History of Nejd

[Aetius]

Does anyone know of any decent books or online information (in English) on the history of interior of Arabia from about the 10th century to the 19th century?

I have found some very sketchy information on the Caramathians and obviously on the Saudis/Rashidis after the 18th century, but I can't find much in between these two dates.

[Aetius]

An update... of sorts
1077 to 1231 eastern Najd under the control of Uyunids
1253 to 1440 Al-Hasa controlled by Usfurids
1440 to 1524 Al-Hasa controlled by Jabrids (this extended to Najd)
From 1238 to 1453 Awal island controlled by Al Asfoor family (no details on if this stretched to Najd)
From 1453 to 1521 Awal island controlled by Juboor family (again no details how far this exteneded)
In 1521 Awal (what is now Bahrain island) taken by Portugal, rest left alone
From 1534 Banu Khalid become vassals of Ottomans (controlling al-Hasa, Qatif and eastern Najd)

Banu Khalid submit to Saudis - eventually

[Shewag]

What kind of info are you looking for, i.e. political, social, economic? The early chapters of A. Vassiliev's 'The History Of Saudi Arabia' might be of some use; if you don't have ready access give me some specifics and I'll see what I can find.

[Aetius]

What is the period it covers? Most of the books I have found basically cover the late 18th century to the present day.

[Shewag]

Originally Posted by Aetius

What is the period it covers? Most of the books I have found basically cover the late 18th century to the present day.

The same is true of most things I have come across; even for the primary chronicles. Vassiliev's stated focus is 1745 to the early 1990s, but the first chapter (40-odd pages) is something of a comprehensive scene-setter, and the introduction includes a detailed discussion of the availible sources (and so can hint at avenues of study depending upon area of research).

Aspects of society in 18th century Najd are recounted at quite some length, reinforced by an analysis of economy; and it is explicitly stated that such things would have changed little since mediaeval times (and reasons given for this). In terms of politics the argument is presented that, despite the presence of both centralising and decentralising forces, the process of centralisation was self limiting and thus there was little unified political control in eastern/central Arabia in the 18th century; it may be speculated that as this was a result of society/economy, a similar state of affairs would have been the reality in mediaeval Arabia also.

Hope that helps somewhat; if you want more specifics I can have a look for you.

[Aetius]

What I am really interested in is the political make-up of the interior, what other local rulers existed in the interior and what areas/tribes paid homage to them. Also how much of it was actually Shia?

[Shewag]

Originally Posted by Aetius

What I am really interested in is the political make-up of the interior, what other local rulers existed in the interior and what areas/tribes paid homage to them. Also how much of it was actually Shia?

Hmmm, well there isn't too much of that. I've never actually read anything that suggests anybody knows in any great detail. If you are interested in politics in a more abstract sense, there is quite a bit on the internal politics of the tribe (interactions of sheikhs with ordinary bedouin), interactions between tribes (in a general sense), relations between settled dwellers and bedouin, goat herders and camel herders and so on. Theories are presented as to why these things developed (or indeed did not develop) as they did.

Arabia is described as quite fertile ground for heretical sects (as indeed some would argue the Wahabbis were) as a result of the lack of political control, and the Carmathians in al-Hasa are mentioned briefly. Regarding the religious makeup of Arabia Vassiliev talks of Ibadhis in Oman and Zaidis [i.e Shi'a] in Yemen, and apparently "many" Shi'a could be found in the north east. Even many of the Hanbali were supposedly not very Orthodox. This is as at the "eve" of Wahabbism; whether or not it was like this previously I honestly can't say, but no obvious reasons for any discrepancy immediately present themselves.

Basically; I think what is significant here is the very lack of formal political institutions, and especially knowledge thereof, that you seek; i.e. this situation was prevalent and was thus the de facto political situation, prone as it was to change.

Sorry I couldn't have been of more help (I know you are seeking answers to specific questions, not the wider historical picture, although I hope you will find this interesting too).

[Aetius]

Thanks for the help! I'll see if can find the book. I guess learning arabic would be the only real way of getting beyond that. I have found a Japanese site with some details, so I can't help but wondering what their sources are...

[Slacker89]

I was searching for information on the Jabrids and stumbled on this page. I don't know if the original poster is still following this thread, but I think I know precisely the book you're looking for:

Najd Before the Salafi Reform Movement: Social Political and Religious Conditions During the Three Centuries Preceding the Rise of the Saudi State

by Uwidah Metaireek Al-Juhany (Author)

Publisher: Ithaca; 1st edition (August 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0863724019
ISBN-13: 978-0863724015

The actual text is only about 126 pages but the author packs a lot of information into them. The title says it covers three centuries before 1744, but the author actually gives a very good survey of the history of the region before then.

If you're specifically asking about Shi'sm in Nejd. There is no evidence that there was any kind of Shi'ism after the 5th Islamic century (11th CE), but a family from the house of Ali did rule present-day Riyadh and its environs from 862 till the late 11th century, and one traveller described them as being Zaydis (soft Shi'ites, if you will). Their name was Banu Al-Ukhaydhir.

[Aetius]

Cool, looks like what I was looking for, thanks!