Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern
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 Ara ...
near the border with
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 north and Oman to the northeast and ...
. 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 from 47,500 in 1974 and 90,983 in 1992 to 246,880 in 2004 and 505,652 in 2017. The population mostly originates from the ancient tribes of
Yām,
Mákram, and
Hamdan
Hamdan ( ar, حمدان ') is a name of Arab origin of aristocratic descent and many political ties within the middle east and the Arab World, controlling import/export mandates over port authorities.
Among people named Hamdan include:
Given nam ...
.
Najranis are Muslims, with
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
,
Ismaili forming the plurality of the religious adherents.
Hanbali
The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools ('' madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanba ...
,
Shafi'i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
, and
Maliki
The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as prima ...
Sunnis form the second-largest religious group in the city, while the
Zaydi Shia form the smallest religious group.
The
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...
term ' has at least two meanings: both the wooden frame on which a door opens and also '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. According to
Yemenite Jewish tradition, the Jews of Najran traced their origin to the
Ten Tribes. Najran was also an important stopping place on the
Incense Route
The Incense Trade Route was an ancient network of major land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Le ...
.
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
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 north and Oman to the northeast and ...
i 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
Similar to other ancient place names in Arabia, Najrān may have originally been the name of the whole oasis including all towns and villages. The old name of the ruins now known as "al-Ukhdūd", which may have been the central town, probably corresponds to Ramat.
According to Greek and Roman sources, Najrān was a focal point of the
Incense Route
The Incense Trade Route was an ancient network of major land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Le ...
. All routes that left ancient Yemen to the north or west had to meet at Najrān, where the routes branched into two general directions, the ones leading north through the
Ḥijāz towards Egypt and the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
and those leading to the northeast towards
Gerrha near the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
.
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
Gaius Aelius Gallus was a Roman prefect of Egypt from 26 to 24 BC. He is primarily known for a disastrous expedition he undertook to Arabia Felix (modern day Yemen) under orders of Augustus.
Life
Aelius Gallus was the 2nd ''praefect'' of Roman Eg ...
led a costly, arduous and ultimately unsuccessful 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
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...
, who called it 'Negrana', Najrān was at this time the northernmost city of the realm of Saba'.
When the
Ḥimyarites conquered the Sabeans in AD 280 they probably also took control of Najrān. Sometime during the 3rd century, the people of Najrān sided with the Abyssinians who sent a governor named Sqlmqlm" in inscriptions. The Ḥimyar King Ilsharah Yahdib crushed this rebellion.
The north Arabian
Lakhmid
The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capita ...
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.
The town of Najrān was already an important centre of arms manufacture during the lifetime of
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
. However, it was more famous for
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
rather than
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...
.
Early Christian community
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
must have been introduced into Najrān, as in the rest of South Arabia, in the 5th century AD or perhaps a century earlier. According to the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
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
Dhū Nuwās, ( ar, ذُو نُوَاس), real name "Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar" ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), "Yosef Nu'as" ( he, יוסף נואס), or "Yūsuf ibn Sharhabīl" ( ar, يُ� ...
, a Jewish king, attacked the
Aksumite
The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in ...
(mainly Christian) garrison at
Zafar, capturing it and burning its 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
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 Ara ...
).
Under the reign of the
Caliph ‘Umar, the Christian community of Najrān was deported to Mesopotamia, on the grounds that
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
ordered all non-Muslims to be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula.
Former Jewish community
Najrān had a Jewish community dating back to pre-Islamic times, historically affiliated with the
Bnei Chorath
The Banu al-Harith ( ar, بَنُو الْحَارِث ' or ar, بَنُو الْحُرَيْث ') is an Arabian tribe which once governed the cities of Najran, Taif, and Bisha, now located in southern Saudi Arabia.
History
Origins and early ...
who were
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, th ...
that had conquered the city and ruled until the Christian invasion of Yemen. 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
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
as part of the larger
Operation Magic Carpet.
Some groups of Najran Jews escaped to Cochin, as they had a very good relationship with the rulers of
Cochin
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
and maintained trade connections with
Paradesi Jews
Paradesi Jews were Jewish people who immigrated to the Indian subcontinent during the 15th and 16th centuries following the expulsion of Jews from Spain. ''Paradesi'' refers to the Malayalam word that means ''foreign'' as they were newcomers ...
.
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 Shaikh Jābir Abū Sāq, the leader of a 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 Saūd. Then in 1932, the forces of King Yahya of Yemen attacked Najrān with more than 50,000 troops, with many 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 Yemenis and some became passive, waiting to take a side at the end of the crisis. Sheikh Jābir Abū Sāq, the head of Al Fatema clan of Yām at the time, managed to get quick support from King Abd al-Azīz Bin Saūd 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, Najran has always been independent and ruled by its people (Yam) but they choose to be annexed to the New Kingdom. Indeed, there was a strong treaty between King ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz and the people from Najrān indicating conditions to be respected by both sides.
