The Jazan Province is the second smallest

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

after Al-Bahah. It stretches along the southern

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

coast, just north of

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. It covers an area of 13,457 km² and had a population of 1,404,997 at the 2022 census. The region has the highest population density in the Kingdom. The capital is the city of Jazan; Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz has been governor since May 2025 The region includes over 200 islands in the Red Sea.

Jazan Economic City Jazan Economic City () is a planned economic city in the Jizan Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a focus on the energy and manufacturing industries. The primary developers involved in the construction of the city are MMC Corporation ...

is a mega project that is planned to boost the economy of the region and make it part of the Saudi economic growth. The

Farasan Islands The Farasan Islands (; transliterated: ) are a small group of coral islands approximately 40 km off the coast of Jizan in the Red Sea, belonging to Saudi Arabia. The government provides free ferry rides twice a day to Farasan Islands from J ...

, Saudi Arabia's first conservation protected area, is home to migratory birds from Europe in winter.

History

Ancient times

Jazan City dates back to the Stone Age, as confirmed by archaeological studies and research carried out in the region, which showed that the first human settlement was during the

Lower Paleolithic The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3.3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears ...

. Tools belonging to the age of the

Acheulean Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...

civilization have been found, and surveys have shown that the Red Sea coast region is one of the best sources of information on the Acheulean stage. Due to the proliferation of hunting tools found by excavations, researchers inferred that the inhabitants of the Acheulean settlements relied for their survival on seafood, such as fish and shellfish, given their availability and nutritional value. In light of its important strategic position situated on ancient trade routes between Yemen and Hejaz, on the one hand, and between the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

and beyond, on the other, Jazan Province maintained cultural links with the ancient kingdoms that thrived in that period in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. Human settlement in Jazan was contemporaneous with those kingdoms, such as the

Minaean Kingdom Ma'in (; ) was an ancient South Arabian kingdom in modern-day Yemen. It was located along the strip of desert called Ṣayhad by medieval Arab geographers, which is now known as Ramlat al-Sab'atayn. Wadd was the national god of Ma'in. The sp ...

Kingdom of Sheba Sheba, or Saba, was an ancient South Arabian kingdom that existed in Yemen from to . Its inhabitants were the Sabaeans, who, as a people, were indissociable from the kingdom itself for much of the 1st millennium BCE. Modern historians agree th ...

, Kingdom of Qataban,

Kingdom of Hadhramaut Ḥaḍramawt ( Ḥaḑramitic: , romanized: ; Sabaic, Minaic, Qatabānic: , romanized: ) was an ancient South Semitic-speaking kingdom of South Arabia ( ancient Yemen) which existed from the early 1st millennium BCE till the late 3rd centur ...

, and the

Himyarite Kingdom Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qataban, Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According ...

. However, Jazan was not politically subordinate to any of them; in fact, archaeological evidence suggests that the inhabitants of the region were not in agreement with those neighboring kingdoms and governed according to their own interests.

Islamic age

Jazan Province has been an Islamic Arab territory since the early Islamic age. A delegation from the region journeyed to

Mohammed Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

in the tenth year of his migration, headed by the chieftain of al-Hakam tribe, Abduljad Bin Rabia al-Hakami, and declared their embrace Islam. After the spread of Islam in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, Mohammed appointed provincial governors in these multiple territories, including the province of

Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ') is 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 masculine form) was the ancient M ...

, with which Jazan was affiliated.

Saudi era

After the founding

King Abdulaziz Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

reclaimed the rule of

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

and established the Kingdom, the King led unification campaigns throughout the Arabian Peninsula. At the time, the region of Jazan and Tihamat-Aseer southwest of the Arabian Peninsula was subject to a local chiefdom ruled by one of its dynasties, the

Idrisids The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids ( ') were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid dynasty descended from Mu ...

. The Treaty of Makkah (1926) was concluded between the founding king and the region’s ruler, al-Hassan al-Idrisi, on October 21, 1926. Under the treaty, the territory came under the mandate of King Abdulaziz and was so for four years, until the treaty was annulled by the Idrisid rulers. Consequently, the founding King sent his troops to recapture the territory, and al-Hassan al-Idrisi ceded his rule in 1930; thus, Jazan was the last region of the Arabian Peninsula to join Saudi rule.

