This article is about the geographical and historical region. For the mountain region, see Hijaz Mountains. For other uses, see Hejaz (disambiguation).
Region in Saudi Arabia
Hejaz
Al-Ḥijāz (ٱلْحِجَاز)
Hijaz
Region
Islam's holiest site, that is Al-Masjid al-Haram, which surrounds the Kaaba (middle), in Mecca. Mecca is the city of Muhammad's birth and ancestry, and an annual point of pilgrimage for millions of Muslims.
Map of the Hejaz showing the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Yanbu and Tabuk. The Saudi region is outlined in red and the 1923 Kingdom is in green.
Coordinates: 23°N40°E / 23°N 40°E / 23; 40
Country
Saudi Arabia
Regions
Al-Bahah, Mecca, Medina, Tabuk
The Hejaz (/hiːˈdʒæz,hɪˈ-/, also US: /hɛˈ-/; Arabic: ٱلْحِجَاز, romanized: al-Ḥijāz, lit. 'the Barrier', Hejazi Arabic pronunciation:[alħɪˈdʒaːz]) is a region that includes the majority of the west coast of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Baljurashi. It is thus known as the Western Province,[1] and it is bordered in the west by the Red Sea, in the north by Jordan, in the east by the Najd, and in the south by the Region of 'Asir.[2] Its largest city is Jeddah, which is the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia, with Mecca and Medina, the holiest Muslim sites and respectively,the fourth- and fifth-largest cities in the country.[3]
As the location of the cities of Mecca[4] and Medina,[5][6][7] respectively the first and second holiest sites in Islam, the Hejaz is significant in the Arabo-Islamic historical and political landscape. This region is the most populated in Saudi Arabia,[8] and Arabic is the predominant language, as in the rest of Saudi Arabia, with Hejazi Arabic being the most widely spoken dialect here. Some Hejazis are of ethnically diverse origins,[3] although the vast majority are of Arab origin.[9]
According to Islamic tradition, this region is the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was born in Mecca, which is locally considered to have been founded by his ancestors Abraham, Ishmael, and Hagar.[10][11] 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.[12] In September 1932, the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd joined the Saudi dominions of Al-Hasa and Qatif, creating the unified Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[13][14]
^Mackey, p. 101. "The Western Province, or the Hejaz[...]"
^Hopkins, Daniel J. (2001). Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. p. 479. ISBN 0-87779-546-0. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
^ abLeatherdale, Clive (1983). Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925–1939: The Imperial Oasis. Psychology Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780714632209.
^Quran 48:22-29
^Quran 9:25-129
^Quran 33:09-73
^Quran 63:1-11
^"Mecca: Islam's cosmopolitan heart". Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2014. The Hijaz is the largest, most populated, and most culturally and religiously diverse region of Saudi Arabia, in large part because it was the traditional host area of all the pilgrims to Mecca, many of whom settled and intermarried there.
^Minahan, James (1996). Nations Without States: A Historical Dictionary of Contemporary National Movements. Greenwood Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-313-28354-3.
^Lings, Martin (1983). Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. Islamic Texts Society. ISBN 978-0-946621-33-0.
^Glassé, Cyril (1991). "Kaaba". The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-0606-3126-0.
^Yamani, M. (2009), Cradle of Islam: the Hijaz and the quest for an Arabian identity, I.B. Tauris, ISBN 978-1-84511-824-2 (Pbk. ed.)
^Al-Rasheed, M. A History of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. [verification needed]
^A Brief overview of Hejaz - Hejaz history Archived August 15, 2018, at the Wayback Machine [verification needed]
Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz (Arabic: المملكة الحجازية الهاشمية, Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah) was a state in the Hejaz region of Western Asia...
The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (Arabic: مملكة الحجاز ونجد, Mamlakat al-Ḥijāz wa-Najd), initially the Kingdom of Hejaz and Sultanate of Nejd (Arabic: مملكة...
The Vilayet of the Hejaz (Arabic: ولاية الحجاز Wilayat al-Ḥijāz; Ottoman Turkish: ولايت حجاز Vilâyet-i Hicaz) refers to the Hejaz region of Arabia when...
The Saudi conquest of Hejaz or the Second Saudi-Hashemite War, also known as the Hejaz-Nejd War, was a campaign engaged by Saudi Sultan Abdulaziz to take...
Legal chattel Slavery existed in Saudi Arabia until the 1960s. Hejaz (the western region of modern day Saudi Arabia), which encompasses approximately...
The Sharif of Mecca (Arabic: شريف مكة, romanized: Sharīf Makkah) or Hejaz (Arabic: شريف الحجاز, romanized: Sharīf al-Ḥijāz) was the title of the leader...
they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921–1958). The family had ruled the...
December 1925, the Kingdom of Hejaz surrendered to the forces of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, who was thereafter proclaimed king of Hejaz in January 1926 and merged...
al-‘Arabiyya al-Kubrā), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War...
The flag of the Arab Revolt, also known as the flag of Hejaz, was a flag used by Hussein bin Ali and his allies, the Arab nationalists, during the Arab...
commonly shortened to Makkah) is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the holiest city in Islam. It is 70 km...
currency of Hejaz before Saudi Arabia was created, one of the primary currencies in the Mediterranean region during the Ottoman era. The Hejaz riyal was...
originated within the Hejaz region of northwestern Saudi Arabia, which suggests that the biblical Midianites originally came from the Hejaz region of the peninsula...
Saudi Arabia were Nejd and Hejaz. The state flag of Nejd followed today's Saudi flag pattern very closely. The state of Hejaz followed the patterns seen...
Princess Jalila of Hejaz (1923–1955) was a Hijazi princess. She was the daughter of Ali, King of Hejaz, and Princess Nafeesa, sister of Crown Prince 'Abd...
Hadhramaut and Oman), Al-Bahrain (Eastern Arabia or Al-Hassa), and the Hejaz (Tihamah for the western coast), as described by Ibn al-Faqih. In antiquity...
Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of mainly four distinct historical regions: Hejaz, Najd, and parts of Eastern Arabia (Al-Ahsa) and South Arabia ('Asir). The...
became the Kingdom of Hejaz. From 1201, the descendants of the Sharifian patriarch Qatada ruled over Mecca, Medina and the Hejaz in unbroken succession...
and Hasa Emirate of Jabal Shammar Sultanate of Nejd Kingdom of Hejaz Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd Madawi Al-Rasheed. A History of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge...
of Diriyah Emirate of Nejd Emirate of Jabal Shammar Kingdom of Hejaz Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd Madawi Al-Rasheed. (2002). A History of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge...
The riyal (Arabic: ريال riyāl) was the currency of the Kingdom of Hejaz between 1916 and 1925. It was subdivided into 20 qirsh (Arabic: قرش). The riyal...
was officially announced by Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz, the Viceroy of Hejaz on behalf of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud on September 23, 1932 (corresponding...
1902, having previously been Emir, Sultan, and King of Nejd, and King of Hejaz. Ibn Saud was the son of Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, Emir of Nejd, and Sara...