Thirteen
ancient
Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...
towns have been discovered in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
up to the present day. These include Qaryat al-Fāw, the Al-Ukhdūd archeological area,
Hegra (Madā'in Ṣālih), Jubbah, Tārūt, Al-Shuwayḥaṭiyah, Thāj, Taimaa and Dūmat Al-Jandal. There are still more ancient towns in Saudi Arabia, but little information is currently available on them. Saudi Arabia occupies a unique and distinctive geographic location, bridging civilizations between continents. In ancient times the Arabian peninsula served as a corridor for trade; therefore it saw the beginning of many civilizations, the relics of which are still evident today. The Saudi government has recently established the
Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, which is responsible for the preservation of these cities.
Qaryat al-Fāw
Qaryat al-Fāw
Qaryat Al Faw ( ar, قرية الفاو) was the capital of the first Kindah kingdom. It is located about 100 km south of Wadi ad-Dawasir, and about 700 km southwest of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, off ...
(
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: قرية الفاو) also appears in the southern text as Qaryat Dhu Kahl, Qaryat al-Hamraa and Dhat al-Jnan. The name derives from its geographical location at a pass through the
Ṭuwayq Mountains where it intersects with
Wādī al-Dawāsir, overlooking the northwestern edge of the
Empty Quarter
The Rub' al KhaliOther standardized transliterations include: / . The ' is the assimilated Arabic definite article, ', which can also be transliterated as '. (; ar, ٱلرُّبْع ٱلْخَالِي (), the "Empty Quarter") is the sand des ...
desert. It is located about southwest of
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Qaryat al-Fāw is considered one of the most important ancient cities in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, and it was the capital of the
Kindah Kingdom from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, which was one of the ancient Arab kingdoms in the middle of the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
. The Kindah originally came from
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
after the demolition of the
Ma'rib Dam, which led to the fall of the Kingdom of Saba'. In fact, after the demolition of the Ma'rib dam the kingdom of Saba' was divided into three tribal areas, one of the tribes being the Kindha, which was a part of the
Sabaean Kingdom of
Ma'rib
Marib ( ar, مَأْرِب, Maʾrib; Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of ''Sabaʾ'' ( ar, سَبَأ), which some scholars ...
. The other two tribes were
Mundharites, who built their kingdom in southern
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, and the
Ghassān, whose kingdom was in what is now called
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. The Kingdom of Kindah is thought by many historians to have been a Bedouin tribal kingdom, unlike other organised kingdoms founded in the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
.
This city was known as Dhāt Kahl in the
South Arabian text, although in the golden age it was called Qaryat al-Hamrā' ("the Red City") and Dhāt al-Jinān ("the City of Gardens"), and today it is known as Qaryat al-Fāw. The city covers an area of approximately three kilometers by one. The ancient city was inhabited for about eight centuries, and during this period the city fought several wars with the Kingdom of Saba' (c. 8th century B.C. to AD 275), and in AD 228,
Imru’ al-Qays
Imruʾ al-Qais Junduh bin Hujr al-Kindi ( ar, ٱمْرُؤ ٱلْقَيْس جُنْدُح ٱبْن حُجْر ٱلْكِنْدِيّ, ALA-LC: ''ʾImruʾ al-Qays Junduḥ ibn Ḥujr al-Kindīy'') was an Arab king and poet in the 6th century, an ...
fought the city. However, the city is not mentioned in any Arab history books apart from
Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan al-Hamdānī's book entitled ''Ṣifat Jazīrat al-'Arab''.
The city had an important location, as it was located on a trade route, which had a great impact on the lives of the inhabitants due to their contacts with people from other nations. The archaeological excavations in the city revealed that the city had grown and evolved gradually from the point of the trade route to another important commercial point in the eastern part of the trade route that extends from the south of the Arabian Peninsulas through
Najrān
Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen f ...
across the
Gulf
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
and Mesopotamia. It became the economic, religious, cultural and social centre of the central Arabian Peninsula, as well as the capital of the Kindah Kingdom in their first period.
