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The ʿAsir Region ( ar, عَسِيرٌ, ʿAsīr, lit=difficult) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country that is named after the ʿAsīr tribe. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,211,875 (2017). It is surrounded by Mecca Province to the north and west, Al-Bahah Province to the northwest,
Riyadh Province The Riyadh Province ( ar, منطقة الرياض '), also known as the Riyadh Region, is a region of Saudi Arabia, located in the geographic center of the country. It has an area of and with a 2017 population of 8,216,284, it is the second- ...
to the northeast,
Jazan Province Jizan Region also spelled Jazan ( ar, جيزان, Jizan) is the second smallest (after Al Bahah) region of Saudi Arabia. It stretches along the southern Red Sea coast, just north of Yemen. It covers an area of 11,671 km2 and has a populat ...
to the south, and Najran Province to the southeast. ʿAsir also shares a short border with the Saada Governorate of
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
to the south. The capital of the ʿAsir Region is Abha. Other towns include
Khamis Mushait Khamis Mushayt or Khamis Mushait ( ar, خميس مشيط, ') is a city in south-west Saudi Arabia, located east of Abha, the provincial seat of the 'Asir Province, 650 nautical miles from Dhahran and from the national capital of Riyadh. It is th ...
,
Bisha Bisha ( ar, بيشة, '), also known as Qal`at Bishah ( ar, قلعة بيشة, '), is a town in the south-western Saudi Arabian province, 'Asir. Bisha was its own province before merging with its neighboring province, 'Asir. Bisha has a populati ...
and
Bareq Bareq ( ar, بارق; also transliterated as '), is one of the governorates of Asir in the north-west of the region, north of Abha. It occupies a distinct location midway between Tihama and Asir, above sea level. With an estimated popul ...
. The regional governor is
Turki bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Turki bin Talal Al Saud ( ar, تركي بن طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) is a Saudi prince, politician, and military officer who has served as the governor of Asir since 2018. Early life and education Prince Turki is Prince ...
(appointed 27 December 2018), a son of Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. He replaced his cousin, Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on the same day.


Geography

The ʿAsir Region is situated on a high plateau that receives more rainfall than the rest of the country and contains the country's highest peaks, which rise to almost at Jabal Sawda near Abha. Though data is exceedingly sparse and unreliable, the average annual rainfall in the highlands probably ranges from . It falls in two rainy seasons, the chief one being in March and April, with some rain in the summer. Temperatures are very extreme, with diurnal temperature ranges in the highlands the greatest in the world. It is common for afternoon temperatures to be over , yet mornings can be extremely frosty and
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
can cut visibility to near zero percent. As a result, there is much more natural vegetation in ʿAsir than in any other part of Saudi Arabia, with sheltered areas even containing areas of dense coniferous forests, though more exposed ridges still are very dry. ʿAsir is home to many farmers who chiefly grow wheat and fruit crops. Irrigation has greatly expanded production in modern times. Asir National Park was established in 1981, and extends from the Red Sea coast through the western foothills to the Asir escarpment.


Demographics


Governorates

The region is divided into sixteen governorates (with 2010 Census populations # Abha (+366,551) # Muhayil (+228,979) # An-Namas (+54,119) # Billasmar (+34,080) # Billahmar (+25,709) #
Balqarn Balqarn ( ar, بلقرن) is one of the governorates in 'Asir Region, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area o ...
#
Bareq Bareq ( ar, بارق; also transliterated as '), is one of the governorates of Asir in the north-west of the region, north of Abha. It occupies a distinct location midway between Tihama and Asir, above sea level. With an estimated popul ...
(+74,391) #
Bisha Bisha ( ar, بيشة, '), also known as Qal`at Bishah ( ar, قلعة بيشة, '), is a town in the south-western Saudi Arabian province, 'Asir. Bisha was its own province before merging with its neighboring province, 'Asir. Bisha has a populati ...
h (+205,346) # Khamis Mushayt (+512,599) # Rijal Alma (+65,406) # Zahran Al-Janub (+63,119) # Tathlith (+59,188) # Sarat Abidah (+67,120) #
Ahad Rifaydah Ahad ( fa, احد) ( ar, احد) ( ur, احد) is a Middle Eastern given forename primarily used by Muslims and Jews. It is also used as a family name (surname) (e.g. Oli Ahad). In Arabic Ahad means "one" and is usually used by Muslims when referr ...
(+113,043) # Al-Majardah (+103,531) #


