Diriyah (; formerly

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

as Dereyeh and Dariyya) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital,

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Diriyah was the original home of the

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling ...

, and served as the capital of the

Emirate of Diriyah The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious ...

under the first Saudi dynasty from 1727 to 1818. Today, the town is the seat of the Diriyah Governorate, which also includes the villages of

Uyayna Uyayna () is a village in central Saudi Arabia, located some northwest of the Saudi Capital (political), capital Riyadh. Uyayna was the birthplace of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Today, Uyayna is a small village and forms together with its neighbor ...

, Jubayla, and Al-Ammariyyah, among others—and is part of

Riyadh Province The Riyadh Province ( '), is a province of Saudi Arabia, located in the geographic center of the country and the center of the Arabian Peninsula. It has an area of and with a 2022 population of 8,591,748, it is the second-largest region by ar ...

At-Turaif District At-Turaif is a historic district located in Diriyah, north-west of Riyadh. It is regarded as one of the more important political and historical sites in Saudi Arabia, as it represented the capital of Saudi dynasty. It was the original home of the ...

, the first capital of Saudis in Diriyah, was declared a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 2010. The layout of the city itself can be studied in the

National Museum of Saudi Arabia The National Museum of Saudi Arabia () is a national museum located in the Al Murabba, al-Murabba neighborhood of Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1999,Diriyah ePrix The Diriyah ePrix was a race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship, held in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. It was first held as part of the 2018–19 season and was the first Formula E race to be held in the Middle East. Th ...

race for the

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is an open-wheel single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The racing series is the highest class of competition for electrically powered single-seater racing cars ...

championship from 2018–2024.

Location

The ruins of the old city of Diriyah lay on either side of the narrow valley known as

Wadi Hanifa Wadi Hanifa (), historically known as Wadi al-Arad, is a ''wadi'' (seasonal river) in the Najd region, Riyadh Province, in central Saudi Arabia. The valley runs for a length of from northwest to southeast, cutting through the city of Riyadh, ...

, which continues southwards through Riyadh and beyond. Consisting almost entirely of mud-brick structures, the ruins are divided into three districts, Ghussaibah, Al-Mulaybeed, and Turaif that are set on top of hills overlooking the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

. Of the three, Turaif is the highest, and its bottom is easily accessible to tourists by foot. Part of the city wall, running along the edges of the wadi and also made of

mud brick Mudbrick or mud-brick, also known as unfired brick, is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of mud (containing loam, clay, sand and water) mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE. From ...

s, are still extant along with some high observation towers. The modern city is built at a lower altitude at the foot of the hill upon which Turaif is located. To the north of the town, inside the valley, are a number of gardens,

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

groves, and small farms and estates. A dam known as Al-Ilb lies further north.

History

During Muhammad's era

In Muhammad's time the

expedition of Muhammad ibn Maslamah The Expedition of Muhammad ibn Maslamah took place in July, 627 AD in Muharram, 6AH.Note: Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic, English translation availablhere/ref> Expedition A platoon of thirty Muslims under the leadership of ...

took place here in

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

, July 627 CE/6AH.Muhammad Yasin Mahzar Siddiqi
Role of Booty in the economy during the prophets time
Vol. 1, King Abdul Aziz University, p. 11.
archive
Note: Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic, English translation availabl

/ref> A platoon of thirty Muslims under the leadership of Muhammad bin Maslamah was despatched on a military mission. It headed for the habitation of the Qurata, a sept of the Bakr clan of the

Banu Kilab The Banu Kilab () was an Arab tribe in the western Najd (central Arabian Peninsula, Arabia) where they controlled the horse-breeding pastures of Dariyya from the mid-6th century until at least the mid-9th century. The tribe was divided into ten br ...

. The platoon attacked that sept and dispersed them in all directions. The Muslims captured war bounty and returned with the chief of the tribe of

Banu Hanifa Banu Hanifa () is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdul Qays, Taghlib, al-N ...

, called Thumamah Bin Uthal al-Hanafi.