Discovery
Interest in Qaryat al-Fāw as an archaeological site dates back to the 1940s when a reference to it was made by some official workers of the
Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...
oil company. In 1952, three of the company's staff visited the city and wrote about it. In 1996, the village was visited by an expert from the Antiquities and Museums agency. In 1976, it was visited first the History and Antiquities Association of
King Saud University
King Saud University (KSU, ar, جامعة الملك سعود) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulaziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in the K ...
in Riyadh and then by the
Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, both aiming to study the site, and more specifically, to identify the location of the city. The work took place between 1972 and 1995. Archaeological excavations were carried out by a team from King Saud University team, from 1970 to 2003, and uncovered two major sectors of the town. The first was a residential area, consisting of houses, squares, streets and a market place, while the second was a sacred area, consisting of temples and tombs. The general architectural plan is very indicative of ancient towns in Arabia.
Abdulrahman al-Ansary
Abdulrahman al-Ansary (A.R. al-Ansary, Abdul-Rahman al-Ansary; ar, عبدالرحمن بن محمد الطيب الأنصاري) is a former professor of archeology at King Saud University and member of the first and second terms of the Consulta ...
, former Professor of Archaeology at King Saud University in Riyadh and a member of Saudi Arabia's Consultative Council and of the Council's Committee on Education is considered as the founder of the rediscovery of the city of Qaryat al-Fāw.
Market Area
Built near the western edge of the valley which separates between the Ṭuwayq Mountains and the city limits east of the residential area was a large market, 30.75 m in length from west to east, and 25.20 m north to south. It was surrounded by a huge fence consisting of three contiguous parts; the middle one was made of limestone and the internal and external ones made of clay. The market consisted of three floors with seven towers in the market's corners and three in the structure in the middle of the north, south and east of the building. The only entrance to the market was located in the southern half of the west side and was a small door leading to a small square.
Literature
![Pergamon Museum - Stiftungsinschrift](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Pergamon_Museum_-_Stiftungsinschrift.jpg)
The residents of the
Qaryat al-Fāw
Qaryat Al Faw ( ar, قرية الفاو) was the capital of the first Kindah kingdom. It is located about 100 km south of Wadi ad-Dawasir, and about 700 km southwest of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, off ...
were concerned with writing, and a great deal of literature was found on the slopes of the mountains, in the market, temples, while paintings were found in the city's residential, and tombstones, pottery and other archaeological materials were also found in the city. The language used was a mix of the
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
of the north and south. They wrote on different topics, including on religious and commercial issues, as well as on subjects related to personal matters, and through their available literature it has been possible to identify some names of
people
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
,
tribes
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
, gods, as well as to identify the possible existence of the relations between Qaryat al-Fāw and other kingdoms. A vast amount of inscriptions was found in Qaryat al-Fāw.
Temples
Three temples and one altar were found in Qaryat al- Fāw, two in the area to the west of the market, and one outside the market area. In addition, more than one type of cemetery was found in the town, as there were both public and family graveyards.
Current Condition
As of January 1, 2014, the site is completely fenced for protection against looters by the Saudi Government. The site is tended by a Saudi caretaker whose family has ties to the immediate area. The site was authorized and allocated funds for significant improvement, preservation and the construction of a modern visitors center. Construction was to have been completed by December, 2013, however to date no construction has started.
The site is extremely impressive, with multiple Nobelmans and Warrior class tombs spaced along the Eastern periphery. The Kings tomb resides somewhat separated and to the North West of the City. The market place shows significant erosion of the walls, which have buried almost an entire story of the once 3 or 4 level artifice. Remnants of grain storage and baking ovens can still be seen today.
Located East of the city lies a large jebel, with significant caves and
petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s.
