Al-Hukm Palace () or The Ruling Palace, originally Ibn Dawwas Palace, and also known as the al-ʽAdl Palace (), so called from the

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

it overlooks from the south, is a historic palace and a popular cultural heritage landmark in the ad-Dirah neighbourhood of

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, located directly opposite to

Imam Turki bin Abdullah Grand Mosque The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Grand Mosque (), also known as the Grand Mosque of Riyadh, is a Sunni Islam Friday mosque in the ad-Dirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located adjacent to al-Hukm Palace compound, in Deera Square. It was ...

in the Qasr al-Hukm District. It is the historic site where tribal leaders and members of the

Saudi royal family The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fa ...

have been pledging allegiance to the country's political leadership. It was built in 1747 by

Dahham ibn Dawwas Dahham ibn Dawwas ibn Abdullah al-Shalaan () was an 18th-century Arab tribal and political leader from Manfuhah who reigned as the first ruler of the walled town of Riyadh, initially as a regent for the House of Zara’ah between 1740 and 1745 and ...

alongside the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

to safeguard the walled town from invaders and intruders. In the 1820s, Turki bin Abdullah, after gaining control of

Najd Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

, shifted the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

's center of power from

Diriyah Diriyah (; formerly romanization of Arabic, romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya) is a towns in Saudi Arabia, town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Diriyah was the original home of t ...

to the

walled town of Riyadh The walled town of Riyadh was the original core of Riyadh, the modern-day capital of Saudi Arabia, located on the western edge of Wadi al-Batʼha in present-day districts of Al Dirah (Riyadh), ad-Dirah and Al Doho, ad-Doho. It emerged from the ci ...

due to the former's severe destruction in a brutal

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

during the Ottoman–Wahhabi War of 1818 as well as the town’s Ottoman sacking in 1821. Once the administrative headquarters of the fortress-city within the erstwhile walls, it was built by Daham bin Dawwas in 1747 and is the oldest structure in

that was razed and rebuilt on numerous occasions over the course of time. It was also the official residences of several royals of the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

Saudi states and today serves as the main office of the governor of Riyadh.

History

Establishment and the First Saudi State

Qasr al-Hukm traces its origins to the reign of Deham bin Dawas al-Shalaan in 1747, the-then ruler of

oasis who built a fortified palace for himself. He abandoned the palace and fled

for

Bani Khalid Bani Khalid () is an Arab tribal confederation mainly inhabiting the Arabian Peninsula. The tribe ruled southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Eastern Arabia ( al-Hasa and al-Qatif) from the 15th century to the 18th century, and again under the protectio ...

-ruled

al-Hasa Al-Ahsa or Al-Hasa may refer to: * Al-Ahsa Eyalet, or Lahsa Eyalet, a subdivision of the Ottoman Empire, now part of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar * Al-Ahsa Oasis, an oasis and historical region in eastern Saudi Arabia. ** Al-Ahsa Governorate, a ...

when Muhammad ibn Saud's forces advanced towards the city in 1773.

During Second Saudi State

Following the defeat of the

First Saudi State The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious r ...

in the aftermath of the Ottoman–Wahhabi war in 1818, the palace was inhabited by Mishari bin Muhammad bin Muammar, who ruled as Riyadh's emir under the Ottoman-backed

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

tutelage until 1824, when Turki bin Abdullah al-Saud recaptured the city and rebuilt the palace after reinstating the

Second Saudi State The second Saudi state (), officially known as the Emirate of Najd, was a state that existed between 1824 and 1891 in the Najd region of what is now Saudi Arabia. Saudi rule was restored to central (Najd) and Eastern Arabia after the first Sau ...

. As

was dilapidated by the Egyptian forces in 1818, as a result, Qasr al-Hukm was eventually made the new center of power for the

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling ...

by Turki bin Abdullah. In 1834, Turki was assassinated by his cousin Mishari bin Abdul Rahman as he was leaving the Great Mosque after

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

s. Mishari had subsequently proclaimed himself the new Imam of the Saudi state. Turki's son, Faisal bin Turki, upon being informed of his tragedy, rushed back towards

in order to avenge his father's assassination whilst abandoning his campaign against

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. Upon reaching Riyadh, he had found Mishari hiding inside the palace and laid siege to it. Faisal subsequently killed Mishari and succeeded him as the new Imam. By the 1880s, the Haʼil-based Rashidi Emirate took-over

and deposed the

, bringing the

to a close in 1891 after the Battle of Mulayda and exiling its last leader, Abdul Rahman al-Saud and his family to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. The Rashidi leader, Muhammad bin Abdullah Al Rashid went on to destroy much of the palace in around 1889 in order to efface the legacy of the Saudis.

