Editing Saudi Arabia (section)

=== Pre-Islamic ===
{{main|Pre-Islamic Arabia}}
[[File:Statue at National Museum of Korea.jpg|thumb|upright|The "Worshipping Servant" statue (2500 BC), above {{convert|1|m|spell=in}} in height, is much taller than any possible Mesopotamian or Harappan models. Photo courtesy of the [[National Museum of Korea]].<ref name="Roads of Arabia p. 180">Roads of Arabia p. 180</ref>]]

The earliest sedentary culture in Saudi Arabia dates back to the [[Ubaid period]] at [[Dosariyah]]. Climatic change and the onset of aridity may have brought about the end of this phase of settlement, as little archaeological evidence exists from the succeeding millennium.<ref>Roads of Arabia p. 176.</ref> The settlement of the region picks up again in the period of [[Dilmun]] in the early 3rd millennium. Known records from [[Uruk]] refer to a place called Dilmun, associated on several occasions with copper, and in later periods it was a source of imported woods in southern Mesopotamia. Scholars have suggested that Dilmun originally designated the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, notably linked with the major Dilmunite settlements of Umm an-Nussi and Umm ar-Ramadh in the interior and Tarout on the coast. It is likely that [[Tarout Island]] was the main port and the capital of Dilmun.<ref name="Roads of Arabia p. 180" /> Mesopotamian inscribed clay tablets suggest that, in the early period of Dilmun, a form of hierarchical organized political structure existed. In 1966, an earthwork in Tarout exposed an ancient burial field that yielded a large statue dating to the Dilmunite period (mid 3rd millennium BC). The statue was locally made under the strong Mesopotamian influence on the artistic principle of Dilmun.<ref name="Roads of Arabia p. 180" />

By 2200 BC, the centre of Dilmun shifted for unknown reasons from Tarout and the Saudi Arabian mainland to the island of Bahrain, and a highly developed settlement emerged there, where a laborious temple complex and thousands of burial mounds dating to this period were discovered.<ref name="Roads of Arabia p. 180"/>

[[File:Qasr al Farid.JPG|thumb|left|''Qaṣr Al-Farīd'', the largest of the 131 [[Rock cut architecture|rock-cut]] monumental tombs built from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, with their elaborately ornamented façades, at the extensive ancient [[Nabatean]] archaeological site of [[Hegra (Mada'in Salih)|Hegra]] located in the area of [[Al-'Ula]] within [[Al Madinah Region]] in the [[Hejaz]]. A UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] since 2008.]]

By the late [[Bronze Age]], a historically recorded people and land ([[Midian]] and the Midianites) in the north-western portion of Saudi Arabia are well-documented in the Bible. Centred in [[Tabuk, Saudi Arabia|Tabouk]], it stretched from [[Wadi Arabah]] in the north to the area of al-Wejh in the south.<ref>Koenig 1971; Payne 1983: Briggs 2009</ref> The capital of Midian was Qurayyah,<ref name="ArnoldStrawn2016">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=e9xrDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT462 The World around the Old Testament: The People and Places of the Ancient Near East] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328143857/https://books.google.com/books?id=e9xrDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT462#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=28 March 2024 }}''. Baker Publishing Group; 2016. {{ISBN|978-1-4934-0574-9}} p. 462.</ref> it consists of a large, fortified citadel encompassing 35 hectares and below it lies a walled settlement of 15 hectares. The city hosted as many as 12,000 inhabitants.<ref name="Coogan2001">Michael D. Coogan. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gM-tZeEO4wgC&pg=PA110 The Oxford History of the Biblical World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328143909/https://books.google.com/books?id=gM-tZeEO4wgC&pg=PA110#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=28 March 2024 }}''. Oxford University Press; 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-19-988148-2}}. p. 110.</ref> The Bible recounts [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Israel]]'s [[Midian war|two wars]] with Midian, somewhere in the early 11th century BC. Politically, the Midianites were described as having a decentralized structure headed by five kings (Evi, Rekem, Tsur, Hur, and Reba); the names appear to be toponyms of important Midianite settlements.<ref>Knauf, 1988</ref> It is common to view that Midian designated a confederation of tribes, the sedentary element settled in the Hijaz while its nomadic affiliates pastured and sometimes pillaged as far away as [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]].<ref name="Midian p. 163">Midian, Moab and Edom: The History and Archaeology of Late Bronze and Iron Age Jordan and North-West Arabia p. 163.</ref> The nomadic [[Midianites]] were one of the earliest exploiters of the domestication of camels that enabled them to navigate through the harsh terrains of the region.<ref name="Midian p. 163" />

