Makkah Saudi Arabia

(before the 20th century)

Sustainable Islamic Urbanism: Past and Present

Instructor: Akel Ismail Kahera, Ph.D.

Student: Aymen Aiblu
 Introduction
• The area of modern-day Saudi Arabia
formerly consisted of four historical
regions: Hejaz, Najd, parts of Eastern
Arabia (Al-Ahsa), and Southern Arabia
('Asir). (Madawi Al-Rasheed. 2013).
• The modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
was founded in 1932 by Abdulaziz bin
Abdul Rahman, known in the West as
Ibn Saud.
• Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "the
Land of the Two Holy Mosques", in
reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in
Makkah) and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in
Medina).
The map of Arabia was published in 1662 in the Atlas Maior by Joan Blaeu (1598-1673).
Although the map appears to be specially engraved for this atlas, the image is similar to
an earlier map published by Willem Jansz. Blaeu (1571-1638) in 1608.
MAKKAH, Saudi Arabia in a 18th century print showing the Kaaba center
Location of Makkah
• Makkah al-Mukarramah is a city and administrative center of the
Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam.
(Merriam-Webster, Inc 2001)
• It is 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a
narrow valley 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its last recorded
population was about 2.042 million in 2020, making it the third-
most populated city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah.
• Muslim rulers from in and around the region long tried to take the
city and keep it in their control, and thus, much like most of the
Hejaz region, the city has seen several regime changes. The city
was finally conquered in the Saudi conquest of Hejaz by Ibn Saud
and his allies in 1925. Since then, Makkah has seen a tremendous
expansion in size and infrastructure, with newer, modern buildings
such as the Abraj Al Bait, the world's fourth-tallest building and
third-largest by floor area, towering over Al-Masjid al-Haram.
The Saudi government has also carried out the destruction of
several historical structures and archaeological sites. (“Wahhabi”
Islamic movement)

Source: Vector Stock & Google Maps

Early history of
Makkah

• The civilization of Makkah is believed to have started

after Ibrahim PBUH left his son Ismail and wife Hajar
in the valley at Allah's command. Some people from the
Yemeni tribe of Jurhum settled with them, and Ismail
reportedly married two women, one after divorcing the
first, on Ibrahim's advice. At least one man of the
Jurhum helped Ismail and his father, according to
Quran, to reconstruct the Kaaba. (Quran 2:127)
• The Kaaba then would have social, religious, political
and historical implications for the site and region. (Lings,
Martin.1983)
• Scholars such as Glen Bowersock claim that Makkah
was a major trading outpost. (Bowersock, Glen. W. 2017)
• Makkahn trade relied on skins, manufactured leather
goods, clarified butter, Hijazi woollens, and camels.
Source: Life in Saudi Arabia
Makkah under
Quraish
• In the 5th century, Quraish took control of Makkah, and became skilled
merchants and traders. In the 6th century, they joined the lucrative spice
trade, since battles elsewhere were diverting trade routes from dangerous
sea routes to more secure overland routes.
• Mecca's prominence as a trading center also surpassed the cities of Petra
and Palmyra. (Encyclopedia of Islam)
• In 570 CE the Christian leader Abraha came from Yemeni regions to
destroy the Kaaba, Abdul-Muttalib (the Grandfather of the Prophet
SAW) at that moment said, "The Owner of this House is its Defender, and
I am sure he will save it from the attack of the adversaries and will not
dishonor the servants of His House." (The Year of the Elephant. 2012)
• Although the area around Makkah was completely dry, it was the
wealthiest in the region with abundant water from the renowned Zamzam
Well and a position at the crossroads of major caravan routes. (Islamic
World, p. 13)
• Local tribes were always in conflict amongst each other, but once a year
they would declare a truce and converge upon Makkah in an annual
pilgrimage. it was also the time each year that debts would be resolved,
and trading would occur at Makkahn fairs. These annual events gave the
tribes a sense of common identity and made Makkah an important focus
for the peninsula. (Lapidus, pp. 16–17)
Source: Islamic Wall-Art
Economy in Makkah

• Historians mentioned that goods from other continents

may also have flowed through Makkah. Goods from
Africa and the Far East passed through en route to Syria
including spices, leather, medicine, cloth, and slaves; in
return Makkah received money, weapons, cereals and
wine, which in turn were distributed throughout Arabia.
(Islamic World, pp. 17–18)
• The Makkahns signed treaties with both the Byzantines
and the Bedouins, and negotiated safe passages for
caravans, giving them water and pasture rights.
• Makkah became the center of a loose confederation of
client tribes, which included those of the Banu Tamim.
Other regional powers such as the Abyssinians,
Ghassanids, and Lakhmids. (Lapidus, pp. 16–17)
Makkah during the
Islamic era
• After Quraish violated the treaty by slaughtering
a group of the Banu Khuza'ah, allies of the
Muslims. The Prophet Muhammad SAW and
his companions, marched into Makkah and
conquered the city. The pagan imagery was
removed, and the location Islamized and
rededicated to the worship of Allah alone.
Makkah was declared the holiest site in Islam
ordaining it as the center of Muslim pilgrimage.
• After the Prophet Muhammad SAW passed
away in 632, Makkah continued to attract pilgrims
from all across the Muslim world and beyond, as
Muslims came to perform the annual Hajj
pilgrimage. Makkah also attracted a year-round
population of scholars, pious Muslims who wished An imagination of Makkah and Kaaba at the time of Prophet Muhammad SAW
to live close to the Kaaba, and local inhabitants
who served the pilgrims.
Pre-Modern era of
Makkah

• Makkah was never the capital of any Islamic state.

