Tabuk ( ar, تَبُوْك '), also spelled ''Tabouk'', is the capital city of the
Tabuk Region
Tabuk ( ar, مِنْطَقَة تَبُوْك '), also spelled ''Tabouk'', is a region of Saudi Arabia, located along the north-west coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It has an area of 146,072 km2 and a population of 91 ...
in northwestern
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 A ...
. It has a population of 667,000 (as of 2021). It is close to the
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
ian–Saudi Arabia border, and houses the largest air force base in Saudi Arabia.
History
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
mentioned a place by the name 'Tabawa', at the northwestern corner of
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
. This name may be a reference to 'Tabuka' or 'Tabuk'. If this is true, the town may be as old as Ptolemy's time.
Pre-Islamic Arab poets, such as Antra and Nabiqa, mentioned its mountain 'Hasmi' in their poems.
Tabouk became famous for the
Expedition to Tabuk in 630
CE, during the period of prophet
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 mo ...
. Since then, it remained a gateway of North Arabia. It was also visited by a number of European travelers such as
Doughty
Doughty is an English and Scottish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Al Doughty (born 1966), British musician and bassist
* Andrew Doughty (1916–2013), British anaesthetist
* Anthony Doughty (born 1963), British musician
* ...
in 1877 and Huber in 1884.
Tabuk was captured by the Arab forces in 1918, 3 weeks after the British
capture of Damascus
The Capture of Damascus occurred on 1 October 1918 after the capture of Haifa and the victory at the Battle of Samakh which opened the way for the pursuit north from the Sea of Galilee and the Third Transjordan attack which opened the way to D ...
.
Tabuk became a centre of military activity during the
1991 Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases ...
as the city faced threats from
Iraqi scuds and air attacks.
Archaeological or historical sites in the area
The region is rich in antiquities and archaeological sites such as petroglyphs, inscriptions, forts, palaces, walls, Syrian-Egyptian pilgrimage route, and the remains of the
Hejaz Railway line, the main station of which is located in Tabuk.
Rock art and inscriptions' site in Wadi Dam
Hundreds of localities with Rock art and inscriptions dating to different chronological periods and ranging from Paleolithic to the Islamic period were recorded at Wadi Dam and the region west of Tabuk. Study of the art revealed rich stylistic variability and both human and animal figures were represented in it. Tens of sites in the area with
Thamudic
Thamudic is a name that refers to ancient Arabic Thamudic tribe language found by nineteenth-century scholars for large numbers of inscriptions in Ancient North Arabian (ANA) alphabets which have not yet been properly studied. These texts are foun ...
,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Nabataean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern L ...
inscriptions have been found.
Tabuk Castle
It is also known as the castle of ''
Aṣ-ḥāb al-Aykah
Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...
'' ( ar, أَصْـحَـاب الْأَيْـكَـة, "Companions of the Wood"), who are mentioned in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
.
The castle dates back to about 3500 BCE and has been restored many times; the last was in 1062 AH (1652 CE). Several forts and stations were built along the Syrian pilgrimage route, from the Jordanian border to Al-
Medinah
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
to welcome the
pilgrims. The fort consists of two floors built around an open courtyard with a mosque, a well, and a stairway leading to the watch towers used by the guards. Tabuk castle is considered an archaeological landmark of the region and is open to visitors.
Ain Sukkrah
This is an ancient ''‘ayn'' ( ar, عـيـن, 'spring') dating to the Era of ''
Jahiliyyah
The Age of Ignorance ( ar, / , "ignorance") is an Islamic concept referring to the period of time and state of affairs in Arabia before the advent of Islam in 610 CE. It is often translated as the "Age of Ignorance". The term ''jahiliyyah'' ...
'' ( ar, جَـاهـلـيّـة, 'Ignorance'). It is said that during the expedition of Tabuk,
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 mo ...
camped more than ten days near the spring and drank from its water.
The Prophet's Mosque in Tabuk
It is also known as the Repentance Mosque. It was originally built with mud and roofed with palm trunk trees. It was restored in 1652. Eventually, its complete renewal was ordered by the late King Faisal ibn Abdul-Aziz, along the pattern of the
Prophet's Mosque
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Q ...
in Al-Medinah.
Demographics
In 1950, Tabuk had a population of 12,000. By 2022
, this number had grown to 667,000.
Education
Universities include:
*
University of Tabuk
University of Tabuk is located in Tabuk, 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 f ...
*
Fahad bin Sultan University
Fahd ( ar, فهد, “leopard“ or “cheetah”), also transliterated Fahed or Fahad, can refer to:
People Given name Fahad
*Fahad Ali (born 1987), Indian television actor
*Fahad Babar (born 1992), Pakistani born American cricketer
*Fahad A ...
Private schools include:
*
British International School of Tabuk
International School of KSAFH-NWR Tabuk, formerly the British International School of Tabuk is a school situated in the city of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. It is the property of North West Armed Forces Hospital (NWAFH). The school was known as "Tabuk I ...
*
International Indian School Tabuk
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
*
Pakistan International School of Tabuk
*
Philippine International School
*
King Abdulaziz Model schools
*
Tabuk International School
*
Bangladesh International School, Tabuk
Geography and climate
See also
*
1068 Near East earthquake, catastrophic event whose epicentre was in the area of Tabuk
*
Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Hegra)
*
AlUla
The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The al ...
*
Hejaz
**
Hijaz Mountains
The Hijaz Mountains ( ar, جِبَال ٱلْحِجَاز, Jibāl al-Ḥijāz ()) or "Hejaz Range" is a mountain range located in the Hejazi region of western Saudi Arabia. The range runs north and south along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, ...
References
External links
Tabouk - Saudi ArabiaTabuk City on Saudi Tourism Site
{{Authority control
Populated places in Tabuk Province
Provincial capitals of Saudi Arabia
Jordan–Saudi Arabia border