Geography

The region divides into three parts. * The

Al-Sarawat The Sarawat Mountains (), also known as the Sarat in singular case, is a mountain range in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. In a broad sense, it runs parallel to the eastern coast of the Red Sea, and thus encompasses the mountains of ...

mountains inland, which rise to about 3,000 metres. * The Alhazoun forest district consists of forest broken by some areas of rich pasture. * The plains are noted for the production of coffee beans,

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

grain crops (barley, millet and wheat) and fruit (apples, bananas, grapes, mangoes, papayas, plums and citrus varieties). Though the climate on the highlands is similar to the relatively wetter climate of

Aseer Asir, officially the Aseer Province, is a province of Saudi Arabia in southern Arabia. It has an area of , and an estimated population of 2,024,285 (in 2022). Asir is bounded by the Mecca Province to the north and west, al-Bahah Province to the ...

, the coastal regions of Jizan province are part of

, probably the hottest place in the country, with mean maximum temperatures ranging from 40 °C (104 °F) in July to 31 °C (88 °F) in January. High humidity from coastal

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

s makes the climate even less bearable than it would be otherwise.

Rainfall Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. ...

is extremely low at less than 75 millimetres (3 inches) per year. Sabya is located in the center between the mountain and the beach.

Population

Sub-divisions

The region is now sub-divided into 17 governorates (following the creation of the governorates of At-Tuwal from part of Samtah, Fayfa from part of Jizan, as follows:

Ethnography

The

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

is spoken by over 90% of the inhabitants. Parts of Jizan was claimed to be part of a "Greater

" by many

Yemenis Yemenis or Yemenites () are the Citizenship, citizen population of Yemen. Genetic studies Yemen, located in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, serves as a crossroads between Africa and Eurasia. The genomes of present-day Yem ...

despite never being ruled from Yemen since the fall of the

at 525 CE. Since that period, the areas of Jazan province has been mostly independent and it has also been part of the

First Saudi state The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious r ...

during the 18th century. Jazan has been annexed by Saudi Arabia in 1932 and was defended from a Yemeni invasion that lead to the Saudi–Yemeni War (1934) and Imam Yahya suspended Yemen's claim to the region in the

treaty of Taif A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

. Though many Yemeni nationalists continued to claim Jizan until the issue was settled formally and finally in the Saudi-Yemeni border agreement of 2000.

Climate

Jazan Province's climate is impacted by tropical winds, and the weather is generally very hot in summer and mild in winter, except for the mountain highlands, where temperatures are moderate and there is rainfall throughout the year.

Humidity

The humidity level is 50% in the area west of the Jizan Valley Dam and decreases as we head east.

Precipitation

The precipitation occurs during the late summer and early fall months and is characterized by irregular patterns. In some years, there are heavy rainfall events that support agricultural activities, and the dam captures a significant portion of these precipitation levels. Conversely, in other years, there are minimal rainfall events that are insufficient for agricultural production.

Economy

Jazan’s attractiveness for business investment is helped by its location on the Red Sea close to the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

and the Yemeni border, which generates various export and commerce opportunities for all industrial, agricultural, and fish producers in the region. In April 2023, Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

announced the establishment of 4 new

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

(SEZ), one of which is located in Jazan. It covers a total are of 24.6 sqkm and aims to open up opportunities for international investors. The SEZ aims to attract $2.93 billion in foreign investments by 2040.

Fishing

The coastline of Jazan is approximately 330km long. Jazan yields 6,394 tons of fish and shellfish each year. According to a report issued by the Jazan Chamber of Commerce, the annual yield includes 1,753 tons of narrow-barred

Spanish mackerel Scomberomorini is a tribe of ray-finned, saltwater, bony fishes that is commonly known as Spanish mackerels, seerfishes, or seer fish. This tribe is a subset of the mackerel family (Scombridae), which it shares with four sister tribes, the tu ...

, 1,261 tons of

Lethrinidae Lethrinidae are a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes commonly known as emperors, emperor breams, and pigface breams. These fish are found in tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and ''Lethrinus atlanticus ...

, 87 tons of

shellfish Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...

, 794 tons of

bagrus ''Bagrus'' is a genus of bagridae, bagrid catfishes. These are relatively large catfish found in freshwater habitats in Africa, except for the virtually unknown ''B. tucumanus'' from South America, which likely is a Synonym (biology), synonym o ...

, 740 tons of barracudas, 444 tons of

sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

and

rays Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

, 469 tons of

groupers Groupers are a diverse group of marine ray-finned fish in the family Epinephelidae, in the order Perciformes. Groupers were long considered a subfamily of the seabasses in Serranidae, but are now treated as distinct. Not all members of this f ...

, 442 tons of mixed fish, and 428 tons of

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

. This amounts for more than 20% of Saudi Arabia's fish production.