• Muslim rulers took care of it all the time, such as during the reigns of
Umar (r. 634–644 CE) and Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656 CE) when
concerns of flooding caused, the caliphs ordered to bring in engineers to
build and construct certain things to protect the area around the Kaaba.
("Makkah – The pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods")
• When the Prophet Muhammad SAW returned to Medina, that shifted
the focus away from Makkah and later even further away when Ali, the
fourth caliph, took power chose Kufa as his capital. The Umayyad
Caliphate moved the capital to Damascus in Syria and the Abbasid
Caliphate to Baghdad, which remained the center of the Islamic Empire
for nearly 500 years.
• Makkah re-entered Islamic political history during the Second Fitna,
when it was held by Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr and the Zubayrids. The
city was twice besieged by the Umayyads, in 683 and 692 and for some
time thereafter, the city figured little in politics, remaining a city of Makkah, c. 1718 CE
devotion and scholarship governed by various other factions.
Ibn Battuta's description
of Makkah
• In the year 1327 CE or 729 AH, Ibn Battuta arrived at the holy city of
Makkah. Immediately, he says, it felt like a holy sanctuary, and thus, he
started the rites of the pilgrimage.
• He remained in Makkah for three years and left in 1330 CE. During his
second year in the holy city, he says his caravan arrived "with a great quantity
of alms for the support of those who were staying in Mecca and Medina".
• Battuta says the Kaaba was large, but was destroyed and rebuilt smaller than
the original and that it contained images of angels and prophets including
Jesus, his mother Mary, and many others.
• Battuta describes the Kaaba as an important part of Makkah since many
people make the pilgrimage to it.
• Battuta describes the people of the city of Makkah as being humble and
kind, and also willing to give a part of everything they had to someone who
had nothing.
• The inhabitants of Makkah and the village itself, he says, were very clean.
There was also a sense of elegance to the village. (Battuta, Ibn. 2009)
Ottoman era of
Makkah
• In 1517 Sultan Selim I and his army proceeded to conquer Makkah and
Medina, the holy cities, but he never fought a battle because the sharif
(governor) of Makkah presented him with the keys to the cities. On
August 29, 1517, Selim was officially proclaimed caliph by the sharif.
• Under the Ottomans, the city of Makkah continued to be governed by
the sharif.
• On top of everything, the Ottoman sultan felt responsible for any repairs
that might be necessary for the Kaaba and other monuments. These were
essential because of floods, earthquakes or fires.
• In 1626 heavy rains and flooding caused three of the four walls of the
Kaaba to collapse. The following year the sanctuary was rebuilt and to
help protect it in future, a golden rainspout was installed, and a gutter was
added.
• Organizing the annual pilgrimage also fell to the Ottoman sultans and
much, if not most of the preparations were carried out by the women in
the harem. The emir al-hajj (commander of the hajj), usually a military
man, was appointed to be in charge and he was responsible for ensuring
that everything was ready to be loaded on camels, horses and mules for Panorama of Mecca, 1845, from the Khalili Collection of Hajj and the
the journey. He would be entrusted with the gifts and money (gold coins Arts of Pilgrimage
usually) that would be sent to the sharif of Makkah.
Bibliography
• Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo https://www.alamy.com/mecca-saudi-arabia-in-a-18th-century-print-showing-the-kaaba-centre-image227842155.html
• Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/
• Madawi Al-Rasheed (2013). A Most Masculine State: Gender, Politics and Religion in Saudi Arabia
• Dirck Jansz van Santen, National Library of the Netherlands https://www.kb.nl/en
• Merriam-Webster, Inc (2001). Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary.
• 3D models of different cities https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-mecca-makkah-city-saudi-arabia-model-1369162
• "Wahhabi (Islamic movement)". Encyclopedia Britannica. Edinburgh: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
• Lings, Martin (1983). Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. Islamic Texts Society.
• Aljazeera, How the holy city has changed over the past 100 years https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2021/hajj-mecca-changed-100-years/index.html
• Bauer, S. Wise (2010). The history of the medieval world: from the conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 243.
• Old Kaaba and Makka Oil Paint Reproduction Canvas Print Islamic Wall Art https://islamicwallartstore.com/en-de/products/old-kaaba-and-makka-oil-paint-
reproduction-canvas-print-islamic-wall-art
• Video of Makkah - Holy city. https://www.facebook.com/historyofhajj/videos/203515508072561/
• "The Year of the Elephant". Al-Islam.org. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
• Battuta, Ibn (2009). The Travels of Ibn Battuta. Cosimo.
• The Ottomans and the city of Mecca https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-ottomans-and-the-city-of-mecca--27037