Everything about Hejaz totally explained
al-Hejaz (also
Hijaz,
Hedjaz;
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's probably better-known for the
Islamic holy cities of
Mecca and
Medina. As a region,
The Hijaz, as it's 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 . 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.
The
Biblical story of the
Garden of Eden is in
Genesis 2:11:
"And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that's it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there's gold; And the gold of that land is good: there's bdellium and the onyx stone."
Havilah is usually associated with either the Arabian Peninsula or north-west
Yemen, but in the work associated with the Garden of Eden by
Juris Zarins, the Hejaz mountains appear to satisfactorily meet the description. The Hejaz includes both the
Cradle of Gold at
Mahd adh Dhahab and a potential source of the now dried out
Pishon River that used to flow 600 miles north east to to the Persian Gulf via the
Wadi Al-Batin system. Archaeological research lead by Farouk El-Baz of
Boston University indicates that the river system, now prospectively known as the
Kuwait River, was active 2,500-3000BC. Bdellium plants are also abundant in the Hijaz.
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
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hejaz'.
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