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( Arabian Peninsula)
The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic ??? ??????? ??????? šibh al-jazira al-?arabiya or ????? ????? jazirat al-?arab), Arabia, or Arabistan [1] is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitical role because of its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The modern coasts of the peninsula are, on the west the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, on the southeast the Arabian Sea (part of the Indian Ocean), and on the northeast, the Gulf of Oman, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf. Its northern limit is defined by the Iranian and Iraqi mountain range of the Zagros collision zone, a mountainous uplift where a continental collision between the Arabian Plate and Asia is occurring. It merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear line of demarcation. The geographers, historians, and inhabitants of the ancient Persian, Greek, Roman, and Arab empires viewed the lands of Ancient Arabia located on the Arabian Plate, together with the Sinai subplate, as part of the Arabian peninsula and subcontinent. See for example the Tabula Rogeriana. That anachronistic view continued to be reflected in the writings of many 18th and 19th century explorers and authors.[2] The Arabian plate extends from the Red Sea to the Zagros mountains and from the Gulf of Aden along the Mediterranean Sea coast to the northwestern limit defined by the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey. During this period, portions of Iran west of the Zagros Mountains, the Levant, and Sinai were all considered part of the larger Arabian peninsula. For example, the region around Eilat Israel, Aqaba Jordan, and Taba, Egypt was once part of Arabia Petraea. The following countries either are now, or at one time have been, considered part of the peninsula
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