Dumat Al-Jandal
Encyclopedia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in the Al Jawf
Al Jawf
Al Jawf may refer to:* Al Jawf, Saudi Arabia, a city known in Saudi Arabia for its major prison* Al Jawf Province, a province of Saudi Arabia* Al Jawf Governorate, a governorate of Yemen* Al Jawf, Libya, a city and municipality in Libya...
province its located 37KM away from Sakakah
Sakakah
Sakakah is an oasis town in the Al Jawf Province of northwestern Saudi Arabia, located just to the north of the An Nufad desert and northeast of Al Jawf city. It has a population of approximately 114,000 people...
. The name Dumat al-Jandal means literally "Dumah of the Stone", since this was the territory of Dumah
Dumah (son of Ishmael)
Dumah was the sixth son of Ishmael, the son of biblical Abraham and Hagar.-Biblical references:The generations of Ishamel are the ninth recorded in the Book of Genesis...
, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael
Ishmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
. The city's ancient Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
name was Adummatu.
Pre-Islamic History
The city has a history dating back to the 10th century BC10th century BC
The 10th century BC started the first day of 1000 BC and ended the last day of 901 BC.- Overview :This period followed the Bronze Age collapse in the Near East, and the century saw the Early Iron Age take hold there. The Greek Dark Ages which had come about in 1200 BC continued. The Neo-Assyrian...
and is mentioned in Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
inscriptions of the Assyrian empire dating to 845 BC in which it is referred to as Adummatu and is described as the capital of an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
kingdom, sometimes named as Qedar (Qidri). The names of five powerful Arab queens that ruled this city are known, among them Zabibe
Zabibe
Zabibe was a queen of Qedar who reigned for five years between 738 and 733 BC. She was a vassal of Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria. She was succeeded by another queen, Samsi, who also reigned for five years...
, Samsi
Samsi
Samsi was an Arab queen who reigned in the 8th century BCE. As an ally of Rakhianu of Damascus, she fought the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE. After her forces were defeated, she fled the battlefield. Later, she went to Assyria to pay tribute to the king and was permitted to reign,...
, Tabua
Tabua
A tabua is a polished tooth of a sperm whale that is an important cultural item in Fijian society. They were traditionally given as gifts for atonement or esteem , and were important in negotiations between rival chiefs. The dead men would be buried with their tabua, along with war clubs and even...
and Te'elhunu. The latter is also given the title of high priestess of Atarsamain
Atarsamain
Atarsamain was an astral deity of uncertain gender, worshipped in the pre-Islamic northern and central Arabian Peninsula. Worshipped widely by Arab tribes, Atarsamain is known from around 800 BC and is identified in letters of the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal...
, a deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
of fertility, love and war associated with Ishtar
Ishtar
Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...
. Dumat al-Jundal was the site of an important temple dedicated to Ishtar.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
-Nabataean pottery sherds indicating a prosperous community during the time of the Nabataeans to whom this realm of the region probably belonged.
In 106 AD, Dumatha was incorporated into the Roman Empire when the Emperor Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
defeated the Nabataeans. Dumatha remained integral to the Limes Arabicus
Limes Arabicus
The Limes Arabicus was a desert frontier of the Roman Empire, in the province of Arabia Petraea. It ran -at its biggest extension- for about 1,500 km, from Northern Syria to Southern Palestine and northern Arabia, forming part of the wider Roman limes system...
for over four centuries, serving as the easternmost settlement along the limes. In 269 CE, the place was mentioned by Zenobia
Zenobia
Zenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267...
, the Queen of Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
, as city with an immune fortress. After her forces had captured the city, the fortress of Marid
Marid Castle
Qasr Marid is a castle in Dumat Al-Jandal - in the north of Saudi Arabia built before AD 272. Its walls are 80 cm - 1 meter thick...
withstood the attack in her revolt against the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Later in the 5th century CE, the city became the capital of the kingdom of Kindah
Kindah
The kingdom of Kindah was a vassal kingdom which ruled from Qaryah dhat Kahl in Nejd, Central Arabia . The kingdom controlled much of the northern Arabian peninsula in the 4th and 5th centuries AD.-Origin:...
