urShadow's Blog: Najran, Saudi Arabia

Recently I visited Najran, formerly known as Aba al-Saʻud, is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia bounded by Yemen to the South; Al-Silayel and Wadi Al-Dawasir to the North; Dhahran Al-Janoub and the Asir region to the west; and Oman in the East. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom. The population belongs mostly to the ancient tribe of Yām.

The Arabic term Najrān has at least two meanings; 1. the wooden frame on which a door opens 2. 'thirsty'. Local tradition also has it that the land derived its name from the first man to settle in the area, Najran ibn Zaydan ibn Saba ibn Yahjub ibn Yarub ibn Qahtan.

Najran was the Yemeni centre of cloth making and originally, the kiswah or the cloth of the Ka'aba was made there (the clothing of the Kaba first started by the Yemeni kings of Saba). There used to be a Jewish community at Najran, renowned for the garments they manufactured. Najran was also an important stopping place on the Incense Route.

With towering mud-brick, fortress-like homes known as qasr strung out along the wadi and an exceptional mud-brick fort, Najran is like nowhere else in the Kingdom.

Videos about Najran (Click to Zoom)

From 20130810-09 - Riyadh, Rub'al Khali, Najran and Dhahran Al Janoub

Tourism

The address of headquarters of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities in Najran:

Prince Mesheal Quarter, Anas bin Malik St.Tel: 075290531

Fax: 017/5290798

P.O. Box : 3329 Najran

Email: mereahs@sct.gov.sa

I will be posting places to visit in Najran soon.

History

The history of Najrān can be traced back to 4,000 years ago. It was once occupied by the Romans; in fact it was the first Yemeni city to fall to the Romans on their way to the Yemeni kingdom of Saba'. Najrān's most prosperous trading time was during the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. In ancient times it was known as Al-Ukhdūd.

Early history

Najrān was conquered around 685 BC by the Sabean Mukarrib (King) Karib'il Watar I King of Yemen. The later Sabean king Yithi'amar Bayin destroyed RagHmat around 510 BC. Najrān seems to have been under Minaean or Sabean rule at different times during the next centuries and after that it was part of Yemen till 1937.

The Roman prefect of Egypt Aelius Gallus led an costly, arduous and ultimately usuccessful expedition to conquer Arabia Felix and won a battle near Najrān in 25 BC. He occupied the city and used it as a base from which to attack the Sabaean capital at Ma'rib. According to Strabo,^[2] Najrān was at this time the northernmost city of the realm of Saba'.

The north Arabian Lakhmid king Imru’ al-Qays ibn 'Amqu attacked Najrān in AD 328. Under the influence of Axum, the Christians in Najrān thrived and started an alliance with Aksum again at the beginning of the 6th century.

Early Christian community

Main article: Christian community of Najran

According to the Arab Muslim historian Ibn Isḥāq, Najran was the first place where Christianity took root in South Arabia. According to the contemporary sources, after seizing the throne of the Ḥimyarites, in ca. 518 or 523 Dhū Nuwās, a convert to Judaism,^[3] attacked the Aksumite (mainly Christian) garrison at Zafar, capturing them and burning their churches. He then moved against Najrān, a Christian and Aksumite stronghold. After accepting the city's capitulation, he massacred those inhabitants who would not renounce Christianity. Estimates of the death toll from this event range up to 20,000 in some sources; a surviving letter (where he is called Dimnon) written by Simon, the bishop of Beth Arsham in 524 AD, recounts Dhū Nuwās's persecution in Najrān (modern al-Ukhdūd in Saudi Arabia).^[4] The persecution is described and condemned in the Qur'an (al-Buruj:4).

Under the reign of the Caliph ‘Umar, the Christian community of Najrān was deported to Mesopotamia, on the grounds that no non-Muslims were to live in the Arabian Peninsula.^[5]

The town of Najrān was already an important centre of arms manufacture during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad. However, it was more famous for leather rather than iron.

Former Jewish community

Main article: History of the Jews in Saudi Arabia

Najrān had a Jewish community dating back to pre-Islamic times, historically affiliated with the Yemenite Jews.^[6] With the Saudi conquest of Najrān in 1934, persecution increased, and some 200 Jews of Najrān fled south to Aden between September and October 1949. The Saudi King ʻAbd al-ʻAziz demanded their return, but the Yemeni king Aḥmad bin Yaḥyá refused, because these refugees were Yemenite Jews. After settling in the Ḥashid Camp (also called Mahane Geula) they were airlifted to Israel as part of the larger Operation Magic Carpet.^[7]

Najran as part of Saudi Arabia

Najrān joined the newly announced Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1934 as a result of the efforts and struggles of Sheikh Jābir Abū Sāq, the leader of one large clan of the Yam tribe. Starting in 1924, the forces of the former Yemeni king launched several unsuccessful raids to annex Najrān to the Yemeni Kingdom. The king of Yemen performed some new maneuvers to strengthen his tie with some of the Najrān tribal leaders to counter the strong relations of the people of Najrān with Bin Saʻūd. Then in 1932 the forces of Imam Yaḥyá of Yemen attacked Najrān with more than 50,000 troops, with all kinds of new weapons. Yām, as the dominant tribe in Najrān, along with some other loyalist Najranis, started strong resistance against the occupation forces. However, a strong segment of the tribal leaders in Najrān sided with the occupying power and some became passive, waiting to take a side at the end of the crisis. Sheikh Jābir Abū Sāq, the head of a clan of Yām at the time, managed to get quick support from King ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz Bin Saʻūd and was able to lead the Yām tribe and all of the Najrānī resistance fighting the Yemeni forces in all parts of Najrān and Bilād Yām. Later, in the spring of 1934, the army of Bin Saʻud under the command of Prince Saʻūd son of ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz carried out a massive campaign, surrounding Najrān from the north and northwest, and defeated the Yemeni army. Najrān became part of Saudi Arabia. In short, though historically a part of Yemen since ancient times, it was annexed by Saudi Arabia. Indeed, there was a strong treaty between King ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz and the people from Najrān indicating conditions to be respected by both sides.

Archaeological ruins and artifacts

Najrān city is famous for its archeological significance. Old Najrān was surrounded by a circular wall, 220 by 230 meters, built of square stone with defensive balconies. It contained several unique buildings. There is also a cemetery south of the external wall. Excavations of this site have uncovered glass, metals, pottery, and bronze artifacts. Square and rectangular buildings have also been found. At Al-Ukhdūd which is south of Najrān city, carvings from those days and human bones can be seen. A museum displays, among other items, a bronze lion head. Najrān's landmarks include the "Rass" stone, a 2-meter-high granite stone.^[13]

Geography

Topography

Najran enjoys three different geographic landscapes, and they are: the oases, mountains, and desert at its eastside. Although Najran has a desert climate, the heavy monsoon rains that fall in the spring, combined with its underground water reserves, produce fertile agricultural land.