<DIV><P>The importance of this collection lies in its origins: for the first time, leading Saudi Arabian historians have created a history of the Arabian Peninsula which analyzes that history from an internal Arabian perspective. The book explores the original Bedouin settlement of the region, the development of the major urban areas of Arabia during the Umayyad period, the socio-political and economic developments in the Hijad and Najd up to the eighteenth century into the modern era and the rise and development of the Saudi state. This book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the history of the Arabian Peninusla, not least because it provides a perspective from and a flavor of its local origins.</P></DIV>