[[File:Statue of a man at National Museum of Korea 01.jpg|thumb|upright|Colossal statue from [[Al-'Ula]] in the [[Hejaz]] (6th–4th century BC), it followed the standardized artistic sculpting of the [[Lihyan]]ite kingdom. The original statue was painted with white. ([[Louvre|Louvre Museum]], [[Paris]])<ref>{{Cite web |last=Farag |first=Mona |date=2022-09-07 |title=Louvre Museum in Paris to display Saudi Arabia's ancient AlUla statue |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/2022/09/07/louvre-museum-in-paris-to-display-saudi-arabias-ancient-alula-statue/ |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=The National |language=en |archive-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924152322/https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/2022/09/07/louvre-museum-in-paris-to-display-saudi-arabias-ancient-alula-statue/ |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

At the end of the 7th century BC, an emerging kingdom appeared in north-western Arabia. It started as a sheikdom of Dedan, which developed into the kingdom of [[Lihyan]].<ref name="Lihyan p. 192">The State of Lihyan: A New Perspective – p. 192</ref><ref>J. Schiettecatte: [https://www.academia.edu/29477825/2016_-_The_political_map_of_Arabia_and_the_Middle_East_in_the_third_century_AD_revealed_by_a_Sabaean_inscription._Arabian_Archaeology_and_Epigraphy_27.2_176-196/ The political map of Arabia and the Middle East in the third century AD revealed by a Sabaean inscription] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709184656/https://www.academia.edu/29477825/2016_-_The_political_map_of_Arabia_and_the_Middle_East_in_the_third_century_AD_revealed_by_a_Sabaean_inscription._Arabian_Archaeology_and_Epigraphy_27.2_176-196 |date=9 July 2023 }} – p. 183</ref> During this period, Dedan transformed into a kingdom that encompassed a much wider domain.<ref name="Lihyan p. 192" /> In the early 3rd century BC, with bustling economic activity between the south and north, Lihyan acquired large influence suitable to its strategic position on the caravan road.<ref>The State of Lihyan: A New Perspective</ref> The Lihyanites ruled over a large domain from [[Medina|Yathrib]] in the south and parts of the Levant in the north.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.saudiarabiatourismguide.com/lion-tombs-dedan/|title=Lion Tombs of Dedan|date=19 September 2017|website=Saudi Arabia Tourism Guide|access-date=19 November 2018|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120022655/http://www.saudiarabiatourismguide.com/lion-tombs-dedan/|url-status=live}}</ref> In antiquity, Gulf of Aqaba used to be called Gulf of Lihyan, a testimony to the extensive influence that Lihyan acquired.<ref name="HiltonHilton1996">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=XL-uCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT153 Discovering Lehi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328143724/https://books.google.com/books?id=XL-uCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT153 |date=28 March 2024 }}''. Cedar Fort; 1996. {{ISBN|978-1-4621-2638-5}}. p. 153.</ref>

The Lihyanites fell into the hands of the [[Nabataeans]] around 65 BC upon their seizure of Hegra then marching to [[Tayma]], and to their capital Dedan in 9 BC. The Nabataeans ruled large portions of north Arabia until their domain was annexed by the [[Roman Empire]], which renamed it [[Arabia Petraea]], and remained under the rule of the Romans until 630.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Jane|title=Petra|publisher=Aurum Press Ltd|year=2005|isbn=978-9957-451-04-2|location=London|pages=25–31}}</ref>