Agriculture

Jazan is considered one of the most important and fertile agricultural regions of Saudi Arabia. The region produces more than 30 types of fruits, including

mangoes A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast Asi ...

guavas Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), native ...

papayas The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

, and more. Other agricultural varieties include

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

and

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

. In May 2022, the Saudi

Public Investment Fund The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of billion. It was created in 1971 for the purpose of investing funds on be ...

(PIF) launched the Saudi Coffee Company, which aims to make Saudi coffee a global product. The PIF is expected to invest more than $319 million over the next 10 years in the national coffee industry, to help boost annual production from 300 tons to 2,500 tons. According to the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Jazan’s livestock population exceeds 3.977 million, including more than 1.72 million sheep, 2.1 million goats, about 95,400 cattle and 57,400 camels.

Metal Conversion Industries

The geographical location of the Jazan region is pivotal to the development of mining-related manufacturing industries. The

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 ...

and its proximity to the mineral-rich African continent constitute a competitive advantage and an important source of raw materials.

Monuments and tourist attractions

*Al Dosariyah Castle * Al Rifai House,

* Wadi Lajab * Wednesday Market (Souq al-Samil) * Al-Asha roundabout * Al-Zahir * Al-Khazan Alshamly. * Dar al-Nasr Castle. * Al Qubbab Mosque,

Abu Arish Abu Arish () is a city in Jizan Province, in south-western Saudi Arabia. Historically, Abu `Arish produced and exported salt. Abu Arish is the capital and center of the Abu ʽArish, Abu Arish Governorate in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is situat ...

Local market

The Abu Arish popular market is a significant commercial hub within the city. It is also known as the Robua Market and the Samil Market. It is a traditional market that has been in operation for an extended period, attracting a considerable number of individuals from various villages within the Abu Arish Governorate on a weekly basis to engage in commercial activities. The market displays a variety of traditional household items, including crockery, tools crafted from palm fronds, textiles utilized for clothing, agricultural implements, and animals. The market, which still exists today every Wednesday, is an ancient gathering place for the people of Abu Arish and its surroundings.

Infrastructure

Education

The city of Abu Arish has been known for study circles since old times, as circles were held in the city's mosques to teach the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

and

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

. From its notable scholars include Abdullah ibn Ali al-Amoudi and his son, Saleh ibn Abdullah al-Amoudi, as well as Abdullah Adam, Muhammad Zakri, and Musa al-Manqari. Subsequently, Abdullah Al-Qaraawi's educational institutions were established, and over time, conventional schools proliferated, reaching a total of 65 schools for girls and approximately 66 schools for boys.

Faculties and institutes

Source: * The College of Shari'ah and Law is affiliated with

Jazan University Jazan University (commonly referred to as JazanU) is a public research university based in the city of Jazan in Saudi Arabia. Founded in 2006, it is the province's only university and one of the largest public, nonprofit institutions of higher ...

. * The College of Arts and Humanities is affiliated with Jazan University. * Community College for Girls is affiliated with Jazan University. * Technical College for Girls in Jazan. * Manahil Knowledge Institute for Women's Education and Training. * Maharat Institute - Jazan Contractors Alliance for Training and Employment.

Healthcare

Abu Arish City is home to a 150-bed public hospital that offers a range of medical specialties, in addition to two primary care centers. Among the most prominent hospitals located within the city: * Abu Arish General Hospital. * Chest Diseases Hospital. * Jarash Medical Hospital. * Safwa Dental Clinic. * Al-Salama dispensary. * Almariya Medical Center. * Al-Hakami Medical Complex. * Dr. Daifallah Daqdaki Center. * Al-Hayat Specialty Center. * Al-Hayat Medical Center.

Sports

Jazan is home to 7 professional sports clubs: *

Al Tuhami Club Al-Tuhami Club () is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Jizan and was founded in 1948. The club also consists of various other departments including karate, taekwondo, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and cycling. The club is ...

based in Jazan City. The club was founded in 1948. * Al Yarmouk Club based in

. The club was founded in 1970. * Al Amjad Club based in

Sabya Sabya () is a city in the Sabya Governorate of the Jazan Province, in southwestern Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the ...

. The club was founded in 1974. * Hatten Club based in

Samtah Samtah (also Romanized as Şāmitah or Samta; in Arabic صامطة) is a town and sub-division in Jizan Province, in southwestern Saudi Arabia.National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. GeoNames database entry.search Accessed 13 May 2011. In March ...

. The club was founded in 1976. * Al Sawari Club based in

. The club was founded in 1978. * Al Watan Club based in Damad. The club was founded in 1980. * Faifa Club based in Fayfa. The club was founded in 2015.

References

External links

Official website

A travel through the province of Jizan
Splendid Arabia: A travel site with photos and routes {{Authority control Provinces of Saudi Arabia