Al-Jowf Province

Coordinates: 29°30′N 39°30′E / 29.500°N 39.500°E / 29.500; 39.500 Al-Jawf Province (Arabic: ‫منطقة الجوف‬ Minṭaqat al-Jawf pronounced [alˈdʒoːf]), also spelled Al-Jouf, is one of the provinces of Saudi Arabia, located in the north of the country, containing its only international border with Jordan to the west. It is one of the earliest inhabited regions of Arabian Peninsula, with evidence of human habitation dating back to the Stone Age and the Acheulean tool culture. Human settlement continued unbroken throughout the Copper Age, a period that saw the kingdom of Qidar fight against the Assyrian state for its independence. It is also in this period that references to Arabs first appear in historical texts. A Christian kingdom later emerged under the rule of the Bani Kalb tribe and survived until the arrival of Islam and the Islamic conquest of Al-Jawf. Following the region's Islamization it fell under the control of the Tayy tribe. Al-Jawf was incorporated into the third Saudi state at the time of its formation in 1932. In the 20th century the region was a site of conflict between the Al-Rashid family and the Al-Shaalan family, though it eventually came under the rule of King Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud. The Al-Jawf region is one of the most fertile regions in the Saudi Arabia. The area around the town of Tabarjal is known as a national breadbasket due to the variety of crops grown there. Unlike most of the country, parts of Al-Jawf boast a moderate climate, fertile soil, and abundant groundwater, allowing for the unusually high levels of agricultural activity seen in the region. The province is famous for cultivating olive trees and is responsible for approximately 67% of the olive oil made in the Kingdom. Al-Jawf is also home to the widespread cultivation of palm trees and produces approximately 150,000 tons of dates every year.