After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Saudi people gained control. During the Ottoman Empire, this uninhabited area was called Al Asa area, and from the pre-Islamic period until 1521, the whole area was called Dhahran. Many Saudi history books or articles refer to the eastern provinces as Hasaa and Qatif, because the most famous ancient cities here are Qatif and Al-Hasaa. Dammam and Khobar, which are famous in most other cities, were built in the 21th century and did not appear before the oil production in Saudi Arabia.