Najd

Najd is a vast plateau and historical region in central Arabia, now largely within Saudi Arabia. Its uplands and oases have shaped settlement and political life in the Arabian interior.

Arabian Peninsula: The southwestern Asian peninsula between the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Persian Gulf. Najd occupies the peninsula’s central interior.
Diriyah: A historic town in Najd that became the first capital of the Saudi state. Diriyah became the political center of the First Saudi State.
House of Saud: The ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia, which originated as rulers of Diriyah in Najd. The dynasty’s power began in Najd and later extended across Arabia.
Unification of Saudi Arabia: The process by which Abdulaziz Ibn Saud brought much of the Arabian Peninsula under his rule, culminating in 1932. The unification campaign began in Najd and made it the kingdom’s foundation.
Arabian Desert: A large desert region covering much of the Arabian Peninsula. Arid conditions connect Najd to the peninsula’s wider desert environments.
First Saudi State: A state founded in central Arabia in the eighteenth century by the House of Saud and its allies. Its expansion made Najd the center of a major Arabian polity.
Abdulaziz Ibn Saud: The founder of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which he unified in 1932. His campaigns from Najd transformed the region into the kingdom’s political core.
Saudi Arabia: A country in western Asia occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula. Modern Saudi Arabia incorporates most of the historical Najd region.
Tuwaiq Escarpment: A long limestone escarpment that crosses central Saudi Arabia. This landmark divides parts of Najd and overlooks its central plateau.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab: An eighteenth-century Arabian Islamic scholar whose alliance with Muhammad bin Saud shaped the First Saudi State. His religious movement emerged in Najd and reshaped its political history.

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