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Post-World War divisions, but before this Syria is one large region.

So from the historical and ancient point of view, the Arab world can be divided into three parts,

specifically the Arab world. We're not talking about Europe and Africa now, just the Arab world.

It can be divided into the Iraq and its peripheral regions and then there's sham and

we talked about what sham in Syria what that represents and then there's a separate

sort of cut-off peninsula and that is

al-Jazirah which nowadays we call it Gulf. But when we use Gulf nowadays

we're referring to some Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, and you know some of these

regions, but the Gulf of the old times the Jazirah of the old times Saudi Arabia and some of these regions.

But the Gulf of the old times,

the Jaziro of the old times is a much wider geographical region,

almost a triangle, which meets seas on three sides,

not four sides, but on three sides. and it includes Yemen.

Nonetheless, Yemen is kind of cut off.

It's there, but it's not too connected.

It's a little bit to the side,

and that becomes important historically, as we will see also.

So now for a great period in history, Yemen controlled and the rule of Sabah controlled the trade between Europe and the rest of the world and between Asia and the rest of the world.

This was the avenue by which they would have to go.

Their ports were of strategic importance.

So this was what gave them their economic strength and also their political importance?

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