The Hejaz or Hijaz is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al-Bahah. It is thus known as the "Western Province",Mackey, p. 101. "The Western Province, or the Hejaz[...]" and it is bordered in the west by the Red Sea, in the north by Jordan and the Gulf of Aqaba, in the east by the Najd, and in the south by South Arabia. Its largest city is Jeddah, which is the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia, with Mecca and Medina, respectively, being the third- and fourth-largest cities in the country.
As the location of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, respectively the first and second holiest sites in Islam, the Hejaz is significant in the Arabo-Islamic historical and political landscape. The region is the most populated in Saudi Arabia, and Arabic is the predominant language, as in the rest of Saudi Arabia, with Hejazi Arabic being the most widely spoken dialect. Hejazis as a whole are of ethnically diverse origins, although the vast majority are of Arab origin.
Etymology The name of the region is derived from a verb ḥajaza (), from the Arabic root ḥ-j-z (), 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. (Pbk. ed.) 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.Al-Rasheed, M. A History of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. A Brief overview of Hejaz - Hejaz history
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") () and a water source, now dried out, that used to flow 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,Ibn Khaldun, "Kitāb al-ʿIbar wa-Dīwān al-Mubtadaʾ wa-l-Khabar", Dar Al-Fikr publication. Beirut. 1988. volume 2 page 342 and according to Butrus al-Bustani the Jews in Hejaz established a sovereign state.al-Bustani, Butrus. "Daerat Al-Maaref". Dar Al-Marifa Publication. Beirut. volume 11 page 672 The German orientalist Ferdinand Wüstenfeld believed that the Jews established a state in northern Hejaz.Wolfensohn, Israel. "Tarikh Al-Yahood Fi Belad Al-Arab". Al-Nafezah Publication. Cairo. 2006. page 68
The rise of the oasis cities
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.
Lihyan/Dedan (5th century BCE — 1st century BCE)
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.
Thamud confederation (8th century BC — 5th century 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.
Ghassanid confederation (3rd century CE — 4th century CE) Christian J. Robin's study of pre-Islamic epigraphy has suggested that between the third and fourth centuries CE, the Ghassanids were the main tribal confederation acting in the Hejaz, with a base that may have been stationed at Medina. The period of Ghassanid domination of this region ended when the Banu Ghassan migrated northwards, into the territory of Syria, which would remain their main base of operations until Islamic times.
Mudar confederation and the Jewish tribes of Arabia (5th century CE — 7th century CE) After the Ghassanids migrated out of the Hejaz, the Mudar confederation became the main power actors in Western Arabia. They may have been subservient to the confederation of Ma'add (based in Central Arabia) and the Kingdom of Himyar (based in South Arabia). Their territory fell on the western coast of Arabia, from Himyar to the south, to the territory of the Ghassanids to the north who, on account of the Byzantines, had projected their power into the northwestern Hejaz in the sixth century, up to the territory of Palaestina Salutaris (formerly Arabia Petraea).
The most well-known tribe of Mudar, today, is the Quraysh, rulers of Mecca (after the Jurhum) and the care-takers of the Kaaba and its pilgrimage rites. Over the course of the sixth century, tradition describes Quraysh's aspirations for expanding their hegemony in Arabia, forming trade agreements with nearby superpowers while exerting their growing influence on nearby regions.
The 5th–7th centuries also saw the rise of the Jewish tribes of Arabia, whose locus of power was also positioned along the western coast. These tribes occupied a similar geographic space to Mudar, while remaining distinct ethno-religious entities. In Al-Ula, the transition to a Jewish settlement appears to have taken please in the fifth century, and it remained this way until the rise of Islamic Arabia. Early in the time of the career of Muhammad in Medina, in 622 CE, Muhammad brokered a treaty between the local Arab and Jewish tribes, which today is called the Constitution of Medina.
Era of Muhammad
As the land of Mecca and Medina, the Hejaz was where Muhammad was born, and where he founded a Monotheistic Ummah of followers, bore patience with his foes or struggled against them, migrated from one place to another, preached or implemented his beliefs, lived and died. Given that he had both followers and enemies here, a number of battles or expeditions were carried out in this area, like those of Al-Aḥzāb ("The Confederates"), Badr and Ḥunayn. They involved both Makkan companions, such as Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Ubayda ibn al-Harith and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and Madani companions.Witness Pioneer "Pre-Badr Missions and Invasions" The Hejaz fell under Muhammad's influence as he emerged victorious over his opponents, and was thus a part of his empire.Holt (1977), p. 57Lapidus (2002), pp. 31–32
History before Muhammad in Islamic tradition
Era of Abraham and Ishmael
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.
Era of Saleh
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.
Era of Shuaib
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)