Hejaz

Etymology

The name of the region is derived from a verb ḥajaza (حَجَز), from the Arabic root ḥ-j-z (ح-ج-ز), meaning "to separate", and it is so called as it separates the land of the Najd in the east from the land of Tihāmah in the west.

History

According to Islamic tradition, this region is the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was born in Mecca, which is held to be founded by his believed ancestors Abraham, Ishmael, and Hagar. The area became part of his empire through the early Muslim conquests, and it formed part of successive caliphates, first the Rashidun Caliphate, followed by the Umayyad Caliphate, and finally the Abbasid Caliphate. The Ottoman Empire held partial control over the area; after its dissolution, an independent Kingdom of Hejaz existed briefly in 1925 before being conquered by the neighbouring Sultanate of Nejd, creating the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd. In September 1932, the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd joined the Saudi dominions of Al-Hasa and Qatif, creating the unified Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Apart from Mecca and Medina, other historical sites include Fadak, Khaybar, Taymah, and Wādī al-Qurā in Al-Ula.

Prehistoric and ancient times

One or possibly two megalithic dolmen have been found in Hejaz.

The Hejaz includes both the Mahd adh-Dhahab ("Cradle of the Gold") (23°30′13″N 40°51′35″E) and a water source, now dried out, that used to flow 600 miles (970 km) north east to the Persian Gulf via the Wādi Al-Rummah and Wādi Al-Bātin system. Archaeological research led by of Boston University and the University of Qassim indicates that the river system was active in 2500–3000 BCE.

According to Al-Masudi the northern part of Hejaz was a dependency of ancient Israel, and according to Butrus al-Bustani the Jews in Hejaz established a sovereign state. The German orientalist Ferdinand Wüstenfeld believed that the Jews established a state in northern Hejaz.

The history of the Hejaz has often centred around its major oasis cities, especially Yathrib (Medina), Fadak, Khaybar, Taymah, and Al-Ula. These cities benefited from regular access to water, and became major trading cities as early as the Bronze Age, especially with the domestication of the dromedary camel that allowed for long-distance trade, and the rise of the incense trade that demanded the movement of incense, spices and other luxury goods into the Eastern Mediterranean from South Arabia, passing through the Hejaz along the way.

The Kingdom of Lihyan ruled from the northwestern Hejaz, including its oasis cities like Tayma, down the western coast, up until a place somewhere in the region between Mecca and Medina. Their capital was at the city of Dedan, located in the Al-Ula oasis, after which the Dadanitic script is named.

Lihyan ultimately fell, but it is not known whether this was due to direct conquest by the Nabataean Kingdom. Either way, the Nabataeans went on to occupy the northwestern Hejazi territory, from the 1st century BCE, until their own annexation by the Roman Empire in the time of Trajan in 106 CE.

The Thamud are among the most notable of the Hejazi tribal confederations. They were based in the northwestern Hejaz with their center at Hegra. They are attested in texts from the eighth century BCE until the fifth century CE, in Mesopotamian, Classical, and Arabian sources. They are famously remembered in pre-Islamic poetry and the Quran. The Quran mentions them 26 times, as a polytheistic people destroyed by God for their rejection of the prophet Salih.

History before Muhammad in Islamic tradition

According to Arab and Islamic sources, the civilization of Mecca started after Ibrāhīm (Abraham) brought his son Ismāʿīl (Ishmael) and wife Hājar (Hagar) here, for the latter two to stay. The Adnanites were a tribal confederation of the Ishmaelite Arabs, who trace their lineage back to Ishmael son of the Islamic prophet and patriarch Abraham and his wife Hagar through Adnan, who originate from the Hejaz. Some people from the Yemeni tribe of Jurhum settled with them, and Isma'il reportedly married two women, one after divorcing another, at least one of them from this tribe, and helped his father to construct or re-construct the Ka'bah, which would have social, religious, political and historical implications for the site and region.

For example, in Arab or Islamic belief, the tribe of Quraysh would descend from Isma'il ibn Ibrahim, be based in the vicinity of the Ka'bah, and include Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf. From the Period of Jāhiliyyah ('Ignorance') to the days of Muhammad, the often-warring Arab tribes would cease their hostilities during the time of Pilgrimage, and go on pilgrimage to Mecca, as inspired by Ibrahim. It was during such an occasion that Muhammad met some Madanis who would allow him to migrate to Medina, to escape persecution by his opponents in Mecca.