. In 633 CE, Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khālid ibn al-Walīd also known as Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl , was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is noted for his military tactics and prowess, commanding the forces of Medina and those of his immediate successors of the Rashidun Caliphate; Abu Bakr and Umar...
captured Dumat Al-Jandal
Battle of Daumat-ul-jandal
The Battle of Daumat-ul-jandal took place between Muslims and Rebel Arab tribes in August 633 AD. This was a part of the Riddah wars. Daumat ul jandal was given to Ayadh bin Ghanam to crush the rebels, but he failed in doing so, and send for help to Khalid ibn Walid who was in Iraq in those...
and it became a part of the newly formed Islamic empire.
Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque
The mosque of Omar Ibn al-Khattab is situated in the town of Dumat al-Jandal, a major intersection of ancient trade routes linking Mesopotamia, Syria and the Arabian Peninsula. The mosque itself was built in 634-644. However, the actual building appears to have been built in a much later period, casting doubt upon its attribution to Umar Ibn al-Khattab. Some scholars attribute it to the Umayyad Caliph Omar bin Abul Aziz, and some believe that the mosque was named after Bani'Amr, a tribe that settled in Dumat al-Jandal.The north (qibla) wall of the mosque faces the al-Marid castle across a street. On its other three sides, it is surrounded by dense urban fabric. Like the other old buildings in the town, the mosque is built in stone. It is composed of a courtyard preceding the main prayer hall to the south and another space, also used for prayer, to the north. The minaret is at the southwestern corner of the prayer hall bridging over a street. The mosque is entered through a door situated in the qibla wall, near the minaret. The prayer hall is formed by three rows of stone pillars, running parallel to the qibla wall. The pillars are all by wooden lintels, which in turn support layers of stone that are roofed by mud-plastered acacia and palm trunks.
The mihrab is a narrow, highly pointed niche in the center of the qibla wall, and is defined by a similar niche with three built-in stone steps to its right. The mihrab, the minbar, and the lower part of the qibla wall are lastered white. Viewed from the exterior, one sees that the mihrab and minbar protrude slightly out of the qibla wall. Also visible is an exposed stone staircase constructed along the qibla wall from the street side that reaches the mud roof. The minaret shaft has a rectangular shape that tapers upward to end in a pyramidal roof. The four internal floors of the shaft were accessed by a now-collapsed spiral staircase entered from the mosque. On each side of the minaret, and on each floor, a rectangular window with a stone lintel provides lighting for its interior.
Al Dar'i Quarter
Al Dar'i Quarter is located in the neighborhood of Omar Bin Al Khatab Mosque and Marid fortress, which represent the old quarter of Dumat Al Jandal. Al Dar'i Quarter is considered to be one of remaining antiquities of Dumat Al Jandal's ancient city which has escaped the demolition shovels befalling the historical market of Dumat Al Jandal 25 years ago. Dr. Khalil Al Meaigil has stated that, the facilities of the quarter which dates back to the middle Islamic age have established on antiquities layers and is based on layers of archaeological works dating back to the mid-first millennium BC. The neighborhood is characterized by the stone buildings and stone lanes between the gardens and water, which had a life of residents living near the by springs. In Al Dar'i Quarter there are many of houses which we hope will enjoy the necessary care and restoration. Worth mentioning that, the old quarter is built on the ruins of the earlier revivals which can be seen in multiple layers, as well as the emergence of the old road of the district under the existing buildings. We recommend documenting the individual buildings so as not to overlap the work of the buildings at the excavation site and lose interest to know the chronology of the site.External links
- http://www.scta.gov.sa/en/Pages/default.aspx
- A travel through the province of Al Jouf, Splendid Arabia: A travel site with photos and routes
- http://www.scta.gov.sa/en/Antiquities-Museums/Researches/Documents/Archeological_Sites_in_AlJouf.pdf
- Tschanz, David W. "Unsung Crossroads" Saudi Aramco World, 1998