The Security Situation in Najd During the Twelfth Century AH / Eighteenth Century AD

Abstract

Najdi society was formed of a mixture of the desert and settled areas, and despite their presence in the same area and their coexistence, the nature of each of them is different from the other, the Bedouin society used to constantly migrate in search of the resources and water that it needs in its life. Their lives were characterized by constant competition, frequent movement, and instability as a result of permanent conflicts in which the strong dominate the weak. Force remained the decisive factor in coexistence between the components of the local community in Najd. Several clashes and incidents arose between them, almost daily, which had a great impact on life there, and was a strong motive for the intervention of neighboring forces in its local affairs, in order to subjugate these tribes or secure trade routes and protect pilgrims. belonging to those forces. Najd was subjected to major campaigns by these two forces in the Hejaz and the eastern Arabian Peninsula, and these conflicts contributed to impeding the urban, economic and agricultural advancement through the large number of times when tribes interferred in the life of cities and villages, weakening or completely destroying them. This was followed by the emergence of the power of the first Saudi state in 1139 AH / 1727 AD as a political force, and the growth of its influence and dominance in the center of the Arabian Peninsula. The Saudi state, was able to restore the political balance in the region, and impose its prestige and presence on the internal forces in the region, and the forces surrounding it.