Bareq (Arabic: بارق; also transliterated as Bāriq), is one of the governorates of Asir in the north-west of the region, 120 km (75 mi) north of Abha.

Bareq is part of the territory which is historically known as the "yamen" as in ancient Arabs in Hijaz referred to the south from their perspective as "yamen" which is today's southern Saudi Arabia, which dates back to the second millennium BC and was inhabited by a tribe called Bariq belonging to the ancient tribe of Al-Azd that has many clans linked to it.

[1][2][3] Known before the advent of Islam as Diyār Bāriq, it was traversed by the ancient trade route from South Arabia to Mecca and the Levant, known as the winter and summer journeys.

[15][16][17] At the rise of the First Saudi State in the 18th century, the villages of Bareq were governed by local clans in a fashion similar to that of Nejd, while the large tribal confederations maintained a high degree of autonomy.

[20] In 1872 the Turks took direct control of the region, making Bareq a sanjak of Turkish Yemen, remained in the Ottoman Empire for 42 years.

[21][22] In the 1880s, the Idrissi dynasty of Sabya became the predominant political force, ruling the region under the supervision of Turkish advisors.

In April 1915, British agents, hoping to garner Bariqis support for the Allies, signed a treaty with the Idrisi emir guaranteeing the independence and security of Bareq upon the defeat of the Turks.

After the end of First World War, Muhammad ibn Ali became ruler of an internationally recognized sovereign state, until his death in 1920.

Bareq is known for its cuisine and traditional meals such as jalamah, khmer, haneeth, lahoh, murtabak, aerykh, asida, muqalqal, and mandi.