History

In 25 B.C.
Aelius Gallus Gaius Aelius Gallus was a Roman prefect of Egypt from 26 to 24 BC. He is primarily known for a disastrous expedition he undertook to Arabia Felix (modern day Yemen) under orders of Augustus. Life Aelius Gallus was the 2nd ''praefect'' of Roman Eg ...
marched his legions south from
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
on a 1,300-mile expedition to take control of the ancient overland trade routes between the Mediterranean and what is now Hadhramaut in Yemen. The Romans wanted control of those routes because they were desperate for money and hoped to raise some by capturing Ma'rib, capital of
Sabaʾ The Sabaeans or Sabeans (Sabaean:, ; ar, ٱلسَّبَئِيُّوْن, ''as-Sabaʾiyyūn''; he, סְבָאִים, Səḇāʾīm) were an ancient group of South Arabians. They spoke the Sabaean language, one of the Old South Arabian languag ...
, and taking control of the trade in incense - then a priceless commodity - and other valuable aromatics. As it turned out, however, the expedition was a disaster and little information about ʿAsir emerged. By 1920, however, the founder of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted ...
had begun to recoup the losses of the House of Saʿud and to unify most of the
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...
under his rule. As part of this campaign, he sent his Bedouin warriors also known as the Ikhwan to occupy ʿAsir, and the ruler of the region, Hasan Al Idrissi, had to leave. Therefore, he asked for protection from Imam Yahya, the ruler of Yemen and went there. From then on ʿAsir has been controlled by the House of Saud, a situation formalized in 1934 with the signing of the Treaty of Taʾif between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Even then the region was still largely unknown to the West. In 1932,
St John Philby Harry St John Bridger Philby, CIE (3 April 1885 – 30 September 1960), also known as Jack Philby or Sheikh Abdullah ( ar, الشيخ عبدالله), was a British Arabist, adviser, explorer, writer, and Colonial Office intelligence office ...
, one of the first Europeans to explore and map the peninsula, did enter ʿAsir, but as he did not publish his observations until 1952, the area remained one of the blank spots on the world's map. In 1935 ʿAsir was made a separate governorate.


Economy

Historically, ʿAsir was known for producing
coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...
,
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as ...
,
barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
, senna, and
frankincense Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus '' Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense'). There are several species ...
. Wheat was grown in the summer and
sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cul ...
has been grown in wetter areas of the region.
Straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...
was used to make mats, hats, and baskets. Tribes in the area also wove tents from straw.


Development project

In 2019, the Saudi government launched an infrastructure development project in ʿAsir Region. The project is expected to cost more than 1 billion Saudi Riyals. The provided projects will include health care, transportation and municipal services. The project is in line with the
Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 ( ar, رؤية السعودية ٢٠٣٠ ''ruʾyah al-suʿūdiyah'') is a strategic framework to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, in ...
to diversify non-petroleum income and activate new resources in Saudi Arabia.


List of governors

* Turki bin Ahmed Al Sudairi (1900s–8 June 1969) * Fahd bin Saad bin Abdul Rahman (8 June 1969–1971) * Khalid bin Faisal (1971–2007) *
Faisal bin Khalid Faisal bin Khalid Al Saud (Arabic: فيصل بن خالد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) (born 1954) is the former governor of Asir Region and a member of House of Saud. Early life and education Prince Faisal was born in Riyadh in 1954 ...
(2007–2018) * Turki bin Talal (2018–present)


See also

*
Arabian Nubian Shield The Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) is an exposure of Precambrian crystalline rocks on the flanks of the Red Sea. The crystalline rocks are mostly Neoproterozoic in age. Geographically - and from north to south - the ANS includes parts of Israel, Jor ...
* Habala * Sarat Ubaida Governorate * South Arabia *
Saleh Al-Qadhi Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Qadhi (Arabic: صالح بن عبد الله القاضي, born January 11, 1959) is the current Mayor of 'Asir Region, Saudi Arabia. He is the former Acting Mayor of Medina and previously served in the 'Asir Region communal ...
*
Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in mas ...


References

* Updated Edition; Norton Paperback; pbk.


External links

*
Asir National Park
Splendid Arabia, An Online Guide to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia {{DEFAULTSORT:'Asir Province Asir