Arabia

Primary culture

Bedouin (Levantine)

Capital province

Mecca (385)

Government

Iqta

State religion

Sunni

Technology group

Muslim

Arabian ideas

Please help with verifying or updating this infobox. It was last verified for version 1.33.

Notes:

For countries in the Levantine culture group.

Traditions:

+15% National manpower modifier

−15% Land attrition

Indian Ocean Trade

+15% Trade steering

Arabian Horses

−10% Cavalry cost

+25% Cavalry flanking ability

Land of the Prophet

−1 National unrest

Spreading the Prophet's Word

+1% Missionary strength

Bedouin Traders

+10% Global trade power

Clan Loyalties

+1 Land leader maneuver

Arabia

+1 Yearly prestige

Ambition:

+1 Land leader shock

For the region, see Arabia (region).

Arabia is a formable country located on the Arabian peninsula in the Middle East. In the 1444 start date, the Mamluks are the strongest candidate for forming Arabia but Arabia can also be formed by any other state in the Levantine culture group except for those with Turkish culture (including, for example, the Ottomans). Forming Arabia will raise the government rank to empire, creating a cultural union of the Levantine group. Arabia represents a unification of all Arabic peoples throughout the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula under a single banner. When Arabia is formed, the nation that formed it will pass on its National Ideas to Arabia, as Arabia itself does not have any unique national ideas.

Formation[edit | edit source]

id

Form Arabian Nation

For hundreds of years the Arabs have been divided, but we remember when the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, organized all of us into one ummah, a community of the faithful that transcended tribal affiliation. Today we have overcome disunity and regained the oneness that triumphed in the day of the Prophet and united Arabia

Potential requirements

Arabia does not exist.
The country:

was never an end-game nation.
is not the Papal State or the Holy Roman Empire.
has not yet enacted this decision.
is in the Levantine culture group, except Turkish culture.
is not a colonial nation.

If the country is AI-controlled then it:

is not a custom nation
is not a former colonial nation.

Playing with normal or historical nations

Allow

The country:

has an administrative technology of at least 10.
is not a subject nation other than a tributary state.
is not at war.
owns the core provinces:
- Alexandria (358)
- Cairo (361)
- Aleppo (377)
- Jerusalem (379)
- Damascus (382)
- Medina (384)
- Mecca (385)
- Aden (388)
- Sana'a (390)
- Al-Arid (392)
- Al-Qatif (394)
- Muscat (400)
- Nizwa (403)
- Baghdad (410)

Effects

The country:

becomes Arabia.
gains 25 prestige.
becomes an empire.
removes all provinces from the Holy Roman Empire, if it is a member and not an elector or the emperor.
gains permanent claims on:
- Mashriq region
- Arabia region
- Egypt except Lower Nubia area
gets “Increased Centralization” for 20 years, giving:
- −0.05 monthly autonomy change,
- +1 national unrest.

The AI will never take this decision.

Provinces in orange must be owned and cored to form Arabia. Forming Arabia grants permanent claims on the shaded area.

Strategy[edit | edit source]

The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Arabia. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.

Arabia can be formed from numerous nations in and around the Arabian Peninsula, including the Mamluks.

The Mamluks[edit | edit source]

The Mamluks are perhaps the easiest country to form Arabia with, as they have many of the required provinces and Hejaz as a vassal, also getting an event to annex Medina once it has been vassalised, adding more of the required land to the Mamluks after diplomatic annexation. Since the Mamlukian government (Sultanate) gets increased vassal income and the Arabian minors are generally easy to force into vassalization, it is recommended to do just that. Don't waste admin points in Arabian peninsula. Instead, vassalize the Arabian minors peacefully (remember the "at most 100 development" rule) or forcefully, and diploannex them as soon as possible. The player's next step will be taking Baghdad from Qara Qoyunlu since it is necessary to form Arabia. It is also recommended to take the other culturally Mashriqi lands since the player will have a permanent claim on them as Arabia and will want to take it before the Ottomans do. The last part, but not the least, is the Ottomans. With this foe the player will need luck and diplomacy. It is advisable to ally Tunis and a powerful European nation that has rivaled the Ottomans in the early game, like Poland or Austria, and fortify the border with the Ottomans to prevent any unwanted Ottoman aggression.

Alternatively, for intermediate to advanced players, the first foe to face will be the Ottomans. In the 1444 start, the Ottomans start out relatively weak, and if you can manage to gather allies such as Hungary, Austria, or Venice, and have a military tech advantage, the Ottomans can be dispatched with ease. It is recommended to revoke the guarantee on Cyprus and vassalize Medina as soon as possible, and not to worry too much about your diplomatic relations limit. The rest of the run usually mirrors as above with the exception of when the Ottomans are conquered.

Note that once Arabia is formed, Mamluk government will be lost, along with its benefits. (not up to date)

Granada[edit | edit source]

This is probably the hardest possible start, as it isn't enough to defend Granada against various ambitious crusaders (among them Castile/ Spain of course), the player also needs to gain the faraway Arabian lands in the east to even try claiming the title of Caliph.

Having Andalusian primary culture means Granada would need to shift culture once they have worked through North Africa and gained the required territories. This is necessary as Bedouin should become majority culture once all of Arabia is conquered. If this isn't the case then Granada expanded the Andalusian culture too much, or using Common Sense expansion developed the Iberian territories too well. This can be fixed by either also developing the Arabian desert provinces, creating vassals and giving them Granada's Iberian lands until it is possible to change primary culture and reannexing them, and unstating Iberian provinces.

Najd[edit | edit source]

For players aiming to get the Sworn Fealty achievement, Najd is the stronger contender of the weak landlocked tribal federations.

Early game is a land race with the Mamluks who will passively absorb the Hejazi minors within the first 100 years. However the player can generally ally the Mamluks at the start to ward away hungry neighbors. Priority nations to conquer would be Shammar to the north and Dawasir and Mikhlaf to the south to contain Mamlukean expansion on the peninsula. From there follow the winds of fortune to pick off weak neighbors to consolidate the peninsula under your banner. The player should aim to border the Syrian provinces of the Mamluks before breaking the alliance to trade up to the Ottomans. Blitz Aleppo in the first war and strive to be the war leader at all times in the Mamluk/Ottoman wars to control the peace deal.

Post Formation[edit | edit source]

Depending on how Arabia was formed will dictate what problems it will face. If formed by an Arabian state, the next biggest problem after The Mamluks will be Qara Qoyunlu. One solution is to use the Ottomans to crush them. The next step is largely up to the player. Arabia can either expand east towards the Timurids and the Indian empires, west towards the North African trade nations, or south towards the Coptic African powers. In the late game, if the Ottomans have become weak, it is also recommended picking them off.