Al-Ukhdūd Archeological Area
![Stenen_Tijdperk_Najran](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Stenen_Tijdperk_Najran.JPG)
Al-Ukhdūd ( ar, الأخدود), formerly known as ''Raqmat'' ( ar, رقمات), is located in the south of Saudi Arabia in
Bir Hima/
Najrān
Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen f ...
region, about to the south of Riyadh. Exploration of the city was begun around 1997 by group of Saudi historians. Since then, many antiques have been found, and the greatest discovery in the town was of the place where the king of the Kingdom of
Ḥimyar punished the Christian community in the town by throwing them into ditches of fire, which are called ''Ukhdūd'' in Arabic. According to the experts, the city was built between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD. The story of these people is mentioned in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
, in the chapter
al-Burūj.
Madā'in Sālih
Madā'in Ṣāliḥ
or Hegra (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: الحِجر), also called Al-Ḥijr, is an
ancient city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
located in the northern part of the
Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
i region of Saudi Arabia, about to the north of Riyadh. Madā'in Ṣāliḥ is considered to be one of the most important and oldest ancient cities in the country. Madā'in Ṣāliḥ lies to the northwest of the city of
Al-'Ula
Al-'Ula ( ar, ٱلْعُلَا '), is a city of the Medina Region in north-western Saudi Arabia. Historically located on the incense route, the city lies within the Governorate of 'Ula ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ٱلْعُلَا, Muḥāfathat A ...
, in a strategic position on one of the most important ancient trade routes, which linked the south of the Arabian peninsula to the north, as well as to the great economic and cultural centres of
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. It was the second-largest city in the kingdom of the
Nabateans
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic language, Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Pe ...
. The Nabateans were a group of Arab tribes whose economy was based on pastoralism, and over time they settled, created and developed several cities and become traders. The Nabataeans occupied a territory in the south of the area of
Ash-Shām where they founded the Nabataeans; their capital was
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, which was chosen as one of the
Seven Wonders of the World
Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the o ...
in 2007. Their language was a form of old northern Arabic. The landscape of Madā'in Ṣāliḥ is characterized by impressive rock formations, sandstone hills of varied colours, from red to yellow and white. The area of Madā'in Ṣāliḥ covered by the site is about . The tombs are distributed in groups of various importance, as follows:
*Qaṣr al-Ṣāni' ( ar, قَصْر ٱلصَّانِع) is the first group of tombs and occupies two sandstone hills in the southern part of the site. The western hill contains only one large tomb, called Qaṣr al-Ṣāni', while the second one contains six small undated funerary chambers.
*The tombs of the residential area: this group of monuments lies in the south of the residential area. It comprises two sandstone hills, one small and one large. The large one contains eighteen tombs.
*
Qaṣr al-Farid is located in the southwest of the site. It was given its name as it was completely isolated from the other tombs.
*Qaṣr al-Bint ( ar, قَصْر ٱلْبِنْت): this group of tombs lies west of Jabal Ithib. It comprises two sandstone hills, one containing twenty-nine tombs and the second, two tombs.
*Jibal Athilb ( ar, جِبَال أَثِلْب): The name is a toponym referring to two mountain ranges which dominate the site from the northeast.
*Jabal al-Maḥjar ( ar, جَبَل ٱلْمَهْجَر): this group of tombs is located to the northwest of the complex of Qaṣr al-Bint and occupies three elongated sandstone hills, one of which is called the Jabal al-Maḥjar. This area contains fourteen tombs.
*Khaymāt ( ar, ٱلْخَيْمَات): this group of tombs is located to the west of the Ḥijāz railway. It contains fifty-three tombs.
*The residential area ( ar, مجموعة مقابر ٱلْمِنْطَقَة): is located in the plain which lies in the middle of the site.
Madā'in Ṣāliḥ was recognized by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
as a site of patrimony, the first world heritage site in Saudi Arabia. The story of these people called the people of
Thamūd
The Thamud ( ar, ثَمُوْد, translit=Ṯamūd) were an ancient Arabian tribe or tribal confederation that occupied the northwestern Arabian peninsula between the late-eighth century BCE, when they are attested in Assyrian sources, and the ...