Issues with the Ismaili community
The
Ismailis, a religious and ethnic minority with historic roots in
Najrān Province of southwestern Saudi Arabia, face increasing threats to their identity as a result of official discrimination. With the arrival of
Mishʻal bin Suʻūd as the governor of Najrān in 1996, tensions between local authorities and the Ismaili population increased, culminating in a confrontation between armed Ismāʻīlī demonstrators and police and army units outside the Holiday Inn hotel in Najrān city in April 2000. Official discrimination in Saudi Arabia against Ismāʻīlīs encompasses government employment, religious practices, and the justice system. Government officials exclude Ismāʻīlīs from decision making and publicly disparage their faith.
The confrontation at the Holiday Inn in Najrān city on April 23, 2000, marked a watershed in Ismāʻīlī relations with the central government. Three months earlier, police had closed all
Ismāʻīlī mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s on a religious holiday. On April 23, after security forces and religious morality police arrested an Ismāʻīlī cleric, a large demonstration took place outside the Holiday Inn, where governor
Mishʻal resided. After the governor refused for hours to meet the petitioners, an exchange of fire between security forces and armed demonstrators left two Ismāʻīlīs dead and, according to some government accounts, killed one policeman as well. Believing their religious identity to be under attack, Ismāʻili men erected defences around
Khushaywah, the seat of the Ismāʻīlī religious leader,
al-Dāʼiʻ al-Muṭlaq (Absolute Guide), and the spiritual capital of
Sulaymānī Ismāʻīlīs, a community with followers in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
as well as Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Khushaywah, which is an area of Najrān city, includes the Manṣūrah Mosque complex. The army surrounded the Ismāʻīlī positions and placed the city under its control. The standoff ended later the same day without further bloodshed.
Archaeology
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.
Geography
Topography
Najran enjoys three different geographic landscapes, oases, mountains, and the desert on its east side.
Climate
The climate for Najran is a
hot desert climate (
Köppen ''BWh''), typical of the Arabian Peninsula. The rainfall is very sporadic in occurrence and consists of light individual rainfall. Despite being further south, due to Najran being about higher in altitude than
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 ...
, the yearly average temperature is approximately cooler than the Saudi capital.
Education
Colleges and universities
Najran is home of
Najran University and Najran College of Technology.
Sports
Local football clubs
*
Al-Okdod Club (Arabic: نادي الأخدود) founded in 1976
* Sharora Club (Arabic: نادي شرورة) founded in 1975
*
Najran SC
Najran Sport Club ( ar, نادي نجران الرياضي) is a Saudi Arabian football team based in Najran Province, they are currently playing in the Saudi First Division.
Najran SC achieved promotion to the Saudi Premier League by finishing ...
(Arabic: نادي نجران) founded in 1980
Sports centers
There are many sports centers and complexes within the city including:
* Khldiat Al-Janob Sport Center (Arabic: مركز الخالدية الرياضي )
* Prince Mishal Sport Center (Arabic: مركز الأمير مشعل )
* Najran Bowling Alley
Hospitals and medical care
* King Khalid Hospital
* Najran General Hospital
* Maternity & Children's Hospital Najran
* Najran Armed Forces Hospital
* General Psychiatric Hospital
* Al Zafer Hospital
* Al Hayah Hospital
* Al Qadi Specialty Hospital
* Al Shefa Medical Hospital
*International Medical Complex
* Al Masa dental center
Hotels
* Park Inn by Radisson Najran
* Happy Day Inn
* Hyatt Najran
* Holiday Inn
* Al-Okhdood
* Najran Crown
* Najran Hotel
* Ramada Hotel
* Snob hotel
* Gloria Inn
See also
*
List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia
Further reading
* Irfan Shahîd, ''The Martyrs of Najrân. New Documents'', Brussels (1971).
* Irfan Shahîd, ''Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth Century'',
Dumbarton Oaks (1989), .
* Hugh Goddard, ''A History of Christian-Muslim Relations'',
Edinburgh University Press
Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
History
Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...
(2000), .
* Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach, ''Medieval Islamic Civilization'',
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...
(2006), .
* Mark A. Caudill, ''Twilight in the Kingdom'',
Greenwood Publishing Group
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher ( middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as G ...
(2006), .
* Andre Vauchez, Richard Barrie Dobson, Michael Lapidge, Adrian Walford, ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages'',
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
(2001), .
* Joel Thomas Walker, ''The Legend of
Mar Qardagh
Mār Qardāgh ( syc, ܣܗܕܐ ܡܪܝ ܩܪܕܓ ܐܬ݂ܘܪܝܐ), was a legendary Assyrian prince who was martyred for converting to Christianity.
Life
Qardāgh was born to a noble family in the Sassanid Empire during the 4th century and descend ...
'',
University of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...
(2006), .
References
* This text is adapted from
William Muir's
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...
, ''The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall''.
External links
Travel through the province of Najran Splendid Arabia: A travel site with photos and routes
{{Authority control
Populated places in Najran Province
History of Christianity in Yemen
Shia communities
Saudi Arabia–Yemen border crossings
Provincial capitals of Saudi Arabia