Saudi Arabia's and Hejaz's first World Heritage Site that was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is that of Al-Hijr. The name Al-Ḥijr ("The Land of Stones" or "The Rocky Place") occurs in the Qur'an, and the site is known for having structures carved into rocks, similar to Petra. Construction of the structures is credited to the people of Thamud. The location is also called Madāʾin Ṣāliḥ ("Cities of Saleh"), as it is speculated to be the city in which the Islamic prophet Saleh was sent to the people of Thamud. After the disappearance of Thamud from Mada'in Saleh, it came under the influence of other people, such as the Nabataeans, whose capital was Petra. Later, it would lie in a route used by Muslim Pilgrims going to Mecca.

The Midianites of the Bible lived in Hejaz. Shuaib, who is revered as a prophet by both Muslims and Druze, was from this community, who are also known as the Aṣḥāb al-Aykah ("Companions of the Wood"). The historical area of Midian roughly corresponds to what is now region of Tabuk. Also, the northern part of the Hejaz was part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea.

Subsequent history

Due to the presence of the two holy cities in the Hejaz, the region was ruled by numerous empires. The Hejaz was at the center of the First Islamic state and its successor, Rashidun Caliphate, in particular whilst its capital was Medina from 622 to 656 ACE. The region was then under the control of regional powers, such as Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, throughout much of its later history. After the Ottomans lost control of it, Hejaz became an independent state.

Caliphates and states that directly ruled Hejaz:

First Islamic state (622–632 CE)

Rashidun Caliphate (632–661 CE)

Umayyad Empire (661–683 CE)

Zubayrid Caliphate (683–692 CE)

Umayyad Empire (692–750 CE)

Abbasid Empire (750–967 CE)

From 967 to 1916, the local Sharifs governed the semi-sovereign Sharifate of Mecca, exercising considerable autonomy while acknowledging the suzerainty of various dynasties:

Abbasid Empire (967–969)

Fatimid Empire (969–1171)

Abbasid Empire (1171–1517)

Ayyubid Sultanate (1171–1250)

Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517)

Ottoman Empire (Hejaz Vilayet) (1517–1803)

Emirate of Diriyah (1803–1813)

Ottoman Empire (Hejaz Vilayet) (1813–1916)

The Hejaz briefly existed as an independent kingdom before being incorporated into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1925

Culture

Religion

The cultural setting of Hejaz is greatly influenced by that of Islam, especially as it contains its 2 holiest cities, Mecca and Medina. Moreover, the Quran is considered the constitution of Saudi Arabia, and the Sharia is the main legal source. In Saudi Arabia, Islam is not just adhered politically by the government but also it has a great influence on the people's culture and everyday life. The society is in general deeply religious, conservative, traditional, and family-oriented. Many attitudes and traditions are centuries-old, derived from Arab civilization and Islamic heritage.

Cuisine

Hejazi cuisine has mostly Arabian dishes like the rest of Saudi Arabia, Some dishes are native to the Hejaz, like Saleeg. Other Dishes were imported from other cultures through Saudis of different origins, like Mantu (منتو), Yaghmush (يَغْمُش) and Bukhuri Rice (رُز بُخاري) from Central Asia, Burek (بُريك) and Shurek شُريك from Turkey and the Balkans, Mandi (مَنْدي) and Mutabbag (مُطَبَّق) from Yemen, Biryani برياني and Kabli (كابلي) rice dishes from South Asia. Grilled meat dishes such as shawarma and kebab are well-known in Hejaz. The Hejazi dishes are known for their spices.

Geography

The region is located along the Red Sea Rift. It is also known for its darker, more volcanic sand. Depending on the previous definition, the Hejaz includes some of the mountains of the Sarat range, which topographically separate the Najd from Tehamah. Bdellium plants are also abundant in the Hejaz. Saudi Arabia, and in particular the Hejaz, is home to more than 2000 dormant volcanoes. Lava fields in the Hejaz, known locally by their Arabic name of ḥarrāt (حَرَّات, singular: ḥarrah (حَرَّة)), form one of Earth's largest alkali basalt regions, covering some 180,000 km2 (69,000 sq mi), an area greater than the state of Missouri.

