Najd

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.