Ara'bia, a vast peninsula in the southwest of Asia, with an area of over 1,000,000 sq. mi. and a population of not more than 5,000,000. Roughly described, it exhibits a central tableland surrounded by a series of deserts with numerous scattered oases, while around this is a line of mountains parallel to and approaching the coasts. A narrow rim of low ground lies between the mountains and the sea. In its general features Arabia resembles the Sahara, of which it may be considered a continuation. Arabia does not constitute a single state. The Sinai Peninsula belongs to Egypt; the provinces of Hedjaz and Yemen and the region of El-Hasa are more or less under the suzerainty of Turkey, while Aden is under the protectorate of Great Britain. The rest of the country is ruled by independent chiefs with the title of emir, sheik or imam. The chief towns are Mecca, the birthplace of Mohammed; Medina, the place to which he fled from Mecca, and where he is buried; Mocha, a seaport celebrated for its coffee; Aden, a strongly fortified garrison belonging to Britain; and Muscat, the capital of Oman, a busy port with a safe anchorage. See ADEN; MECCA; MEDINA. The climate of Arabia is in general marked by extreme heat and dryness. Aridity and barrenness characterize both high and low grounds, and the date-palm is often the only sign of vegetable life. There are districts which in the course of the year are scarcely refreshed by a single shower of rain. The area of forest land is small. Instead of pastures there are steppe-like tracts, covered for a short season with aromatic herbs, which serve as food for the cattle. The date-palm furnishes the staple article of food; the cereals are wheat, barley, maize and millet; various sorts of fruit flourish, and coffee and many aromatic plants and substances such as gum-arabic, benzoin, mastic, balsam, aloes, myrrh and frankincense, are produced. There are also cultivated in different parts of the peninsula, according to the soil and climate, beans, rice, lentils, tobacco, melons, saffron, poppies and olives. Sheep, goats, oxen, the horse, the camel, the ass and the mule are the chief domestic animals. Among the wild animals are gazelles, lions, panthers, hyenas and jackals, while in the oases ostriches are numerous. Among mineral products are saltpeter, mineral pitch, petroleum, salt, sulphur and several precious stones, as the carnelian, the agate and the onyx. The Arabs, as a race, are of middle stature, of powerful though slender build, have a skin of a more or less brownish color and well-cut features. They are naturally active, intelligent and courteous, and are noted for their hospitality. Education is so wide-spread that illiteracy is unknown. The mode of life of the Arabs is either nomadic or settled. The nomadic tribes are called Bedouins, and among them are Arabs of the purest blood. Commerce is largely in the hands of foreigners, among whom the Jews and Banians are the most numerous. The first religion of the Arabs, the worship of the stars, was supplanted by the doctrines of Mohammedanism, which succeeded rapidly in establishing itself throughout Arabia. Besides the two principal sects of Islam, the Sunnites and the Shiites, there also exists, in considerable numbers, a third Mohammedan sect, the Wahabis, which arose in the latter half of the eighteenth century and for a time possessed great political importance in the peninsula. The history of the Arab peoples previous to the time of Mohammed is obscure. The earliest inhabitants are believed to have been of the Semitic race. Jews in great numbers migrated into Arabia after the destruction of Jerusalem, and, making numerous proselytes, indirectly favored the introduction of the doctrines of Mohammed. With his advent the Arabians united for the purpose of extending the new creed; and under the caliphs, the successors of Mohammed, they attained great power and founded large and powerful kingdoms in three continents (See MOHAMMED; MOHAMMEDANISM). On the fall of the caliphate of Bagdad in 1258 the decline set in, and on the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, the foreign rule of the Arabs came to an end. In the sixteenth century Turkey subjected Hedjaz and Yemen and received the nominal submission of the tribes inhabiting the rest of Arabia. The subjection of Hedjaz has continued down to the present day, but Yemen achieved its independence in the seventeenth century and maintained it till 1871, when the territory again fell into the hands of the Turks. In 1839 Aden was occupied by the British. Oman early became virtually independent of the caliphs and grew into a well-organized kingdom. In 1507 its capital, Muscat, was occupied by the Portuguese, who were not driven out till 1659. The Wahabis appeared toward the end of the eighteenth century and took an important part in the political affairs of Arabia, but their progress was interrupted by Mohammed Ali, pasha of Egypt, and they were completely defeated by Ibrahim Pasha. He extended his power over most of the country, but the events of 1840 in Syria compelled him to renounce all claims to Arabia. The Hedjaz thus again became subject to Turkish sway. Turkey has since extended its rule not only over Yemen but also over the district of El-Hasa, on the Persian Gulf. The Arabic language is one of the two living dialects of Semitic speech, and it is distinguished among Semitic tongues for its richness, softness and high degree of development. By the spread of Islam it became the sole written language and the prevailing speech in all southwestern Asia and eastern and northern Africa, and for a time in southern Spain, in Malta and in Sicily; and it is still used as a learned and sacred language wherever Islam is spread. Mohammed gave a new direction to Arab literature. The rules of faith and life which he laid down were collected by Abu-bekr, the first caliph after his death, and published by Othman, the third caliph, as the Koran--the Mohammedan Bible. Most of the geography in the Middle Ages is the work of the Arabians, and their historians since the eighth century have been very numerous. In medicine they excelled all other nations in the Middle Ages, and they are commonly regarded as the earliest experimenters in chemistry. Their mathematics and astronomy were based on the works of Greek writers, but the former they enriched, simplified and extended. It was by them that algebra was introduced to the western peoples. Astronomy they especially cultivated, and observatories were erected at Bagdad and Cordova. Tales and romances in prose and verse were written. Tales of fairies, genii, enchanters and sorcerers in particular, passed from the Arabians to the western nations, as in The Arabian Nights.