Third Saudi State and today

In 1901, the deposed leader's son,

Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

embarked on a raiding spree into

Nejd Najd is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in al-Jawf to the north, ad-Dahna Desert in al-Ahsa to th ...

in order to avenge his father's deposition. By January 1902, he retook

in a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

and pushed the Rashidis back to their ancestral homeland of Ha'il. He lived in the house of late Princess Nourah bint Faisal bin Turki al-Saud, the daughter of Imam Faisal bin Turki for almost ten years until 1912, when the reconstruction of Qasr al-Hukm was completed. Electricity was introduced in the palace in 1931. It was his residence until 1938, when he moved to al-Murabba Palace. However, the palace continued to exercise administrative duties until his death in 1953. The palace and its surrounding area gradually declined in importance when King Saud bin Abdulaziz accelerated the expansion and modernization of

following his ascension to the throne in the 1950s, whereby he began constructing new neighborhoods in the city's north such as al-Malazz and al-Nasiriyah. In 1964, members of the royal family pledge allegiance to the new monarch of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Abdulaziz. In 1975, members of the royal family and tribal leaders pledged allegiance to King Khalid bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Fahd bin Abdulaziz. In 1976, The High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh commissioned the Qasr Al-Hukm District Development Project and agreed on developmental programs that were prepared to transform the Qasr al-Hukm District into a cultural center. The designs were completed by 1979 and the construction lasted between 1983 and 1992 in broadly two phases, costing around US$500 million. The project was overseen by Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the-then governor of Riyadh.

Phase 1 (1983–1988)

The first phase lasted between 1983 and 1988, in which the main offices of the Riyadh's governor,

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and the regular police were constructed in the palace.

Phase 2 (1988–1992)

The second phase lasted between 1988 and 1992, where the

Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Grand Mosque (), also known as the Grand Mosque of Riyadh, is a Sunni Islam Friday mosque in the ad-Dirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located adjacent to al-Hukm Palace compound, in Deera Square. It wa ...

, Al-Hukm Palace, Al-Adl Plaza, Assafah Plaza, Imam Muhammad bin Saud Plaza, Al-Musmak Plaza, Al-Thumairi Gate, and Dekhna Gate, Ad-Deerah Tower were restored and built.

Phase 3 (since 1992)

The third phase focused on winning confidence of the country's private sector. Headquarters of some institutions were constructed like the High Court, Civil Defense, Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al Alsheikh Mosque, Dekhna Plaza, al-Zal Souq, and modern seven commercial complexes.

In modern times

In 2014, the

Riyadh Metro The Riyadh Metro (, ) is a rapid transit, rapid transit system serving Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Part of the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport, it is the longest driverless metro in the world. The system consists of s ...

project was commenced and several sites were selected and designated for the construction of metro stations. One of the sites selected in al-Qiri was named after the palace, the Qasr al-Hukm Metro Station. Following the death of King Abdullah in January 2015, members of the

pledged allegiance to the new monarch,

Salman Salman may refer to: People * Salman (name), people with the name Places in Iran * Salman, Khuzestan, a village in Khuzestan Province * Salman, alternate name of Deh-e Salman, Lorestan, a village in Lorestan Province * Salman, Razavi Khorasa ...

in the precincts of Qasr al-Hukm. In September 2015, the

Saudi government The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a unitary absolute monarchy, along traditional Islamist lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consult ...

opened the palace to the general public for the first time, with a free exhibition celebrating the unusual coincidence of the

Saudi National Day Saudi National Day () is a public holiday in Saudi Arabia celebrated annually on 23 September to commemorate the proclamation that renamed the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 through a royal decree by King Abd ...

and

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

. In April 2021, the Saudi Central Bank issued a SAR 200 note to commemorate the 5th anniversary of

Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown pri ...

. The obverse side featured an image of

King Abdulaziz Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

while the reverse side depicted the entrance of al-Hukm Palace.

In popular culture

The palace was shown as the building of a fictitious Saudi immigration court in the 2023 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film '' Dunki''.

External links

Official webpage - http://www.qasralhukm.com/

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures in Riyadh Tourist attractions in Riyadh Palaces in Saudi Arabia 18th-century establishments in the Arabian Peninsula 1747 establishments in Asia Buildings and structures completed in 1747