This presentation intends to establish, define, and map (socially and spatially) the ‘Uqaylat, that is, the mercantile classes and trade networks of the settled communities of the Najd (Central Arabia). The socioeconomic composition and activities of these 'Uqaylat will be surveyed from roughly the 1700s until 1930s. As an attempt to complicate sweeping narratives of national history the presentation will enable an understanding of smaller actors and regional units which interacted in a larger geographical and political space. A study of these ‘Uqaylat reveals the kinds of social and economic organization that existed prior to Saudi control over Arabia—which the Saudis tapped into to enable their rise—as well as the measures that other powers, such as the Ottomans or Rashidis, made to ally with or challenge the Najd’s sociopolitical actors. The evidence used to uncover the ‘Uqaylat and substantiate their activities within the Najd, Gulf, wider Ottoman Empire, and even India is drawn from the traditional sources for Saudi history—Arabic chronicles and European travelogues—but also government records from the Ottoman archives in Istanbul and Egyptian archives from the Mehmet ‘Ali period that detail the employment of and/or intelligence on the ‘Uqaylat, as well as memoirs and oral reports. In tracing the above issues the presentation will argue that while the Wahhabi mission (or “Wahhabism”) did play an important role in the region, there were many other forces at work that explain political and social developments in the Najd. For example, urbanites (called “settled” or hadar), who were the predominant component of these ‘Uqaylat, had important interdependent socioeconomic relationships with the nomadic Bedouin which also explains political actions over the centuries. Furthermore, these ‘Uqaylat were critical links in global networks that brought goods, currency, ideas, and political influence inward and outward from the Najd; ‘Uqaylat also often looked to outside powers as possible allies in their political aspirations or as means to ensure continuation of their economic interests. In this regard the presentation will argue that the Najd should be included as part of the frontier zone of the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, these ‘Uqaylat have been a critical part of historical and socioeconomic developments of the Najd, and select locations such as Kuwait, Iraq, and Syria, yet they have remained hitherto unknown and invisible in the historiography. Finally, identifying these ‘Uqaylat clearly demonstrates that the Najd was incorporated into the global economy earlier than previously assumed.