European exploration of Arabia
Encyclopedia
The Arabian Peninsula
, much of which now comprises the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
, has always held a mysterious attraction for European explorers
. Until modern times it was uncharted, inaccessible, dangerous and forbidden. Some areas remain dangerous and forbidden to the present day.
The first exploration of Arabia took place in the 16th Century when the Portuguese circumnavigated Arabia.
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
, much of which now comprises the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, has always held a mysterious attraction for European explorers
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Until modern times it was uncharted, inaccessible, dangerous and forbidden. Some areas remain dangerous and forbidden to the present day.
The first exploration of Arabia took place in the 16th Century when the Portuguese circumnavigated Arabia.
German explorers
- Carsten NiebuhrCarsten NiebuhrCarsten Niebuhr or Karsten Niebuhr , a German mathematician, cartographer, and explorer in the service of Denmark, is renowned for his travels on the Arabian peninsula.-Biography:...
was part of an expedition in 1762 which explored the south east of Arabia.
British explorers
- William Gifford PalgraveWilliam Gifford PalgraveWilliam Gifford Palgrave was an Arabic scholar, born at Westminster, England. He was the son of Sir Francis Palgrave, K.H. and Elizabeth Turner....
was the first European to cross Arabia from west to east in 1862. - Charles Montagu DoughtyCharles Montagu DoughtyCharles Montagu Doughty was an English poet, writer, and traveller born in Theberton Hall, Saxmundham, Suffolk and educated at private schools in Laleham and Elstree, and at a school for the royal navy, Portsmouth...
travelled through Arabia from 1876 to 1878 living with the BedouinBedouinThe Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
tribes and wrote a book Travels in Arabia Deserta in 1888. - Lady Anne BluntLady Anne BluntAnne Isabella Noel Blunt, née King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth , known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, of the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The two married on 8 June 1869...
- Captain William Shakespear made seven expeditions to the Arabian interior and was the first European to map the Nafud desert.
- Gertrude BellGertrude BellGertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her extensive travels in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. Along...
- T. E. LawrenceT. E. LawrenceLieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
("Lawrence of Arabia") - Gerard LeachmanGerard LeachmanBrevet Lieut.-Colonel Gerard Evelyn Leachman CIE DSO , was a British soldier and intelligence officer who travelled extensively in Arabia.Leachman was commissioned into the Royal Sussex Regiment and served in India and in the Boer War...
was the first European to be received by Ibn Sa'ud in his home city. - Major R. E. CheesmanR E CheesmanMajor Robert Ernest Cheesman, CBE was a military officer, explorer and ornithologist.Cheesman was Private Secretary to Sir Percy Sykes during his tenure as High Commissioner in Iraq....
was the first man to map the Arabian coast from the Gulf of SalwaSalwaSalwa is a suburb of the, Hawalli Governorate in Kuwait, bordering Rumaithiya to the north and Messila to the south. To the east , it overlooks the Persian Gulf...
to UqairUqairUqair is an ancient fort of Islamic origin, located in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. It is alternatively spelled Al-'Uqair, Uqayr, and Ogair, all Latin transliterations of the same Arabic word. It has been linked by some to the ancient city of Gerrha mentioned in Greek and Roman sources...
. - Major A. L. HoltA L HoltMajor A. L. Holt MBE MC was a British military officer and explorer. In the 1920s when a member of the Royal Engineers, Holt led a number of motorized expeditions through the deserts of Arabia, the first time such long journeys had been undertaken with such a large number of vehicles...
led a number of motorized expeditions through the deserts of Arabia, the first time such long journeys had been undertaken with such a large number of vehicles. - Harry St. John PhilbySt. John PhilbyHarry St John Bridger Philby CIE , also known as Jack Philby or Sheikh Abdullah , his Arabic name, was an Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence officer...
was awarded the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
Founders Gold Medal for his journey across Arabia. - Bertram ThomasBertram ThomasBertram Thomas was an English civil servant who is the first documented Westerner to cross the Rub' al Khali . He was also a scientist who practiced craniofacial anthropometry,...
became the first European to cross the Rub' Al Khali from 1930 and 1931, a journey he described in Arabia Felix in 1932. - Gerald de GauryGerald de GauryGerald de Gaury MC was a British military officer, Arabist, explorer, historian and diplomat.He served as part of the Hampshire Regiment in the First World War, where he was wounded on several occasions, including in the Gallipoli Campaign....
- Sir George RendelGeorge William RendelSir George William Rendel was a British diplomat. Rendel, the son of the engineer George Wightwick Rendel was educated at Downside School and at Queen's College, Oxford, graduating in Modern History in 1911....
- Sir Wilfred Thesiger