Editing Najd (section)

=== Ancient history ===
[[File:Pergamon-Museum - Minäische Schrifttafel.jpg|thumb|left|Plaque with a [[Minaean language|Ma'inic]] inscription and two ibexes (1st century BC – 1st century AD), [[Qaryat al-Faw]]]]
The Najd region is home to [[Al-Magar]], which was an advanced prehistoric culture of the [[Neolithic]] whose center lay in modern-day southwestern Najd. Al-Magar is possibly one of the first cultures in the world where widespread agriculture and the domestication of animals occurred, particularly that of the horse, during the [[Neolithic]] period, before climate changes in the region resulted in [[desertification]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sylvia|first1=Smith|title=Desert finds challenge horse taming ideas|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21538969|accessdate=13 November 2016|agency=BBC News|date=26 February 2013}}; {{cite news|last1=John|first1=Henzell|title=Carved in stone: were the Arabs the first to tame the horse?|url=http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/carved-in-stone-were-the-arabs-the-first-to-tame-the-horse|accessdate=12 November 2016|agency=thenational|publisher=thenational|date=11 March 2013}}</ref> [[Radiocarbon dating]] of several objects discovered at Al-Magar indicate an age of about 9,000 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://paleolithic-neolithic.com/overview/al-magar/|title=Al-Magar Civilization Domestication of Horses in Saudi Arabia?|publisher=New Public Scientific Portal for: Paleolithic & Neolithic Rock Art Cave Paintings & Rock Engravings - Thomas Kummert|accessdate=18 June 2018}}</ref>

In November 2017 hunting scenes showing images of what appear to be domesticated dogs resembling the [[Canaan dog]] and wearing leashes were discovered in Shuwaymis, an area about 370&nbsp;km southwest of the city of Ha'il. Dated at 8,000 years before the present, these are thought of as the earliest known depictions of dogs in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/these-may-be-world-s-first-images-dogs-and-they-re-wearing-leashes|title=These may be the world's first images of dogs—and they're wearing leashes|publisher= Science Magazine - David Grimm|accessdate=18 June 2018}}</ref>

[[File:قطع من أثار حضارة المقر.jpg|thumb|A large ancient stone carving, dating back to 8100 BC, of an [[equid]]—an animal belonging to the horse family, found at [[Al-Magar]]. The piece itself, measuring 86 cms long by 18 cms thick and weighing more than 135kg., is a large sculptural fragment that appears to show the head, muzzle, shoulder and withers of a horse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/middle_east/saudi_arabia_rock_art/al_magar.php |title=The rock art of Saudi Arabia|publisher= Bradshaw Foundation - Dr. Majeed Khan|accessdate=1 August 2021}}</ref>]]
In the 5th century AD, the tribes of North Arabia became a major threat to the trade line between [[Yemen]] and [[Syria (region)|Syria]]. The [[Himyarite Kingdom|Ḥimyarites]] of Sheba decided to establish a [[vassal state]] that controlled Central and North Arabia. The Kindites, mentioned in Greek sources as the [[Kinaidokolpitai|Chinedakolpitai]] ({{Langx|el|Χινεδακολπιται}}), gained strength and numbers to play that role and in AD 425 the Ḥimyarite king Ḥasan ibn 'Amr ibn Tubba’ made Ḥujr 'Akīl al-Murār ibn 'Amr the first King ([[Hujr|Ḥujr]]) of Kindah. They established the [[Kingdom of Kinda]] in Najd in central Arabia unlike the organized states of [[Yemen]]; its kings exercised an influence over a number of associated tribes more by personal prestige than by coercive settled authority. Their first capital was Qaryat Dhāt Kāhil, today known as [[Qaryat al-Fāw]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31568/history-of-Arabia/45976/Kindah#ref484269 History of Arabia – Kindah]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 11 February 2012.</ref>

The [[Ghassanids|Ghassānids]], [[Lakhmids]] and Kindites were all [[Kahlani|Kahlānī]] and [[Qahtanite|Qaḥṭānī]] kingdoms which thrived in Najd. In the 5th and 6th centuries AD, the Kindites made the first real concerted effort to unite all the tribes of Central Arabia through alliances, and focused on wars with the [[Lakhmids]]. Al-Ḥārith ibn 'Amr, the most famous of their kings, finally succeeded in capturing the Lakhmid capital of [[al-Ḥirah]] in southern modern-day Iraq.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/318035/Kindah|title=Kindah (people)|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=18 June 2013}}</ref> Later however in about 529, al-Mundhir recaptured the city and put King Ḥārith and about fifty members of his family to death.

In 525, the [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksumites]] invaded Ḥimyar, and this had a knock-on effect with the Kindites, who lost the support of the Ḥimyarites. Within three years the Kindite kingdom had split into four groups: Asad, Taghlib, Qays and Kinānah, each led by a prince of Kindah. These small principalities were then overthrown in the 530s and 540s in a series of uprisings of the [[Adnani]] tribes of Najd and [[Hijaz]]. In 540, the [[Lakhmids]] destroyed all the Kindite settlements in [[Nejd]], forcing the majority of them to move to [[Yemen]]. The Kindites and most of the Arab tribes switched their alliances to the [[Lakhmids]].