Najd is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in al-Jawf to the north, the ad-Dahna Desert in al-Ahsa to the east, and the Rub' al-Khali to the south, though it lacks precise boundaries due to varying geographical and political limits throughout history.
Administratively, Najd is divided into three main provinces. These include the Riyadh Province, which features Wadi Hanifa, the Tuwaiq escarpment, and the easterly region of Yamama, home to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, since 1824, as well as the Sudairi region, which has its capital in Majmaah; the Qassim Province, known for its fertile oases and date palm orchards spread out in the highlands along the Wadi Rummah, with its capital in Buraidah, the second-largest Najdi city; and the northerly Ḥa'il Province, which features the mountains of Jabal Shammar and the Tayy capital of Ḥaʼil.
The Najd region is home to approximately one-third of Saudi Arabia's modern population. It is the home of the House of Saud, from which it pursued its unification with Hejaz since the time of the Emirate of Diriyah.
Toponymy The term Najd () literally translates to "highland" in Arabic.
History
Ancient history
The Najd region is home to Al-Magar, which was an advanced prehistoric culture of the Neolithic period whose center lay in modern-day southwestern Najd. Al-Magar was possibly one of the first cultures in the world to practice widespread agriculture and the domestication of animals, particularly horses, before climate changes in the region resulted in desertification.; Radiocarbon dating of several objects discovered at Al-Magar indicate an age of about 9,000 years.
In November 2017, hunting scenes showing images of what appear to be domesticated dogs resembling the Canaan dog and wearing leashes were discovered in Shuwaymis, an area about 370 km southwest of the city of Ha'il. Dated at 8,000 years before the present, these are thought to be the earliest known depictions of dogs in the world.
In the 5th century AD, the tribes of North Arabia became a major threat to the trade line between Yemen and Syria. The Ḥimyarites of Sheba decided to establish a vassal state that controlled Central and North Arabia. The Kindites, mentioned in Greek sources as the Chinedakolpitai (), gained strength and numbers to play that role and in AD 425 the Ḥimyarite king Ḥasan ibn 'Amr ibn Tubba’ made Ḥujr 'Akīl al-Murār ibn 'Amr the first King (Ḥujr) of Kindah. They established the Kingdom of Kinda in Najd in central Arabia, which was unlike the organized states of Yemen: its kings exercised an influence over a number of associated tribes more by personal prestige than by coercive settled authority. Their first capital was Qaryat Dhāt Kāhil, today known as Qaryat al-Fāw.History of Arabia – Kindah. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
The Ghassānids, Lakhmids and Kindites were all Kahlānī and Qaḥṭānī kingdoms which thrived in Najd. In the 5th and 6th centuries AD, the Kindites made the first real concerted effort to unite all the tribes of Central Arabia through alliances, and focused on wars with the Lakhmids. Al-Ḥārith ibn 'Amr, the most famous of their kings, finally succeeded in capturing the Lakhmid capital of al-Ḥirah in southern modern-day Iraq. Later, however, in about 529, al-Mundhir recaptured the city and put King Ḥārith and about fifty members of his family to death.
In 525, the Aksumites invaded Ḥimyar, and this had a knock-on effect with the Kindites, who lost the support of the Ḥimyarites. Within three years the Kingdom of Kinda had split into four groups: Asad, Taghlib, Qays and Kinānah, each led by a prince of Kindah. These small principalities were then overthrown in the 530s and 540s in a series of uprisings of the Adnani tribes of Najd and Hijaz. In 540, the Lakhmids destroyed all the Kindite settlements in Nejd, forcing the majority of them to move to Yemen. The Kindites and most of the Arab tribes switched their alliances to the Lakhmids.
Islamic history
In the 7th century, Muhammad carried out military expeditions in the area. The first was the Nejd Caravan Raid against the Quraysh, which took place in 624. The Meccans led by Safwan ibn Umayya, who lived on trade, left in summer for Syria for their seasonal trade business. After Muhammad received intelligence about the Caravan's route, he ordered Zayd ibn Haritha to go after the Caravan, and they successfully raided it and captured 100,000 dirhams worth of booty.Mubarakpuri, The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet, p. 290. Note: Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic; an English translation is available.
The Invasion of Najd happened in Rabi II or Jumada I 4 AH (October 625 AD). Muhammad led his fighters to Najd to scare off some tribes whose intentions were suspicious. Some scholars say the expedition of Dhat al-Riqa took place in Nejd as part of this invasion.
The most authentic opinion according to "Saif ar-Rahman al-Mubararakpuri", however, is that the Dhat ar-Riqa' campaign took place after the fall of Khaybar (and not as part of the invasion of Najd). This is supported by the fact that Abu Hurayra and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari witnessed the battle. Abu Hurayra embraced Islam only some days before Khaybar, and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari came back from Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia), and joined Muhammad at Khaybar. The rules relating to the prayer of fear, which Muhammad observed at the Dhat Ar-Riqa' campaign, were revealed at the Asfan invasion and, these scholars say, took place after al-Khandaq.
The Expedition of Qatan also took place in Nejd. The Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah tribe (not to be confused with the Banu Asad tribe) was a powerful tribe connected with the Quraysh. They resided near the hill of Katan, in the vicinity of Fayd, in Nejd. Muhammad received intelligence reports that they were planning a raid on Medina, so he dispatched a force of 150 men under the leadership of Abu Salama 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Asad to make a sudden attack on this tribe.Mubarakpuri, The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet, p. 349.Ibn Sa’d, vol.ii, p. 150.
