Riyadh city fortifications

Riyadh city wall
سور مدينة الرياض
Part of Old Riyadh
Dakhnah Gate of the old city walls, 1937
Type	Series of earth-structured defensive fortifications
Site information
Condition	Partially restored
Site history
Built	1740s
Built by	Dahham ibn Dawwas
In use	1950s (1950s)
Materials	Mud-brick
Fate	demolished

The Riyadh city fortifications (Arabic: سور مدينة الرياض, romanized: Sūr madīnat ar-Riyāḍ) were series of earth-structured defensive walls with watchtowers and gates that encircled the walled town of Riyadh, in modern-day Riyadh, Saudi Arabia intermittently from 1740s[1] until they were finally demolished in the 1950s.[2] Subsequently, Riyadh outgrew as a metropolis[3] 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.

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 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.[4] The wall had 9 gates, which were known as darawiz[5] (Arabic: الدراويز, romanized: al-darāwiz), the plural Arabized form of the Persian word darwazah (Persian: دروازه, romanized: darvâze), meaning gateway.

History

Workers demolishing the city walls around early 1950s

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.[6] After expelling the Ottoman-backed Egyptian forces from Najd and reinstating the Second Saudi State in 1824, Imam Turki al-Saud ordered the reconstruction of Daham's walls.[7] However, after the victory of the Rashidi dynasty in the Battle of Mulayda against the House of Saud 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.[8] After Ibn Saud 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,[9] King Abdulaziz ibn Saud ordered the demolition of the city walls in order to proceed with the city's modernization and expansion.[4] 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 Murabba Palace and made it his new official workplace.

Gates

The Riyadh city wall had around 10 gates and 20 watchtowers.[10]

• Al-Thumairi Gate
• Al-Guraiy Gate
• Al-Musada Gate
• Al-Badiah Gate (Al-Madhbah Gate)[11]
• 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:^[citation needed]

• 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

1. Firro, Dr Tarik K. (2018-07-12). Wahhabism and the Rise of the House of Saud. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-78284-578-2.
2. "المعالم الأثرية في بلدة الرياض". www.al-jazirah.com. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
3. al-Miṣrīyah, Jamʻīyah al-Jughrāfīyah (1965). Bulletin de la Société de Géographie d'Égypte.
4. "تراث الرياض العمراني المفقود.. وما يمكن إنقاذه ! (1-2)". www.al-jazirah.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
5. "بوابات وسور الرياض التاريخية في ذكرى اليوم الوطني 89 | مجلة سيدتي". www.sayidaty.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-05-19.
6. الشاطري, منصور بن مروي (2013-01-01). أمير الرياض دهام بن دواس 1151 - 1187 هـ - 1738 - 1773 م (in Arabic). Al Manhal. ISBN 9796500163949.
7. Ruwayshid, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sulaymān (1992). قصر الحكم في الرياض: أصالة الماضي و روعة الحاضر (in Arabic). s.n.]،.
8. mariam (2020-02-06). "إحياء سور وبوابات مدينة الرياض". الهيئة الملكية لمدينة الرياض (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-05-21.
9. "أوراق من تاريخ مدينة الرياض (4)". www.al-jazirah.com. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
10. التميمي, مهنا (30 May 2019). "#من_ذاكرة_السعودية.. بوابات الرياض القديمة: أسوار من الطين المجفَّف.. وأبراج حراسة دائرية تُغلق ليلاً". صحيفة سبق الالكترونية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-01-21.
11. Al-Farsy, Fouad (2012-10-12). Modernity and Tradition: The Saudi Equation. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-15258-0.