Al-Hasa, Jabal Shammar and Hejaz between 1913 and 1926. The Saudis then absorbed the Emirate of Asir, with their expansion only ending in 1934 after a war with Yemen.

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.

{{main|North Yemen civil war}}

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'état carried out by the republican leader, Abdullah as-Sallal, which dethroned the newly crowned Muhammad 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 Egypt's role in the war in Yemen as analogous to the United States' role in the Vietnam War.{{Cite news |issue=Jan–Feb, 2004 |last=Aboul-Enein |first=Youssef |title=The Egyptian-Yemen War: Egyptian perspectives on Guerrilla warfare |work=Infantry Magazine |access-date=October 3, 2008 |date=2004-01-01 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IAV/is_1_93/ai_n6123802 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203161830/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IAV/is_1_93/ai_n6123802 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-02-03}}

{{main|Gulf War}}

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait.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}} 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 Palestine 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 member states.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

{{main|Yemeni civil war (2014–present)}}

The Arab Spring reached Yemen in January 2011.BBC World News, Arab Uprising:Country by Country -Yemen People of Yemen took to the street demonstrating against three decades of rule by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.Cornell University Library. Arab Spring:A Research & Study Guide:Yemen guides. library.cornell.edu. Last Updated: May 9, 2019 The demonstration led to cracks in the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) and Saleh's Sanhani clan.Britannica.com. "Yemen Uprising of 2011–12". Written By:The editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. Saleh used tactics of concession and violence to save his presidency.University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-champaign. guides.library.edu. Arab Spring Workshop:Yemen After numerous attempts, Saleh accepted the Gulf Cooperation Council's mediation. He eventually handed power to Vice President Hadi, who was sworn in as President of Yemen on 25 February 2012. Hadi launched a national dialogue to address new constitutional, political and social issues. The Houthi movement, dissatisfied with the outcomes of the national dialogue, launched an offensive and stormed the Yemeni capital Sanaa on 21 September 2014.{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/23/how-the-houthis-did-it-yemen-hadi-arab-spring/|first=Laura|last=Kasinof|title=How the Houthis Did It|date=2015|website=Foreign Policy|access-date=15 February 2015|archive-date=30 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330021054/https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/23/how-the-houthis-did-it-yemen-hadi-arab-spring/|url-status=live}} In response, Saudi Arabia launched a military intervention in Yemen in March 2015.{{cite news |last=Wintour |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Wintour |date=3 September 2019 |title=UK, US and France may be complicit in Yemen war crimes – UN report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/03/uk-us-and-france-may-be-complicit-in-yemen-war-crimes-un-report |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022141109/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/03/uk-us-and-france-may-be-complicit-in-yemen-war-crimes-un-report |archive-date=22 October 2019 |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=The Guardian}} The civil war and subsequent military intervention and blockade caused a famine in Yemen.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/31/opinion/columnists/yemen-famine-cholera.html|title=The Photos the U.S. and Saudi Arabia Don't Want You to See|first=Nicholas|last=Kristof|date=31 August 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=17 May 2020|archive-date=31 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831091519/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/31/opinion/columnists/yemen-famine-cholera.html|url-status=live}}

File:Sanaa.JPG|alt=The old city of Sanaa, Yemen. Peninsular Arabs trace their lineage to Qahtan, who was reportedly based in Yemen.|The Old City of Sanaa

File:عين زبيدة.png|Ain Zubaydah was built to water the pilgrims in Mecca, Saudi Arabia by order of Zubaidah bint Ja'far.

File:Omar Mosque.jpg|Omar Mosque in Dumat al-Jandal, Saudi Arabia

File:Madain Saleh (6730128379).jpg|The facade of a tomb with its details and architectural elements in Hegra, Saudi Arabia

File:Qasr al Farid.JPG|Qasr al Farid, tomb in Archeological site Mada'in Saleh, Al-`Ula, Saudi Arabia

File:Diriyahpic.jpg|Diriyah the capital of the first Saudi state

File:Jemen1988-022 hg.jpg|Dam of Ma'rib

File:Dhamar Ali Yahbur (bust).jpg|Himyarite King Dhamar'ali Yahbur II

File:AradFort.jpg|Arad Fort in Bahrain

File:Nizwa (5).jpg|Nizwa Fort in Oman

File:Dubai Jumeirah Creek Museum Jumeirah 9-12th century model 1301200712751.jpg|The ruins of Umayyad city in the historic Jumeirah district of Dubai

File:Coper head of bull Dilmun1.jpg|Bull's head, made of copper in the early period of Dilmun (ca. 2000 BC), Bahrain

File:Al-Magar - Saluki Artifact (المقر - سلوقي - قطعة أثرية).jpg|The head and body of a Saluki is made of stone from the Al-Magar civilization, in the Neolithic period (about 8000 BC)

File:مدين.jpg|Midian

{{Div col}}

• Achaemenid Arabia
• Ancient history of Yemen
• Arabian Gulf Cup
• Arab League
• Arab world
• Eastern Arabia
• European exploration of Arabia
• Gulf Cooperation Council
• Iram of the Pillars
• Kingdom of Aksum
• List of Arabian cities by population
• Mashriq
• Musandam Peninsula

{{Div col end}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11756/ Travels in Arabia] (1892)
• [http://www.swaen.com/antique-map-image-of.php?id=31 High resolution scan of old map of Arabia].{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714205448/http://www.swaen.com/antique-map-image-of.php?id=31 |date=14 July 2014 }}.
• [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2914/ The Coast of Arabia the Red Sea, and Persian Sea of Bassora Past the Straits of Hormuz to India, Gujarat and Cape Comorin] from the World Digital Library, depicts a map from 1707.
• {{Cite EB1911 |first=Robert Alexander |last=Wahab |first2=Griffithes Wheeler |last2=Thatcher |first3=Michael Jan de |last3=Goeje |author3-link=Michael Jan de Goeje |wstitle=Arabia|short=x}}
• [http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Arabia_Culltural-Historical_Zones_lg.png Arabia: Cultural-Historical Zones]
• [https://merhav.nli.org.il/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,arabia%20map&tab=default_tab&search_scope=Local&sortby=lso01&vid=NLI&mfacet=rtype,include,Maps,1&mfacet=tlevel,include,online_resources,1&mfacet=topic,include,Arabian%20Peninsula,1&mfacet=topic,include,Saudi%20Arabia,1&lang=en_US&offset=0&came_from=sort Old maps of Arabia], Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel

{{commons and category|Arabian peninsula|Arabian Peninsula}}

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{{Wiktionary|Arabian Peninsula}}{{Continents of the world}}

{{Mountains on the Arabian Peninsula}}

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