Hejaz

The Hejaz or Hijaz is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al-Bahah. It is thus known as the "Western Province", and it is bordered in the west by the Red Sea, in the north by Jordan and the Gulf of Aqaba, in the east by the Najd, and in the south by South Arabia. Its largest city is Jeddah, which is the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia, with Mecca and Medina, respectively, being the third- and fourth-largest cities in the country.

As the location of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, respectively the first and second holiest sites in Islam, the Hejaz is significant in the Arabo-Islamic historical and political landscape. The region is the most populated in Saudi Arabia, and Arabic is the predominant language, as in the rest of Saudi Arabia, with Hejazi Arabic being the most widely spoken dialect. Hejazis as a whole are of ethnically diverse origins, although the vast majority are of Arab origin.

Etymology

The name of the region is derived from a verb ḥajaza (حَجَز), from the Arabic root ḥ-j-z (ح-ج-ز), meaning "to separate", and it is so called as it separates the land of the Najd in the east from the land of Tihāmah in the west.

History

According to Islamic tradition, this region is the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was born in Mecca, which is held to be founded by his believed ancestors Abraham, Ishmael, and Hagar. The area became part of his empire through the early Muslim conquests, and it formed part of successive caliphates, first the Rashidun Caliphate, followed by the Umayyad Caliphate, and finally the Abbasid Caliphate. The Ottoman Empire held partial control over the area; after its dissolution, an independent Kingdom of Hejaz existed briefly in 1925 before being conquered by the neighbouring Sultanate of Nejd, creating the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd.