Early Modern States of Arabia: Map & History

The Tahirids supported Sunni orthodoxy and suppressed heterodox and sectarian movements and religio-social protests throughout Khorasan and Transoxiana. While serving as governors for the Abbasids they fought against Kharijites and Zaydi Shi'ite Hasanids, and their coins and sermons acknowledged the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliphs.

From Wikipedia: Tahirid dynasty · Language and culture: Religion (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth explains that while the Tahirids were Persians, they were highly Arabized in culture, and eager to be accepted in the caliphal world, where cultivation of things Arabic gave social and cultural prestige. Due to this the Tahirids were not part of the renaissance of Early New Persian language and culture. He adds that the Persian language was at least tolerated in the entourage of the Tahirids, whereas the Saffarids played a leading part in the renaissance of Persian literature. Tahirids were passionate about Arabic poetry, and were extremely generous to poets writing in Arabic. Tahir ibn Husayn was highly adept at writing Arabic prose. The Tahirid governor of Khurasan, Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥusayn al-Muṣʿabī, employed Abu Tammum who wrote Arabic poetry.

From Wikipedia: Tahirid dynasty · Language and culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Oman has traditionally been divided between the relatively barren and sparsely populated interior and the more populous coastal region. There was often little or no overall government in the interior, and the tribes often fought amongst each other. They shared belief in the Ibadi branch of Islam, distinct from the main Sunni and Shia schools. The coastal region, particularly the northeast coast around Muscat, was more outward looking, with longstanding connections to Mesopotamia and Persia.

From Wikipedia: Ya'rubids · Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)

When Sultan bin Saif II died in 1718 a struggle began between rival contenders for the Imamate.

From Wikipedia: Ya'rubids · Civil war and Persian invasions (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The imams based their legitimacy on descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad, mostly via the prominent Zaydiyya theologian al-Qasim al-Rassi (d. 860) - his cognomen refers to ar-Rass, a property in the vicinity of Mecca that he owned. After him, the medieval imams are sometimes known as Rassids. The first of the ruling line, his grandson al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, was born in Medina. His fame as an intellectual as well as a leader of note, led to his invitation to Yemen. He was summoned to govern the highland tribes in 893 and again in 896-97. Al-Hadi introduced a multitude of policies and practices that evolved into the particular Yemeni Zaidi Shia brand. The efforts of al-Hadi eventually became the basic guidelines for the religious as well as political characteristics of Yemeni Zaydism. Al-Hadi, however, was not able to consolidate his rule in all of Yemen.

From Wikipedia: Rassid dynasty · Establishment of the imamate (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The House of Saud and its allies quickly rose to become the dominant power in Arabia by first conquering Najd, and then expanding their influence over the eastern coast from Kuwait down to the northern borders of Oman. Saud's forces also captured the highlands of Asir, while Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab wrote letters to people and scholars to join the jihad. After many military campaigns, Muhammad bin Saud died in 1765, leaving the leadership to his son, Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, whose forces captured the Shia holy city of Karbala, in Ottoman Iraq, in 1801. Here they destroyed the shrine of the saints and monuments and killed over 5,000 civilians. In retribution, Abdulaziz was assassinated by a young Shia in 1803, having followed him back to Najd.

From Wikipedia: First Saudi state · History: Early establishment (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The task of weakening the grip of the House of Saud was given to the powerful viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, by the Ottomans. This initiated the Ottoman–Saudi War, in which Muhammad Ali sent his troops to the Hejaz region by sea. His son, Ibrahim Pasha, then led Ottoman forces into the heart of Najd, capturing town after town. Saud's successor, his son Abdullah I, was unable to prevent the recapture of the region. Finally, Ibrahim reached the Saudi capital at Diriyah. He placed it under siege for several months until it surrendered in the winter of 1818. Ibrahim then shipped off many members of the House of Saud to Egypt and the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). Abdullah I was later executed in the Ottoman capital, with his severed head thrown into the waters of the Bosporus, marking the end of what became known as the first Saudi state.

From Wikipedia: First Saudi state · History: Decline of sovereignty (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 2022, the Saudi government designated 1727, the year Muhammad I assumed leadership of the Sheikhdom of Diriyah, as the official beginning of the first Saudi state. They also designated February 22 as Saudi Founding Day, an annual holiday to celebrate the nation's founding.

From Wikipedia: First Saudi state · Legacy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Al Aybut Al Awal, in the Dhofar Governorate of Oman, a site was discovered in 2011 containing more than 100 surface scatters of stone tools, belonging to a regionally specific African lithic industry—the late Nubian Complex—known previously only from the northeast and Horn of Africa. Two optically stimulated luminescence age estimates place the Arabian Nubian Complex at 106,000 years old. This supports the proposition that early human populations moved from Africa into Arabia during the Late Pleistocene.

