Najd, the Heart of Arabia

Throughout history and up until the middle of the twentieth century, available information about Najd, the vast central region of the present-day Saudi Arabia, had generally been scarce, especially in languages other than Arabic. Najd of the past had a unique and distinctive culture that deserves to be known in the West. This article aims at briefly examining available information concerning Najd from antiquity up until the middle of the twentieth century, showing that more than one factor participated in the shortage of information concerning Najd of the past and its culture. The objective of this article is to define the physical features of Najd in order to show how these features had participated in its external isolation and eventually the lack of information encompassing the unique culture of Najd of the past. A brief review of the history of Najd provides the necessary information on how Najd had suffered from neglect, misunderstanding, and underestimation of its culture. This article ends by referring to the fact that time, with its change of circumstances, has brought and is still bringing more on the past of Najd and its inhabitants and culture.