Post 1400

Although the location is sometimes identified with an ancient settlement mentioned by Yaqut and

Al-Hamadani Badi' al-Zamān al-Hamadānī or al-Hamadhānī (; ; 969 in Hamadan، Iran – 1007) was a medieval poet and man of letters. He is best known for his work the ''Maqamat Badi' az-Zaman al-Hamadhani'', a collection of 52 episodic stories of a rogu ...

known as "Ghabra", the history of Diriyah proper dates back to the 15th century. According to the chroniclers of

Nejd Najd is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in al-Jawf to the north, ad-Dahna Desert in al-Ahsa to th ...

, the city was founded in 1446–47 by Mani' Al-Muraydi (), an ancestor of the Saudi royal family. Mani and his clan had come from the area of

Al-Qatif Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a list of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Damma ...

in eastern Arabia, upon the invitation of Ibn Dir' (), who was then the ruler of a group of settlements that now make up

. Ibn Dir' is said to have been a relative of Mani' Al-Mraydi, and Mani's clan is believed to have left the area of Wadi Hanifa at some unknown date and were merely returning to their country of origin.Rentz, G. "al- Dir'iyya (or al-Dariyya)." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. CDL. 5 November 200

/ref> Initially, Mani' and his clan, known as the Mrudah, settled in Ghusaybah () and Al-Mulaybeed (). The entire settlement was named Al-Dir'iyah, after Mani's benefactor Ibn Dir'. Later on, the district of Turaif () was settled. Many families from other towns or from the Bedouin tribes of the nearby desert eventually settled in the area and by the 18th century Diriyah had become a well-known town in Nejd. At that time, Muhammad ibn Saud emerged from a struggle within the ruling family of Al-Diriyah, the Al Miqrin (, sons of Miqrin, a descendant of Mani'), and became the ''emir'', or ruler, of Al-Diriyah. In 1744, Ibn Saud took in a religious scholar named

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān al-Tamīmī (1703–1792) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, theologian, preacher, activist, religious leader, jurist, and reformer, who was from Najd in Arabian Peninsula and is considered as the eponymo ...

, who hailed from the town of

Al-Uyaynah Uyayna () is a village in central Saudi Arabia, located some northwest of the Saudi Capital (political), capital Riyadh. Uyayna was the birthplace of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Today, Uyayna is a small village and forms together with its neighbor ...

, lying on the same wadi some 30 miles upstream. Ibn Saud agreed to implement al-

Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

religious views, and what later became known as the

First Saudi State The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious r ...

, with its capital at Diriyah, was born. Within the next several decades, Ibn Saud and his immediate descendants managed to subjugate all of Nejd, as well as the eastern and western regions of Arabia, and sent raids into

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Diriyah quickly swelled in size and increased in wealth, becoming the largest town in Nejd and a major city in Arabia by the standards of the time. However, the Saudis' conquest of the holy cities of

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

drew the ire of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, the major Islamic power at the time, which led to the Ottoman-Saudi War of 1811–1818 and an invasion of Arabia by the Ottoman Empire and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian forces. They brought the Saudi state to an end in 1818, with Diriyah capitulating after a nearly-year-long siege. The leader of the invading force, Ibrahim Pasha, ordered the destruction of Diriyah. However, when a member of the local nobility tried to revive the Wahhabi state in Diriyah, Ibrahim ordered his troops to destroy the town even further and set whatever was left of it on fire. When the Saudis revived their fortunes in 1824 and again in 1902, they made their capital further south in

, which has remained their capital ever since. The

viewed the Arab challenge with caution, especially after the loss of Mecca and Medina, and the removal of the Ottoman emperor's name from Friday prayers. An Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha was sent to recover lost territory. In 1818 the army entered Diriyah and after a six-month siege penetrated the defences on the

Turaif Turaif (Arabic: طريف) is a city and governorate in northern Saudi Arabia. It is part of the Northern Borders Province and is located near the border with Jordan. Overview Turaif is one of the cities that were established due to the presence o ...