From Wikipedia: Oman · History: Prehistory (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Oman is an absolute monarchy, with the Sultan's word having the force of law. The judiciary branch is subordinate to the Sultan. According to Oman's constitution, Sharia law is one of the sources of legislation. Sharia court departments within the civil court system are responsible for family-law matters, such as divorce and inheritance.

From Wikipedia: Oman · Politics: Legal system (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Oman's Basic Statute of the State expresses in Article 11 that the "national economy is based on justice and the principles of a free economy". By regional standards, Oman has a relatively diversified economy, but remains dependent on oil exports. In terms of monetary value, mineral fuels accounted for 82.2 percent of total product exports in 2018. Tourism is the fastest-growing industry in Oman. Other sources of income, agriculture and industry, are small in comparison and account for less than 1% of the country's exports, but diversification is seen as a priority by the government. Agriculture, often subsistence in its character, produces dates, limes, grains and vegetables, but with less than 1% of the country under cultivation, Oman is likely to remain a net importer of food.

From Wikipedia: Oman · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sultan Said bin Taimur expressed his interest in occupying the Imamate right after the death of Imam Alkhalili, thus taking advantage of any potential instability that might occur within the Imamate when elections were due, to the British government. The British political agent in Muscat believed that the only method of gaining access to the oil reserves in the interior was by assisting the sultan in taking over the Imamate. In 1946, the British government offered arms and ammunition, auxiliary supplies and officers to prepare the sultan to attack the interior of Oman. In May 1954, Imam Alkhalili died and Ghalib Alhinai was elected Imam. Relations between the Sultan Said bin Taimur, and Imam Ghalib Alhinai frayed over their dispute about oil concessions.

From Wikipedia: Oman · History: Jebel Akhdar War (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In October 2004, the Omani government set up a Ministry of Sports Affairs to replace the General Organisation for Youth, Sports and Cultural Affairs. The 19th Arabian Gulf Cup took place in Muscat, from 4 to 17 January 2009 and was won by the Omani national football team. The 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup that took place in Kuwait, from 22 December 2017 until 5 January 2018 with Oman winning their second title, defeating the United Arab Emirates in the final.

From Wikipedia: Oman · Culture: Sports (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Human rights in Kuwait has been the subject of significant criticism, particularly regarding the Bedoon (stateless people). The Kuwaiti government's handling of the stateless Bedoon crisis has come under criticism from many human rights organisations and even the United Nations. According to Human Rights Watch in 1995, Kuwait has produced 300,000 stateless Bedoon. Kuwait has the largest number of stateless people in the entire region. Since 1986, the Kuwaiti government has refused to grant any form of documentation to the Bedoon including birth certificates, death certificates, identity cards, marriage certificates, and driving licences. According to several human rights organizations, Kuwait is committing ethnic cleansing and genocide against the stateless Bedoon.

From Wikipedia: Kuwait · Government and politics: Human rights and corruption (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The biggest non-oil industry is steel manufacturing. United Steel Industrial Company (KWT Steel) is Kuwait's main steel manufacturing company, which caters to all of Kuwait's domestic market demands (particularly construction). Kuwait is self-sufficient in steel.

From Wikipedia: Kuwait · Economy: Other non-oil industries (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the early 1990s, Kuwait deported nearly 400,000 Palestinians. Kuwait's policy was a form of collective punishment, in response to the alignment of the PLO with Saddam Hussein. Kuwait also deported thousands of Iraqis and Yemenis after the Gulf War. Hundreds of thousands of stateless Bedoon, also spelled Bidoon in UN documents, were also expelled from Kuwait in the early-to-mid 1990s. At the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in 1995, it was revealed that the Al Sabah ruling family deported 150,000 stateless Bedoon to refugee camps in the Kuwaiti desert near the Iraqi border with minimal water, insufficient food, and no basic shelter. Many of the stateless Bedoon fled to Iraq where they remain stateless people even today.

From Wikipedia: Kuwait · History: 1992–2023: Post-war period (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Kuwait has the oldest performing arts industry in the Arabian Peninsula. Kuwait's television drama industry is the largest and most active Gulf Arab drama industry and annually produces a minimum of fifteen serials. Kuwait is the main production center of the Gulf television drama and comedy scene. Most Gulf television drama and comedy productions are filmed in Kuwait. Kuwaiti soap operas are the most-watched soap operas from the Gulf region. Soap operas are most popular during the time of Ramadan, when families gather to break their fast. Although usually performed in the Kuwaiti dialect, they have been shown with success as far away as Tunisia. Kuwait is frequently dubbed the "Hollywood of the Gulf" due to the popularity of its television soap operas and theatre.

From Wikipedia: Kuwait · Culture: Performing arts (CC BY-SA 4.0)