The Riyadh city fortifications () were series of earth-structured

defensive 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 to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

s with watchtowers and gates that encircled 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 ...

, in modern-day

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 ...

intermittently from 1740s until they were finally demolished in the 1950s. Subsequently,

outgrew as a metropolis and the area covering the perimeters of the walled town was renamed as the Qasr al-Hukm District in 1973. The town within the walls served as the administrative center of the Saudi government until 1944, when King Abdulaziz ibn Saud shifted his workplace and residence to the

Murabba Palace Murabba Palace (Arabic: قصر المربّع Qaṣr al Murabbaʿ; literally the 'Square Palace') is a historic palace in the al-Murabba neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located in the King Abdulaziz Historical Center. One of the first bu ...

Overview

The early origins of the wall dated back to 18th century during the reign of Riyadh's ruler Daham bin Dawas al-Shaalan and was razed and rebuilt on numerous occasions over the course of time. The wall was renovated for the last time by

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'', ...

soon after the Battle of Riyadh in 1902 before it was finally demolished in 1950 in order to pave the way for the city's expansion. The wall had 9 gates, which were known as ''darawiz'' (), the plural Arabized form of the Persian word ''darwazah'' (), meaning gateway.

History

Workers breaking old city walls of Riyadh

Historical accounts largely credit Riyadh's 18th century ruler Daham bin Dawas al-Shalaan for being the first one to erect a wall around Riyadh in around 1740s. After expelling the Ottoman-backed Egyptian forces from

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, ...

and 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 ...

in 1824, Imam Turki al-Saud ordered the reconstruction of Daham's walls. However, after the victory of the

Rashidi dynasty The Rashidi dynasty, also called Al Rashid or the House of Rashid ( ; ), was a historic Arabian House or dynasty that existed in the Arabian Peninsula between 1836 and 1921. Its members were rulers of the Emirate of Ha'il and the most formida ...

in the Battle of Mulayda against 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 ...

in 1891, the new ruler of Najd Ibn Rashid went on to desecrate and destroy much of al-Saud's structures, including the Riyadh wall. After

deposed the Rashidis in 1902 after the Battle of Riyadh, he ordered the rehabilitation of the wall in order to safeguard the city from trespassers and invaders. In the 1950s, upon advice from then governor of Riyadh Prince Sultan, King Abdulaziz ibn Saud ordered the demolition of the city walls in order to proceed with the city's modernization and expansion. In 1932, Ibn Saud established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and declared Riyadh to be the capital of the country. The walled town remained as the administrative center until 1944, when Ibn Saud shifted to

and made it his new official workplace.

Gates

The Riyadh city wall had around 10 gates and 20 watchtowers. * Al-Thumairi Gate * Al-Guraiy Gate * Al-Musada Gate * Al-Badiah Gate (Al-Madhbah Gate) * Al-Suwailem Gate * Al-Duhaira Gate (Al-Shamsiyyah Gate) * Dakhna Gate (Darwaza al-Kabirah) * Al-Arair Gate * Al-Muraighib Gate (Shumaisi Gate)

Quarters and landmarks that fell within the walls

The following were within the walls: * Al-Duhairah quarter * Al-Daho quarter * Al-Ajnab quarter * Al-Gadimah quarter * Qasr al-Hukm * Masmak citadel * The Grand Mosque * Dakhna Grand Mosque * al-Mugailiyah quarter * Al-Muraighib quarter * Al-Ghanaiy quarter * Sharqiya quarter * Dakhna quarter

References

{{coord missing, Saudi Arabia

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 ...

Fortifications in Saudi Arabia City walls Demolished buildings and structures in Saudi Arabia Buildings and structures demolished in 1950 18th-century fortifications 18th-century establishments in the Arabian Peninsula