Omani Saifs...

[Jeff D]

Originally Posted by S.Al-Anizi

Hi Jeff,

Im referring to the entire peninsula, and specifically Nejd and the Hijaz. Nothing is known about what happened between the 13th-17th centuries there, things like the many towns and cities established now, that were not there pre-13th century. Tribes and tribal confederations, the position of the grand sharif, when did the start? Ruling families and classes, and when they started to rule. Many things.

Hi Saqr,

You are right, I have had a hard time finding much information on this area as well. My guess the reason for this is:
In the time of the Prophet the peninsula was a major trade route from East to west for the caravans. This was due to the instability brought about by the Byzantine and Persians conflicts in the near middle east. The Caravans brought prosperity and likewise documentation. After the Mongol invasions the middle east was unified politcally, and became more stable. The carvans then took the more direct route through the middle east bypassing the peninsula. Unfortunately the region was scarce of the materials to maintain itself (iron, wood, coal, etc.) . Also agriculture remained at a relatively rudimentary level due to the low esteem it held in the Arab society. Essentially the peninsula became dominated by its nomadic tribes and therefore lost its documentation. The Northern and Southern boarder states did maintain themselves, however they became victims of European colonial interests.
Later when the middle east destabilized with the Ottoman-Persian conflicts the Northern routes and Southern sea routes had taken over.
At least this is my simplifed account of this area and why little is know of it (at least to me).
i would love to know more, if you or anyone else knows of any books on these areas i would love to hear of them.

All the Best
Jeff