Hejaz

Hejaz (also Hijaz, Hedjaz; al-Ḥiǧāz) is a region in the northwest of present-day Saudi Arabia; its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better-known for the holy city of Mecca. As a region, The Hijaz, as it is often referred to, because of being the site of Islam's holy places, has significance in the Arab and Islamic historical and political landscape.

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Under the control of regional powers such as Egypt or the Ottoman Empire through most of its history, Hejaz enjoyed a brief period of political independence in the early 20th century. It was one of several regions of the Ottoman Empire provoked into rebellion by T. E. Lawrence ("of Arabia") of the British during World War I. In 1916 its independence was proclaimed by Husain ibn Ali, the Sherif of Makkah. In 1924, however, ibn Ali's authority was usurped by ibn Saud of the neighboring nation of Nejd and became known as the Kingdom of Hijaz and Nejd and later the Saudi Arabian state.

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Jeddah: :This article is about the Saudi Arabian city. For the Australian movie, see Jedda....

Mecca: :This article is about the holy city in Saudi Arabia. For other uses, see Mecca (disambiguation)...

Arab: The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa....