How did history, culture, and geography help influence the types of governments on the Arabian Peninsula?

Religion, ethnicity, and a shared culture unite and define the subregion. From the earliest times, the people of the peninsula lived in tribes. These are social groups that are based on family relationships. Individual tribes controlled specific areas of the region, called sheikdoms. Some tribes were sedentary, and others were nomadic. Each tribal leader had absolute power and there was no authority above him. Similarly, powerful families controlled the settled areas along the eastern and southern coasts and were vulnerable to foreign invaders.