NAJD

also spelled Nejd, region, central Saudi Arabia, comprising a mainly rocky plateau sloping eastward from the mountains of the Hejaz. On the northern, eastern, and southern sides, it is bounded by the sand deserts of an-Nafud, ad-Dahna', and the Rub' al-Khali. It is sparsely settled, except for the fertile oases strung along the escarpment of Jabal (mountains) Tuwayq and the al-'Aramah plateau. The arid region remained politically divided among rival peoples until the mid-18th century, when it became the centre of the Wahhabi, a fundamentalist Islamic movement. Led by the Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab and the Al Sa'ud family, the movement consolidated Najd and expanded into Mecca in 1803. This expansionist policy antagonized the Ottomans, who seized the provincial capital of ad-Dir'iyah. The Al Sa'ud, however, quickly regained control, and, with Riyadh as the new capital from 1824, the dynasty has ruled Najd continuously, save for a brief period around the turn of the century when the Rashid dynasty extended its power over the province. Ibn Sa'ud proclaimed the unified Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, and his provincial capital of Riyadh became the national capital, although Jidda continued as the diplomatic capital. Oases groups within Najd region include al-Kharj, al-Mahmal, as-Sudayr, al-Washm, al-'Arid, al-Qasim, and Jabal Shammar.