Diriyah
|
|
also spelled NEJD, region, central
Saudi Arabia, comprising a mainly rocky plateau sloping eastward from
the mountains of the Hejaz. On the northern, eastern, and southern sides,
it is bounded by the sand deserts of an-Nafud, ad-Dahna`,
and the Rub' al-Khali. It is sparsely settled, except for the fertile
oases strung along the escarpment of Jabal (mountains) Tuwayq and
the al-'Aramah plateau. The arid region remained politically divided among
rival peoples until the mid-18th century, when it became the centre of
the Wahhabi, a fundamentalist Islamic movement. Led by the Muslim
scholar Muhammad ibn 'Abd al- Wahhab and the Al Sa'ud family,
the movement consolidated Najd and expanded into Mecca in 1803. This expansionist
policy antagonized the Ottomans, who seized the provincial capital of
ad-Dir'iyah. The Al Sa'ud, however, quickly regained
control, and, with Riyadh as the new capital from 1824, the dynasty has
ruled Najd continuously, save for a brief period around the turn of the
century when the Rashid dynasty extended its power over the province.
Ibn Sa'ud proclaimed the unified Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932,
and his provincial capital of Riyadh became the national capital, although
Jidda continued as the diplomatic capital. Oases groups within Najd region
include al-Kharj, al-Mahmal, as-Sudayr, al-Washm, al-'Arid,
al-Qasim, and Jabal Shammar.
|