Dammam ( ) is the capital of Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province, plus several government departments, are located in the city. Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province, and the fifth largest in Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the center of the Dammam metropolitan area, which together forms part as the third largest metropolitan area in Saudi Arabia, with an estimated combined population of over 4,100,000 as of 2012. The Dammam metropolitan area, or Greater Dammam, is the metropolitan area associated with the city of Ad Dammam, the Eastern Province, and its suburbs; it is the area that is closely linked to the city through social, economic, and cultural ties.