(including
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
) is mentioned several times in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
along with prophet
Ṣāliḥ
Saleh or Salih ( ar, صالح, or ) is an Arabic masculine given name which means "Pious".
Given name
* Salih, Arabian prophet
* Salih ibn Ali (711–769 CE), was the Abbasid general and governor in Syria and Egypt.
* ''Salih ibn Harun al-Rashid ...
.
Jubbah
Jabbah ( ar, جبَّة) is located in the
Ḥā'il Province about north of Riyadh. The city was built around 3000 years ago.
Tārūt
Tārūt Island ( ar, جزيرة تاروت) is the second largest island in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
located off the city of
Qaṭīf. The name is said to be derived from that of the goddess of love and war, a Phoenician and Canaanite goddess
Astārūt. Tarut is known for its historical landmarks, such as the
Tārūt Castle.
Al-Shuwayḥaṭiyah
Al-Shuwayḥaṭiyah ( ar, ٱلشُّوَيْحَطِيَّة) is located in the north of Saudi Arabia about north of Riyadh in the
Al-Jawf region.
Thāj
![Pergamon-Museum_-_Halskette_Thaj](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Pergamon-Museum_-_Halskette_Thaj.jpg)
( ar, ثَاج; ) () is located in the northwest of the
Eastern Province, about northeast of Riyadh. The majority of historians believe that the city of Thāj was built in the period of the
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
, after the conquest of
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
in 330 B.C. The most important discoveries in the city were nine stones carved with writing dating back to the middle of the first millennium BC.
Dūmat Al-Jandal
![The old city of Adummatu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/The_old_city_of_Adummatu.jpg)
Dūmat al-Jandal ( ar, دومة الجندل) (10th century BCE), is the name for an ancient city of ruins located in North Western Saudi Arabia in the
Al-Jawf Province
Al-Jawf Province ( ar, منطقة الجوف Minṭaqat al-Jawf pronounced lˈdʒoːf, also spelled Al-Jouf, is one of the provinces of Saudi Arabia, located in the north of the country, containing its only international border with Jo ...
. The name Dūmat al-Jandal means literally "Dūmah of the Stone", since this was the territory of Dūmah, one of the twelve sons of
Ishmael
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
. The city's ancient Akkadian name was Adumatu.
See also
*
Cities of the ancient Near East
The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
*
Al-'Ula
Al-'Ula ( ar, ٱلْعُلَا '), is a city of the Medina Region in north-western Saudi Arabia. Historically located on the incense route, the city lies within the Governorate of 'Ula ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ٱلْعُلَا, Muḥāfathat A ...
: ''Dedan'' - Kingdom of
Lihyan
Lihyan ( ar, لحيان, ''Liḥyān''; Greek: Lechienoi), also called Dadān or Dedan was a powerful and highly organized ancient Arab kingdom that played a vital cultural and economic role in the
north-western region of the Arabian Peninsula ...
(~5th century BCE)
*
Kinda
Kinda or Kindah may refer to:
Politics and society
*Kinda (tribe), an ancient and medieval Arab tribe
*Kingdom of Kinda, a tribal kingdom in north and central Arabia in –
Places
* Kinda, Idlib, Syria
* Kinda Hundred, a hundred in Sweden
* Kinda ...
: Yemeni tribe (2nd century BCE)
*
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
: ''Yathrib'' (6th century BCE)
*
Tayma
Tayma (Taymanitic: , vocalized as: ; ar, تيماء, translit=Taymāʾ) or Tema Teman/Tyeman (Habakkuk 3:3) is a large oasis with a long history of settlement, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia at the point where the trade route between M ...
: ''Tema'' (8th century BCE)
References
External links
* L'heritage du lointai
* ESP Dating of Tooth from Pre- Islamic Sitin Saudi Arabi
* Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquitie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Towns In Saudi Arabia
Arabian Peninsula
Archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia
Archaeology of Saudi Arabia
History of the Arabian Peninsula
Ancient Near East
Ancient cities of the Middle East