Hejaz
Historic region of Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea; area about 290,000 sq km/111,970 sq mi. A former independent kingdom, it merged in 1932 with Nejd to form Saudi Arabia. Historically its principal city has been Mecca. The other main cities are Jiddah, on the coast, Taif, a mountain resort at an altitude of 1,800 m/5,905 ft, and Medina.
History
The territory has been variously under Abbasid and Egyptian rule and, until World War I, under the Ottoman Empire. Partly with the intent of holding their empire together, the Ottomans completed the pilgrim railway in 1908, from Damascus to Medina down the length of the Hejaz. During World War I the railway was badly damaged by Arabs rebelling, under the leadership of T E Lawrence, against Turkish rule, and since 1918 the line has been abandoned south of Ma'an in Jordan. From 1918 the Hejaz was ruled by Hussein Ibn-Ali until its conquest in 1924 by Ibn Saud. It was consolidated as a dual kingdom with Nejd in 1926 and the two were united in 1932 as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Topography and climate Hejaz lies on |
| the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula stretching south from the Gulf of Aqaba. Its length is 1,200 km/746 mi, its greatest width 200 km/124 mi, and the coastline 1,300 km/808 mi. It is bounded in the north by Jordan, on the south by Asir, and on the east by Nejd, with which it forms the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The name is derived from the Arabic for ‘barrier’, for it separates the coast from Nejd. The lowland coastal plain, or Tihama, has a climate characterized by heat, aridity, and high atmospheric humidity. Running parallel to the Tihama is the highland zone, or Madian, mostly over 1,000 m/3,280 ft and in parts over 2,500 m/8,200 ft. The highest points are in the western scarplands; the highlands decrease in altitude inland and towards the east. The climate of the highlands is hot, with sparse rainfall. |
Economy Most of the cultivation in the Hejaz is found on the eastern side of the uplands; dates, hides, wool, and ghee (a type of butter) are produced. The upland basins of the eastern highlands drain inland, and here water can more easily be captured and stored than in the steep wadis of the western mountains. In the northern part of Hejaz, development has taken place only in the oases of the |
| Mecca and Medina were the two original centres of Islam and the Hejaz has derived much of its wealth from the pilgrim traffic to the holy cities, in the past through direct taxation and in the present through providing services for pilgrims. Until recently none but Muslims were allowed to enter the Hejaz, though this restriction applies now only to the two holy cities. |
