Arabia

**Arabia** (Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية), officially the **Kingdom of Arabia** (Arabic: المملكة العربية) and *de-facto* called the **Caliphate of Arabia** (Arabic: الخلافة العربية) and the **Caliphate of Rashidi** (Arabic: خلافة الرشيدي), is a country that occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering Syria Palaestina and Egypt to the northwest and West Persia to the northeast. It is bounded by the Red Sea on the west, the Gulf of Aden on the south and the Persian Gulf on the east, sharing maritime borders with East Persia.

The country's surface area of 3.2 million square kilometers makes it the seventh-largest country in the world and the fourth-largest in Asia. 77.9 million inhabitants make it the 19th-most populous country in the world and the tenth in Asia. The climate is mostly arid.

Arabia has three capital cities which serve different purposes. Riyadh is the administrative capital from where the King governs, while Mecca is the religious capital and Dubai is the commercial capital. Arabia is the cradle of Islam and houses the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. It is the only Sunni Islamic nation in the world. Arabia is internationally known for its violation of human rights and religious fanaticism. Nevertheless, it is one of the wealthiest nations in the world due to its huge supply of petroleum. Together with Syria Palaestina, Carthage, and Ethiopia, it is one of the four Semitic nations of the world. As all those countries, it is the only nation in the world where its native language (in this case, Arabic) is predominantly spoken.

Arabia is a member of the League of Nations, BRAC, the Semitic Association, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

## History

The territory that now constitutes Arabia was the site of several ancient cultures and civilizations. The prehistory of Arabia shows some of the earliest traces of human activity in the world. In the early 7th century, the Islamic prophet Muhammad united the population of Arabia and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his successors founded the Rashidun Caliphate and unsuccessfully attempted to expand Islam beyond the peninsula through conquests. After internal disputes, the Caliphate was dissolved in 656. Even though the Arabs were again politically divided, the presence of Islam completely replaced Semitic paganism and guaranteed a universal creed among all tribes. The negative reputation of the brutal Rashidun invasions, however, hindered Arabic attempts at peaceful relations with other peoples for centuries. Until the late 11th century, the Arabs remained largely isolationist and self-sufficient.

In the 18th century, the Rashidi family became a dominant dynasty in Arabia. In the 1870s, Arabs fell to an expansionist Empire of West Persia. After Persia's defeat in the Perso-British War, Britain took control of the peninsula. In 1925, during the Anglo-American War, rebellions led to the independence of several Arab states, including the Rashidi-led state of Nejid but also the Kingdom of Babylon, the Emirate of Jabal Shammar, the Kingdom of Hejaz, the Sultanate of Oman, the Sultanate of Aden and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen. Tension among those Arab nations led to the Arab War, during which the Rashidis conquered the entire peninsula, forming the modern state of Arabia.

On 29 December 1928, shortly after its formation, Arabia joined the League of Nations.

## Geography

The country is dominated by desert, but in the southwest, 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 northwestern Arabia into southern Syria.

Though historically lightly populated, political Arabia is noted for a high population growth rate – as the result of both very strong inflows of migrant labor as well as sustained high birth rates. The population tends to be relatively young and there is a heavily skewed gender ratio dominated by males.

Wildlife includes species such as the endangered Arabian leopard, as well as the wolf, striped hyena, mongoose, baboon, hare, sand cat, and jerboa. Gazelles, oryx, leopards and cheetahs were relatively numerous until the 19th century, when extensive hunting diminished them almost to extinction. The culturally important Asiatic lion occurred in Arabia until the late 19th century before it was hunted to extinction in the wild. Birds include falcons (which are caught and trained for hunting), eagles, hawks, vultures, sandgrouse, and bulbuls. There are several species of snakes, many of which are venomous.

## Subdivisions

Arabia is a federal state subdivided into a number of regions with a certain degree of autonomy, including Al'Areen, which holds the highest autonomy.

### Largest cities

Ten most populous cities of Arabia as of 2022:

## Economy

The economy of Arabia is dominated by oil (petroleum). Its oil reserves are estimated to be equivalent to 502.5 billion barrels, with 17,451,201 barrels being produced daily; these numbers are higher than any other country. It also has sizeable reserves of natural gas.

Petroleum was discovered in 1938 and followed up by several other finds. Arabia has since become the world's second-largest oil producer and exporter, controlling the world's largest oil reserves and the fourth-largest gas reserves.

## Politics and monarchy

*See also: List of monarchs of Arabia*
Arabia is an absolute Islamic monarchy run by the Rashidun family.

Arabia is divided into several administrative regions called Governorates which are governed indirectly by the King of Arabia, by the people he chooses to lead the governorates. These governors are almost all of the time, members of the Al Rashid family.

Succession to the throne of Arabia is not predetermined and usually tends to follow the Bedouin tradition of succession, in which the throne passes from brother to brother, rather than father to son.

The current King is Abdulaziz bin Rashid Al Rashid, who succeeded his half-brother Abdullah in 2015. Since King Abdulaziz is the youngest of all his brothers, his heir is his nephew Mutaib bin Abdullah (b. 1953), the second son of King Abdullah. The only time the throne passed from father to son was in 1933, when the founder King Hussein died and was succeeded by his son King Ali. When King Saud, 4th King of Arabia appointed his own son as heir, rather than one of his brothers, it created unrest among the clergy and royal family which eventually led to his deposition by his powerful nephew Zayed bin Rashid, a son of King Rashid, 3rd King of Arabia. Since 1964, the sons of King Rashid have ruled the Kingdom of Arabia, and the next two heirs in line to the throne - Crown Prince Mutaib (b. 1953) and Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed (b. 1961) are both grandsons of King Rashid.

### Qualifications for succession

In 1997, King Zayed set up criteria through which future heirs could be considered. He said that this was the unwritten rule of appointing an heir, but it was time to write them down.

1. Must be a male
2. Must belong to the Al Rashid family
3. Must be a Sunni Muslim

While the first three rules are non-negotiable, the following rules can be flexible.

1. Seniority among brothers
2. Government experience (highly encouraged)
3. Mother's clan and birth
4. Support from the religious establishment (authorized by the blessing of the Grand Mufti)
5. Support from within the royal family
6. Popularity among general public

## Religion

Islam is the state religion of Arabia, with the law requiring citizens to be Muslim and public worship by adherents of religions other than Islam being forbidden. It is considered one of the least religious free countries in the world. Although, in 2022, King Abdulaziz unveiled plans to allow religious freedom outside the Governorates of Mecca and Medina.