Hejaz

 

or Hedjaz (both: hējăz', hĕjäz') , region, c.150,000 sq mi (388,500 sq km), NW Saudi Arabia, on the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. Mecca is the chief city. Extending S to Asir, Hejaz is mainly a dissected highland region lying between the narrow, long coastal strip and the interior desert. There are several oases and some wadis (watercourses) where livestock and crops, such as dates and wheat, are raised. Economically important cities include Taif and Yanbu. The junction of the main north-south and east-west highways of Saudi Arabia, Taif is an important mountain city and market. Yanbu on the Red Sea is a major petrochemical city, the terminus for two oil pipelines. Hejaz is, however, more important as a place of pilgrimage. Each year many thousands of Muslim pilgrims come into Hejaz, mainly through Jidda, the chief port, to visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Following the fall (1258) of the caliphate of Baghdad, Hejaz came under Egyptian control. In 1517 it came under Turkish suzerainty, although nominal rule remained in the hands of the Hashemite sherifs of Mecca. In the early 19th cent. Hejaz was raided by the Wahhabis; peace was restored in 1817 by the governor of Egypt. After 1845, Hejaz came again under direct Turkish control. To improve communications, the Turks built the Hejaz railway (completed 1908) from Damascus to Medina; it was severely damaged during World War I and later abandoned. The Hejaz was in 1916 proclaimed independent by Husayn ibn Ali, the sherif of Mecca, who with the aid of T. E. Lawrence destroyed Turkish authority. Husayn was himself defeated in 1924 by Ibn Saud, ruler of Nejd and founder of Saudi Arabia, who annexed his domain. The formal union of Hejaz and Nejd into Saudi Arabia was proclaimed in 1932.

al-Hejaz (also Hijaz, Hedjaz; Arabic: الحجاز al-Ḥiǧāz, literally "the barrier) is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined mostly by the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better-known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. As a region, The Hijaz, as it is often referred to, because of being the site of Islam's holy places, has significance in the Arab and Islamic historical and political landscape. In Arabic, Hejaz means literally "the barrier" as it separates the land of Najd in the east from the land of Tihamah in the west.

History

Evidence suggests the Hejaz (or parts of it) was part of the Roman province of Arabia ^[1]. Under the control of regional powers such as Egypt or the Ottoman Empire through most of its history, the Hejaz had a brief period of political independence in the early 20th century. It was one of several regions of the Ottoman Empire provoked into rebellion by T. E. Lawrence ("of Arabia") of the British during World War I. In 1916 its independence was proclaimed by Sherif Hussein ibn Ali, the Sherif of Makkah. In 1924, however, ibn Ali's authority was usurped by Ibn Saud of the neighboring region of Nejd and became known as the Kingdom of Hijaz and Nejd and later the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Even today, Hejazis adhere to a more moderate interpretation of Islam than does the Wahhabi sect that arose in Nejd.^[2]

Geography

Geographically, the region is located along the Great Rift Valley. The region is also known for it darker more volcanic sand. Depending on the previous definition, Hejaz includes the high mountains of Sarawat which topographically separate Najd from Tehamah.

Cities

• Jeddah
• Makkah al-Mukarramah
• Medina
• Ta’if
• Yanbu' al Bahr
• Al Bahah
• Tabuk
• Badr Hunayn
• Rabigh

See also

• Hejazi Accent
• Hejazi turban
• Kingdom of Hejaz
• Hejaz railway
• Hijaz is also the name of a mode (maqam) in Arabic music.

References

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