Cities

Al Bahah Region:

Al-Bāḥah

Medina:

Al-Madīnah Al-Munawwarah (Medina)

Badr

Yanbuʿ al-Baḥr (Yanbu)

Mecca Province:

Aṭ-Ṭāʾif

Jiddah (Jeddah)

Makkah (Mecca)

Rābigh

Tabuk Region:

Tabūk

Umluj

Tourism

As a component of Saudi Vision 2030, a tourist destination with an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 square miles) is under development between the towns of Umluj (25°3′0″N 37°15′54.36″E) and Al-Wajh (26°14′11.76″N 36°28′8.04″E), on the coast of the Red Sea. The project will involve "the development of 22 of the 90+ islands" that lie along the coast to create a "fully integrated luxury mixed-use destination", and will be "governed by laws on par with international standards".

Demographics

The Hejaz is the most populated region in Saudi Arabia, containing 35% of the population of Saudi Arabia. Most people of Hejaz are Sunnis with a Shia minority in the cities of Medina, Mecca and Jeddah. Many consider themselves more cosmopolitan because Hejaz was for centuries a part of the great empires of Islam from the Umayyads to the Ottomans. People of Hejaz, who feel particularly connected to the holy places of Mecca and Medina, have probably the most strongly articulated identity of any regional grouping in Saudi Arabia.

Notable people

Salih of Thamud

Shuaib of Midian

Al-Abwa'

Musa al-Kazim ibn Jaʿfar al-Sadiq, descendant of Muhammad

Mecca

Qusai ibn Kilab ibn Murrah ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib ibn Fihr ibn Malik ibn An-Nadr ibn Kinanah ibn Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah ibn Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma'add ibn Adnan the descendant of Isma'il ibn Ibrahim ibn Azar ibn Nahor ibn Serug ibn Reu ibn Peleg ibn Eber ibn Shelakh, Chief of the Tribe of Quraysh, and an ancestor of Muhammad

Qusai's son Abd-al-Dar the father of Uthman the father of Abdul-Uzza the father of Barrah the maternal grandmother of Muhammad

Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, paternal ancestor of Muhammad

Abdul-Uzza, son of Qusai, and an ancestor of Barrah bint Abdul-Uzza

Hashim, son of Abd Manaf, paternal great-grandfather of Muhammad, and the progenitor of Banu Hashim in the tribe of Quraysh

Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, paternal grandfather of Muhammad

Hubbah bint Hulail ibn Hubshiyyah ibn Salul ibn Kaʿb ibn Amr al-Khuzaʿi, wife of Qusai, and an ancestor of Muhammad

Atikah bint Murrah ibn Hilal ibn Falij ibn Dhakwan, wife of Abd Manaf, and an ancestor of Muhammad

Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim

Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Uthman Abu Quhafah ibn Amir ibn Amr ibn Ka'b ibn Sa'd ibn Taym ibn Murrah ibn Ka'b, father-in-law of Muhammad, and Caliph

Umar ibn Al-Khattab ibn Nufayl ibn Abdul-Uzza the descendant of Adi ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy, father-in-law of Muhammad, and Caliph

Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, and Caliph

Medina

Salmah, daughter of Amr, wife of Hashim, and a great-grandmother of Muhammad

Caliph Al-Hasan, and other sons of Ali and grandsons of Muhammad born in Medina

Caliph Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz ibn Marwan ibn Al-Hakam ibn Abi al-'As ibn Umayyah ibn Abd Shams ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, great-grandson of Umar ibn Al-Khattab

Al-Hasan of Basra

Muhammad al-Baqir ibn Ali Zaynul-Abidin, grandson of Hasan and Husayn the grandsons of Muhammad

Zayd ibn Ali Zaynul-Abidin ibn Husayn ibn Fatimah bint Muhammad, half-brother of Muhammad al-Baqir

Ansari women

Ja'far al-Sadiq ibn Muhammad al-Baqir

Malik the son of Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi Amir al-Asbahi (not Anas the companion of Muhammad)

Ali al-Rida ibn Musa al-Kadhim ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq

Fatima bint Musa ibn Ja'far al-Maʿsumah of Qum, sister of Ali al-Ridha

Abu Ali Muhammad al-Jawad ibn Ali al-Ridha

Ta'if

Uthman ibn Affan ibn Abu al-'As ibn Umayyah ibn Abd Shams ibn Abd Manaf, son-in-law of Muhammad, and Caliph

Urwah ibn Mas'ud, chief of Banu Thaqif

Nafi ibn al-Harith, physician

Sharif Ali ibn Ajlan ibn Rumaithah ibn Muhammad, son-in-law and successor of Sultan Ahmad of Brunei, father of Sultan Sulaiman, and a descendant of Muhammad