Saudi Caliphate (The Fires of God)

The Saudi Caliphate, also referred to simply as The Caliphate, is an Arab state in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula. The Caliphate is bordered by Jordan and Mesopotamia) to the north, and the Emirate of Ethiopia north west, west and south of its tiny African territory. It is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast, and most of its terrain consists of arid inhospitable desert or barren landforms.

The area of the modern-day Saudi Caliphate was formerly the territory of the Hashimid Caliphate. The House of Saud assumed rulership of the Caliphate in 1932 when Ibn Saud led a successful armed uprising against the Hashimids. The country has since been an absolute monarchy, effectively a hereditary dictatorship governed along Islamic lines. Wahhabi Islam has been called "the predominant feature of Saudi culture". The Caliphate is sometimes called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.

The Saudi Caliphate is, behind only Persia, the world's second-largest oil producer and second-largest exporter, and controls the world's second-largest hydrocarbon reserves. Backed by its fossil fuels, the Caliphate is categorized as a high income economy with a high Human Development Index (HDI), and is the only Muslim country to be part of the G-20 major economies. However, the Caliphate has the least diversified economy in the Cooperation Council for the Gulf states. It is a monarchical autocracy and is ranked as "Not Free" by Freedom House. The Saudi Caliphate has the fourth-highest military expenditure in the world, and in 2010–14, SIPRI found that the Caliphate was the world's second largest arms importer. The Caliphate is considered a regional and middle power, and it has occasionally experienced tensions with its predominantly Zoroastrian neighbours. Despite this, however, the Caliphate has cultivated generally good relations with its neighbours.