Lecture 9 MADAEN SALEH

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Madaen Salih 2
Al-Hijr
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywUVPTizbqE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hrJ0E3Zcbc
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP22q80-fbk&t=175s
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The archaeological site of Al-Hijr is a major site of the

Nabataean civilization. Its integrity is remarkable and it is
well conserved. It includes a major ensemble of tombs
and monuments, whose architecture and decorations are
directly cut into the sandstone.
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 The site of Al-Hijr is located at a meeting point between various

civilizations of late Antiquity, on a trade route between the Arabian
Peninsula, the Mediterranean world and Asia. It bears outstanding
witness to important cultural exchanges in architecture, decoration,
language use and the caravan trade. Although the Nabataean city
was abandoned during the pre-Islamic period, the route continued to
play its international role for caravans and then for the pilgrimage to
Mecca, up to its modernization by the construction of the railway at
the start of the 20th century.
The site of Al-Hijr bears unique testimony to the Nabataean civilization, between
the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC and the pre-Islamic period, and particularly in the 1st
century AD. It is an outstanding illustration of the architectural style specific to the
Nabataeans, consisting of monuments directly cut into the rock, and with facades
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bearing a large number of decorative motifs. The site includes a set of wells, most
of which were sunk into the rock, demonstrating the Nabataeans' mastery of
hydraulic techniques for agricultural purposes.
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 madāʼin Ṣāliḥ, "Cities of Saleh"), also called "Al-Hijr" or "Hegra", is

an archaeological site located in the Sector of Al-`Ula within the Province of Al-
Madinah, the Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. A majority of the remains date from
the Nabatean kingdom (1st century AD).
Era of Saleh and Thamud 11
 According to Islamic tradition, by the 3rd millennium BC, the site of Al-Hijr had
already been settled by the tribe of Thamud, who carved the structures into rock.
The tribe fell to idol worship, and oppression became prevalent. Salih, to whom
the site's name of "Madaʼin Salih" is often attributed, called the Thamudis to
repent. The Thamudis disregarded the warning and instead commanded Saleh to
summon a pregnant she-camel from the back of a mountain. And so, a
pregnant she-camel was sent to the people from the back of the mountain by
Allah, as proof of Saleh's divine mission.
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 However, only a minority heeded his words. The non-believers

killed the sacred camel instead of caring for it as they were told, and
its calf ran back to the mountain where it had come from, screaming.
The Thamudis were given three days before their punishment was to
take place, since they disbelieved and did not heed the warning.
Saleh and his Monotheistic followers left the city, but the others
were punished by Allah —their souls leaving their lifeless bodies in
the midst of an earthquake and lightning blasts.
Historical stages of the 13
cities of Saleh
 1. Lihyan era
Archaeological traces of cave art on the sandstones and epigraphic inscriptions,
considered by experts to be Lihyanite script, on top of the Athleb Mountain, near
Mada’in Saleh, have been dated to the 3rd–2nd century BC, indicating the early
human settlement of the area, which has an accessible source of freshwater and fertile
soil. The settlement of the Lihyans became a center of commerce, with goods from
the east, north and south.
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 2. Nabatean era
During the 1st century AD the city came under the rule of the Nabatean king Al-
Harith IV (9 BC –40 AD), who made Mada’in Saleh the kingdom's second capital,
after Petra in the north.
The Nabateans also developed oasis agriculture —digging wells and rainwater tanks
in the rock and carving places of worship in the sandstone outcrops.
At the crossroad of commerce, the Nabatean kingdom flourished, holding
a monopoly for the trade of incense, myrrh and spices. Situated on the
overland caravan route and connected to the Red Sea.
Mada’in Saleh, then referred to as Hegra among the Nabateans, reached its peak as
the major staging post on the main north–south trade route.
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 3. Roman era
 In 106 AD, the Nabatean kingdom was annexed by the contemporary Roman
Empire. The Hejaz, which encompasses Hegra, became part of the
Roman province of Arabia.
 The history of Hegra, from the decline of the Roman Empire until the emergence
of Islam , remains unknown. It was mentioned by travelers and pilgrims making
their way to Mecca in the succeeding centuries. Hegra served as a station along
the Hajj route, providing supplies and water for pilgrims. Among the accounts is a
description made by 14th-century traveler Ibn Battuta, noting the red stone-cut
tombs of Hegra, by then known as "al-Hijr." However, he made no mention of
human activities there.
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4. Ottoman era 17
 The Ottoman Empire invaded western Arabia by 1517. In early Ottoman

accounts of the Hajj road between Damascus and Mecca, Mada’in Saleh is not
mentioned, until 1672, when the Turkish traveler, Evliya Celebi noted that the
caravan passed through a place called "Abyar Saleh" where there were the
remains of seven cities. It is again mentioned by the traveler Murtada ibn 'Alawan
as a rest stop on the route called "al-Mada’in.
Between 1744 and 1757, a fort was built at al-Hijr on the orders
of the Ottoman governor of Damascus, As'ad Pasha al-Azm. A
cistern supplied by a large well within the fort was also built, and
the site served as a one-day stop for Hajj pilgrims where they
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could purchase goods such as dates, lemons and oranges. It was
part of a series of fortifications built to protect the pilgrimage route
to Mecca.
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 By the end of the 1960s, the Saudi Arabian government devised a program to
introduce a sedentary lifestyle to the nomadic Bedouin tribes inhabiting the
area. It was proposed that they settle down on al-Hijr, re-using the already existent
wells and agricultural features of the site. However, the official identification of
al-Hijr as an archaeological site in 1972 led to the resettlement of the Bedouins
towards the north, beyond the site boundary.

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1

The archaeological site of Al-Hijr is a major site of the

 The site of Al-Hijr is located at a meeting point between various

 madāʼin Ṣāliḥ, "Cities of Saleh"), also called "Al-Hijr" or "Hegra", is

 However, only a minority heeded his words. The non-believers

 The Ottoman Empire invaded western Arabia by 1517. In early Ottoman

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