Ridda wars
After Prophet Muhammad's death, previously dormant tensions between the Meccan immigrants, the Muhajirun, and the Medinan converts, the Ansar, threatened to split the Ummah. Other Arabian tribes also wished to revert from Islam to local leadership and split from Medina's control; in some places, people such as Al-Aswad Al-Ansi and Musaylima claimed prophethood and started to establish leaderships in opposition to Medina.Fred M. Donner, Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam, Harvard University Press, 2010; .
The Ansar, the leaders of the tribes of Medina, met in a hall or house called saqifah, to discuss whom they would support as their new leader. When Abu Bakr was informed of the meeting, he, Umar, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and a few others rushed to prevent the Ansar from making a premature decision. During the meeting Umar declared that Abu Bakr should be the new leader, and declared his allegiance to Abu Bakr, followed by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, and thus Abu Bakr became the first caliph.
Apostasy and rebellion in central Arabia were led by Musaylima in the fertile region of Yamamah. He was mainly supported by the powerful tribe of Banu Hanifa. At Buzakha in north central Arabia, another claimed prophet, Tulayha, a tribal chief of Banu Asad, led the rebellion against Medina, aided by the allied tribes of Banu Ghatafan, the Hawazin, and the Tayy. At Najd, Malik ibn Nuweira led the tribes of Banu Tamim against the authority of Medina.The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition. Vol. 1, p. 110. Peter Hellyer, Ibrahim Al-Abed, Ibrahim Al Abed, "The United Arab Emirates, A New Perspective", London: Trident Press, 2001, pp. 81–84; .
On receiving intelligence of the Muslims' preparations, Tulayha too prepared for a battle, and was further reinforced by the contingents of the allied tribes. Before launching Khalid ibn Al-Walid against Tulayha, Abu Bakr sought ways and means of reducing the latter's strength, so that the battle could be fought with the maximum prospects of victory. Nothing could be done about the tribes of Banu Asad and Banu Ghatafan, which stood solidly behind Tulayha, but the Tayy were not so staunch in their support of Tulayha, and their chief, Adi ibn Hatim, was a devout Muslim. Adi was appointed by Abu Bakr to negotiate with the tribal elders to withdraw their contingent from Tulayha's army. The negotiations were a success, and Adi brought with him 500 horsemen of his tribe to reinforce Khalid's army.
Khalid next marched against another apostate tribe, Jadila. Here again, Adi ibn Hatim offered his services to persuade the tribe to submit without bloodshed. Bani Jadila submitted, and their 1000 warriors joined Khalid's army. Khalid, now much stronger than when he had left Zhu Qissa, marched for Buzakha. There, in mid-September 632, he defeated Tulayha in the Battle of Buzakha. The remaining army of Tulayha retreated to Ghamra, 20 miles from Buzakha, and was defeated in the Battle of Ghamra in the third week of September.A. I. Akram (1970), The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns, Rawalpindi: National Publishing. House; .
Several tribes submitted to the Caliph after Khalid's decisive victories. Moving south from Buzakha, Khalid reached Naqra in October, with an army now 6000 strong, and defeated the rebel tribe of Banu Saleem in the Battle of Naqra. In the third week of October, Khalid defeated a tribal chieftess, Salma, in the battle of Zafar.
Afterwards, he moved to Najd against the rebel tribe of Banu Tamim and their Sheikh Malik ibn Nuwayrah. At Najd, getting the news of Khalid's decisive victories against apostates in Buzakha, many clans of Banu Tamim hastened to visit Khalid, but the Banu Yarbu', a branch of Banu Tamim, under their chief, Malik ibn Nuwayrah, hung back. Malik was a chief of some distinction: a warrior, noted for his generosity, and a famous poet. Bravery, generosity, and poetry were the three qualities most admired among the Arabs. At the time of Muhammad, he had been appointed as a tax collector for the tribe of Banu Tamim. As soon as Malik heard of the death of Muhammad he gave back all the tax to his tribespeople, saying "Now you are the owner of your wealth." Moreover, he was to be charged because he signed a pact with the anti-Islamic prophet Sajjah. This agreement stated that first, they would deal with local enemy tribes together, and then they would confront the state of Madinah.
His riders were stopped by Khalid's army at the town of Buttah. Khalid asked them about the signing of pact with Sajjah; they said it was just because they wanted revenge against their terrible enemies. When Khalid reached Najd he found no opposing army. He sent his cavalry to nearby villages and ordered them to call the Athaan to each party they meet.
Zirrar bin Azwar, a squadron leader, arrested the family of Malik, claiming they did not answer the call to prayer. Malik avoided direct contact with Khalid's army and ordered his followers to scatter, and he and his family apparently moved away across the desert. He refused to give zakat, hence differentiating between prayer and zakat. Nevertheless, Malik was accused of rebellion against the state of Medina. He was also to be charged for his entering in an anti-Caliphate alliance with the anti-Islamic prophetess Sajjah. Malik was arrested along with his clansmen.
Malik was asked by Khalid about his crimes. Malik's response was "your master said this, your master said that", referring to Abu Bakr. Khalid declared Malik a rebel apostate and ordered his execution.Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 5. Khalid bin Walid killed Malik ibn Nuwayra.