Hofuf in the context of "Al-Ahsa Oasis"

The Eastern Province (Arabic: المنطقة الشرقية‎, romanized: al-Mintaqah ash-Sharqīyah), also known as the Eastern Region, is a province in Saudi Arabia. It is the nation's largest province by area and the third most populous after Riyadh and Mecca provinces. As of 2022, the population is 5,125,254. Its name reflects its location in the eastern part of the country.

More than a third of the population is concentrated in the Dammam metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 1.53 million as of 2022, Dammam, the seat of the province, is the fourth most populous city in the kingdom. Other populous cities in the province include Qatif, Hofuf, Hafar al-Batin, Jubail and Khobar. The region is extremely popular among tourists for its beaches on the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf) and proximity to the other countries of the eastern Arab world, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, with the latter being linked to the province via the 25 km (15 mi) long King Fahd Causeway. The Province also shares a border with Oman, Yemen, Kuwait and Iraq. The province is bordered to the west, from north to south, by the provinces of the Northern Borders, Hail, Al-Qassim, Riyadh and Najran.

Gerrha (Koine Greek: Γέρρα, romanized: Gérrha) was an ancient and renowned city within Eastern Arabia, on the west side of the Persian Gulf. Known from Greek sources, it has been identified with a few candidate archaeological sites in Eastern Arabia, with the main candidates being Hagar (modern-day Hofuf) and Thaj.

In the aftermath of the conquests of Alexander the Great and the subsequent Seleucid Empire in the region, Gerrha became a site of central importance in the Hellenistic world and the major site of trading in the Persian Gulf. It was a major source of Arabian aromatics and for the transport of goods from India.

The Sanjak of Najd (Arabic: لواء نجد) was a sanjak (second-level province) of the Ottoman Empire. The name is considered misleading, as it covered the al-Hasa region, rather than the much larger Najd region. It was part of the Baghdad vilayet from June 1871 to 1875, when it became part of the Basra Vilayet.

The mutasarrif was located in Hofuf, which was garrisoned by up to 600 men, the largest Ottoman force in the area.

Al-Ahsa (Arabic: ٱلْأَحْسَاء, romanized: Al-Aḥsāʾ, locally pronounced Al-Ḥasāʾ (Arabic: الْحَسَا) also known as Hajar (Arabic: هجر)) is the largest governorate in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, named after the Al-Ahsa Oasis. In Classical Arabic, 'Ahsa' means the sound of water underground. The largest city of the governorate is Hofuf. It has one of the largest oases in the world with world-renowned date palms and, according to one author, the oases of Al-Hasa and Al Ain (in the UAE, on the border with Oman) are the most important in the Arabian Peninsula. The oasis is located about 60 mi (97 km) inland from the Persian Gulf. All urban areas are located in the traditional oasis of Al-Hasa. In addition to the oasis, the county also includes the giant Empty Quarter desert, making it the largest governorate in Saudi Arabia in terms of area. The Empty Quarter has the world's largest oil fields, and connects Saudi Arabia to Qatar, the UAE, and Oman. The Governorate's population is over 1,100,000 (2010 estimate). In the past, Al-Ahsa belonged to the historical region known as Bahrain, along with Qatif and the present-day Bahrain islands.

One campus of a major Saudi university, King Faisal University, founded in 1975, is located in Al-Ahsa with the faculties of agriculture, veterinary medicine and animal resources. The Hofuf campus also has facilities where Saudi women can study medicine, dentistry and home economics. A large branch of the private Arab Open University is also located in Al-Ahsa.