Sūq ʿUkāẓ ( ), or Al-Ukadh, is a historical
souk at ʿUkāẓ, between
Nakhla and
Taif, in
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 ...
. It was the largest and best known annual fair in
pre-Islamic times.
Today it is a popular tourist destination.
History
Sūq ʿUkāẓ was a seasonal market which operated for twenty-one days each year during the month of
Dhu al-Qa'dah prior to the annual
Hajj
Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
pilgrimage.
It competed with the fairs of
Majanna and
Dhu ’l-Majaz̄, which were also held near Mecca at the same time of year.
[Irfan Shahîd, 'ʿUkāẓ', in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition'', ed. by P. Bearman and others (Leiden: Brill, 1960-2005), , .] It was active from approximately 542-726 CE.
Strategically located at a central point on the Spice Route through Western Arabia, its growth in the sixth century was partly caused by the Byzantine-Persian wars, which made it harder for Mediterranean markets to access Mesopotamian trade-routes. ʿUkāẓ lay in the territory of the
Hawāzin tribal group, and its functions were managed primarily by the
Banu Tamim.
The gathering was facilitated by the sanctity of the sacred months during which it was held and its proximity to the holy plain of
ʿArafāt.
Although primarily for commerce, the market of ʿUkāẓ was an important center where
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
s would meet to formalize tribal rules, settle disputes, pass judgments, make agreements, announce treaties and truces, hold sporting competitions and races,
poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
competitions, and religious gatherings;
it has been compared in this respect to the ancient Greek institution of the
panegyris.
It was especially important for poetry competitions, which served to formalize rules of
Arabic language
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
verse, grammar and syntax.
The site and its sacrality was significant in the
Fijār War
The Fijar Wars () were a series of battles that took place in the late 6th century mainly between two major tribal confederations of Arabian Peninsula, Arabia, the Quraysh and the Hawazin. According to the sources, the fighting took place on eigh ...
of the late sixth century CE (between the
Qays-ʿAylān, including the Hawāzin, on the one hand and the
Quraysh
The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...
and
Kināna tribes on the other). The war was precipitated by the murder of
ʿUrwa al-Raḥḥāl of the Banū ʿĀmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿa by al-Barrāḍ ibn Qays al-Ḍmıī Kinānī while ʿUrwa was escorting a Lakhmid caravan from al-Ḥīra to ʿUkāẓ during the holy season. This was considered sacrilegious by the pagan Arabs, hence the war's name, ''ḥarb al-fijār'' ('the war of sacrilege'). The site of the market gave its name to a battle in the fourth and final year of the war, ''yawm ʿUkāẓ'' ('the day of ʿUkāẓ', also known as ''yawm Sharab'').
The site is prominent in later legends of pre-Islamic Arabian heroes: it allegedly saw preaching visits from the Islamic prophet,
Muḥammad and the semi-legendary Christian
Quss ibn Sāʿida, and is the scene of some stories about
Hind bint al-Khuss.
[Ch. Pellat, 'Hind Bint al-Khuss', in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', ed. by P. Bearman and others, 2nd edn (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2005), , .] Yet the importance of ʿUkāẓ declined after the rise of Islam, because the increasingly sprawling caliphate facilitated new trade-routes, and altered the social roles of Arabian tribes. The market was definitively destroyed by the
Khārijites in 127 AH (725-26 CE), who sacked it.
The location of Sūq ʿUkāẓ was disputed until historian
Muhammad bin Abdallah al-Blahad rediscovered it.
A major study was published in 1960 by Saʿīd al-Afghānī.
Modern Souq
A modern souq has been recreated at the location of the historic souq.
Each year's souq honors a different poet.
The souq covers 14 million square meters of land.
In modern times, as in the past, there are lectures, sporting competitions, poetry, artwork, and items for sale. The souq has 200 shops selling different goods including pottery, silverware, glassware, wall arts and historical manuscripts.
See also
*
Tourism in Saudi Arabia
References
External links
Souq Okadh websiteSaudi Arabia Museums websiteSaudi Rock Art Heritage website{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003234043/http://www.saudirockart.com/ , date=2019-10-03
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Souqs
Tourist attractions in Saudi Arabia
Annual events in Saudi Arabia