Provinces of Saudi Arabia
The Provinces of Saudi Arabia, also known as Regions, and officially the Emirates of the Provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (), are the 13 first-level administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. History. After the unification of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom was divided into seven administrative-territorial entities: the 'Asir Province, Al Hasa' Province, the Hejaz Province, the Najd Province, the Rub' al-Khali Province and the Shammar Province. King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued Royal Order A/92 on March 2, 1992, known as the Regions' System, which provided for the division  of the kingdom into 13 emirates. Subsequently, the five previous provinces were divided into thirteen geographic regions, called provinces ("manātiq") and administrative regions, called the emirates of the provinces ("imārāt al-manātiq"). The emirates form the first-level administrative division of the Organization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are further divided into 136 governorates ("muḥāfaẓāt"), which are the second-level division, which are further subdivided into 1,347 municipal-level units ("marakiz"), and further subdivided into villages ("qura") and neighborhoods ("ahya"). Government. Each emirate is governed by an "Emir" (Provincial Governor), who is assisted by the deputy "emir," called  nā'ib. The persons holding these positions are appointed by the King of Saudi Arabia. The "emir" is given the rank of minister, while the deputy "emir" is given the rank of excellence.