, totally destroyed the houses and cut down every tree in the palm groves. The Egyptians were estimated to have lost 10,000 men in the siege, and the Saudi forces 1,800. The town's original inhabitants left Diriyah after 1818, with the bulk of them moving to Riyadh. In ''The Kingdom'' (first published in 1981), British author Robert Lacey observed that the Al Saud had "left the shell of their old capital behind them, an enduring reminder of the frontiers of the possible" and compared the old Diriyah to "a sand-blown

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

". However, the area was resettled in the late 20th century, mostly by former nomads (

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

), and a new city was founded by the Saudi government in the late 1970s. This new city of Diriyah grew in size and is now a small but modern town and the seat of its own governorate. The ruins remain a tourist attraction and are subject to a slow restoration project on the part of the Saudi government.

Renovations and development plans

Saudi Arabia has formed the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) to oversee the preservation and development of the historic site. Despite Wahhabi destruction of many Islamic, cultural, and historical sites associated with the

early history of Islam The history of Islam is believed, by most historians, to have originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abra ...

and the first generation of Muslims ( Muhammad's family and his companions), the

Saudi government The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a unitary absolute monarchy, along traditional Islamist lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consult ...

undertook a large scale renovation of

's domain, turning it into a major tourist attraction. In 2018, Jerry Inzerillo, previously the CEO of

Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Travel Guide (formerly known as Mobil Guide or Mobil Travel Guide) is a star rating service and online travel guide for hotels, restaurants and spas. In 2011, Forbes Travel Guide published its last set of guidebooks and, on November 15, ...

, was hired to lead the new authority. In 2019, Inzerillo said that Diriyah would soon be known as "the

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

of Riyadh." Among the rebuilt structures are the bath and guest house, the Qasr Nasr, the Saad bin Saud Palace that was finished by the early 1990s, the Burj Faysal that was a wall tower renovated in the 1980s, major sections of the wall surrounding Turaif, and sections of the outer walls and some watchtowers surrounding the wadi. Outside of the Turaif district, on the opposite side of the wadi Hanifa, the region of the mosque of

has been completely remodeled, leaving only some of the more recent original structures standing to the north of the complex build on the site of the historic mosque. The "Turaif District Development Plan" aims to turn the district into a major national, cultural and touristic center.''"Turaif District Development – Renovating the Local Arabic Architecture" in "Open Ends for the Local Architecture – Contemporary Practices in Saudi Architecture"'' by Mashary A. ALNaim and Tariq M. Abd El Fattah i
Albenaa Magazine
, issue 208, February 2008 (Safar 1429) Before turning the complete site into a modern

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

documentation and necessary investigations, including excavations especially in places that may need to be remodelled, are planned in three major phases. These will include sites such as: * Al-Imam Mohammad bin Saud Mosque and Salwa Palace. * Ibraheem Ibn Saud Palace and Fahad Ibn Saud Palace. * Farhan Ibn Saud Palace, Torki Ibn Saud Palace, and Qoo'a Al-Sharia'a (eastern court of Salwa Palace). Once finished, there will be a new visitors center as well as a documentation center. Four new museums are planned for the district. * A museum of war and defense (as this was the site of a major siege in Saudi Arabia). * A museum of horses. * A museum of social life. * A museum of commerce and finance. Additionally, a Turaif traditional market will add to the open-air museum experience. Diriyyah2

The

undertook a large scale renovation of

's domain, turning it into a major tourist attraction.

Main historic sites

The old city's historic structures include: *Salwa Palace (قصر سلوى) was the residence and first home of the Saʿūdī Amirs and Imāms during the

. It is considered the largest palace on the site, rising four stories high. It is composed of five main parts built at different consecutive periods of time. It was probably finished by Saud ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud, who was Imam from 1803 to 1814. It is now a museum. *Sa'ad bin Saʿūd Palace popularly known as the Palace of Saad (قصر سعد بن سعود). One of the largest palaces on the site, it is famous for its courtyard, which was used as a stable. The palace was restored in the late 1980s and is several stories high. Sa'd ibn Sā'ud was the son of Imām Abd Allāh bin Saʿūd āl Sāʿūd (d. 1819) and played a prominent role in the battle for the city in 1818. *The Guest House and At-Turaif Bath House a traditional building consisting of a number of small courtyards surrounded by rooms. The Bath House is famous for its different architectural styles and shows how the building was waterproofed by using different plasters. Both the Guest and Bath Houses were supplied with water from a well in the

wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...

. *Imām Muḥammad bin Saʿūd Mosque, a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

built first during the reign of Imām Mohammad bin Saud (1687–1765), perhaps replacing an earlier structure. Imām Abd al ʿAzīz bin Muḥammad Āl Saʿūd was assassinated here while leading Asr Salat in November 1803. The building fell into ruins after the invasion of 1818 and the disappearance of the first Saudi state; only part of the structure on eastern side survived to the 1970s and is still preserved. A small mosque was built on the south-west corner of the site some time in the first half of 20th century. Subsequently the location was excavated to reveal the large

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or und ...

mosque of the 18th century. The modern mosque was replaced with a traditional building as part of the development under the UNESCO heritage programme. *Al-Bujairi (البجيري), one of the districts of the city, directly adjacent to Qasr Salwa on the opposite side of the wadi. It was the religious centre of the historical settlement, surrounded by palm trees. The chief building was mosque of the Shaykh Muḥammad bin ʿAbd al-Wahāb (محمد بن عبد الوهاب), now rebuilt and set in the al-Bujairi Heritage Park. Shaykh Mohammad ibn Abdulwahab used to give lessons about his reformed movement of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in this mosque. It became a centre for religious education. Students used to travel to it from all parts of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. *Ghasiba (غصيبة), a walled historic site and on the edge of Wadi Hanifah, is to the north of old Dir'iyyah and is thought to date back to the 17th century CE.

Other notable buildings

*Qasr al-'Ujā (قصر العوجا) is a large Saudi royal palace erected adjacent to the old city on the south bank of Wadi Hanifa. *The mosque of al-Zawiharah (مسجد الظويهرة) is located in the al-Bujairi Heritage Park and is an old traditional building, restored and reopened in 2014. It is notable for the underground chamber or ''khālwa'', a feature encountered in the older mosques in the Najd region. *The mosque of al-Sarikhah (مسجد السريحة) is a modern building made in the traditional central Arabian style. It is located on the west side of the al-Bujairi Heritage Park. *The mosque of Nakhil al-'Dhibah (مسجد نخيل العذيبة) is located a short distance to the west of the old city, in the farm of Sultan Bin Salman. It is built in the traditional central Arabian style.

Museums

A number of the palaces in the old city have been restored and are used as museums. *Museum of Bygone Days (متحف السنين الماضية) is located north of al-Bujairi and houses a collection reflecting everyday life in central Arabia in the early and middle twentieth century.

Public facilities and centres

*Al-Maarefa University (جامعة المعرفة), is an educational institution to the north of the old city in Al Khalidiyah suburb of Riyadh. AlMaarefa Colleges Outdoor 4

*Mosim Park, Football ground in the Nakheel area. It is home to football team Mosim FC, who are called The Pride of Dir'iyah. Mosim Park was erected in 2007 after Mosim FC moved there from their old ground downtown of Riyadh. *Diriyah Arena opened in 2019 is a sporting venue with a capacity of 15,000 seats.

Climate

In Diriyah, the summers are long, sweltering, and arid, and the winters are cool and dry. Diriyah has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh'').

Gallery

file:قصر سلوى.jpg, Salwa Palace for the outside file:Salwa Palace in Diriyah.png, Salwa Palace file:Al-Turaif Mosque in Diriyah.png, Al-Turaif Mosque file:Arda House in Diriyah.png, Arda House file:Traditional Door Deisgn in Diriyah.png, Traditional wooden door file:Diriyah Gallery 2023.png, Costume of Imam Abdullah bin Saud displayed in Diriyah Galley file:Trade and Treasury Gallery in Diriyah.png, Trade and Treasury Gallery

References

External links

Photo gallery
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

{{Authority control 1446 establishments in Asia 1440s in the Middle East Populated places established in the 1440s Populated places in Riyadh Province Geography of Riyadh World Heritage Sites in Saudi Arabia Tourist attractions in Riyadh Razed cities Ottoman Arabia History of Najd Arabic architecture Cities in Saudi Arabia