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History

Explore history, place and people. Choose a subject and follow its story.

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Image attribution: Diriyahpic — Petrovic-Njegos at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diriyahpic.jpg ; license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ . Renamed locally. CMS derivative: converted to WebP at quality 85; proportionally resized within 2400 × 2400 without enlargement where needed. Card/hero display may crop to fit; original composition is not retouched. / نسخة CMS: تحويل إلى WebP بجودة 85 وتصغير تناسبي عند الحاجة ضمن 2400 × 2400 دون تكبير؛ قد يقتطع العرض داخل البطاقات أو رأس المقال أطراف الصورة، دون تنقيح محتواها. · License: CC BY 2.5 Generic — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/
Stories of place

History of Diriyah

Diriyah developed beside Wadi Hanifah and became the First Saudi State's capital. At-Turaif preserves evidence of its political history and Najdi architecture.

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Image attribution: Madain Saleh 1 — KHAWAJA UMER FAROOQ (Kufarooq), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madain_Saleh_1.jpg ; license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ . Proportionally resized by Wikimedia. CMS derivative: converted to WebP at quality 85; proportionally resized within 2400 × 2400 without enlargement where needed. Card/hero display may crop to fit; original composition is not retouched. / نسخة CMS: تحويل إلى WebP بجودة 85 وتصغير تناسبي عند الحاجة ضمن 2400 × 2400 دون تكبير؛ قد يقتطع العرض داخل البطاقات أو رأس المقال أطراف الصورة، دون تنقيح محتواها. · License: CC BY-SA 4.0 International — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Stories of place

History of Hegra

Hegra, also called Mada'in Salih, is an archaeological site in AlUla Governorate whose tombs, wells and inscriptions illuminate Nabataean life and caravan routes.

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Image attribution: AlBalad CoralHouses — User:Jpatokal / (WT-shared) Jpatokal at Wikivoyage WTS, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AlBalad_CoralHouses.JPG ; license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ . CMS derivative: converted to WebP at quality 85; proportionally resized within 2400 × 2400 without enlargement where needed. Card/hero display may crop to fit; original composition is not retouched. / نسخة CMS: تحويل إلى WebP بجودة 85 وتصغير تناسبي عند الحاجة ضمن 2400 × 2400 دون تكبير؛ قد يقتطع العرض داخل البطاقات أو رأس المقال أطراف الصورة، دون تنقيح محتواها. · License: CC BY-SA 4.0 International — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Stories of place

Historic Jeddah

Historic Jeddah, or Al-Balad, is an urban core on the Red Sea shaped by maritime trade and pilgrimage, with houses distinguished by projecting wooden windows.

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Image attribution: Diriyahpic — Petrovic-Njegos at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diriyahpic.jpg ; license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ . Renamed locally. CMS derivative: converted to WebP at quality 85; proportionally resized within 2400 × 2400 without enlargement where needed. Card/hero display may crop to fit; original composition is not retouched. / نسخة CMS: تحويل إلى WebP بجودة 85 وتصغير تناسبي عند الحاجة ضمن 2400 × 2400 دون تكبير؛ قد يقتطع العرض داخل البطاقات أو رأس المقال أطراف الصورة، دون تنقيح محتواها. · License: CC BY 2.5 Generic — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/
Stories of place

The First Saudi State

A state centred on Diriyah under Imam Muhammad bin Saud, officially dated in Saudi chronology to 1727. It expanded across Najd and other regions before its capital fell in 1818.

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Image attribution: Deera Square and Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque (1) — Radosław Botev (https://www.forumviatoris.org.pl/); copyright holder/licensor Fundacja Nomos, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 Poland. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deera_Square_and_Imam_Turki_bin_Abdullah_Mosque_(1).jpg ; license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/pl/deed.en . Photograph dated 27 July 2024; modern rebuilt mosque opened in 1993, contextual to the Second Saudi State. / صورة سياقية ملتقطة عام 2024 للجامع ببنائه الحديث المفتتح عام 1993، لا لمبنى عصر الدولة الثانية. CMS derivative: converted to WebP at quality 85; proportionally resized within 2400 × 2400 without enlargement where needed. Card/hero display may crop to fit; original composition is not retouched. / نسخة CMS: تحويل إلى WebP بجودة 85 وتصغير تناسبي عند الحاجة ضمن 2400 × 2400 دون تكبير؛ قد يقتطع العرض داخل البطاقات أو رأس المقال أطراف الصورة، دون تنقيح محتواها. · License: CC BY 3.0 Poland — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/pl/deed.en
Stories of place

The Second Saudi State

Imam Turki bin Abdullah restored Saudi rule in 1824 with Riyadh as capital. The state extended across Najd and eastern Arabia before ending in 1891 with Al Rashid's ascendancy.

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Image attribution: Masmak Castle from Thumairi — Dainomite, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masmak_Castle_from_Thumairi.jpg ; license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . Photograph dated 24 December 2010; contextual view, not a photograph of the 1902 recovery of Riyadh. / صورة سياقية للمصمك عام 2010، لا توثق أحداث استرداد الرياض عام 1902. CMS derivative: converted to WebP at quality 85; proportionally resized within 2400 × 2400 without enlargement where needed. Card/hero display may crop to fit; original composition is not retouched. / نسخة CMS: تحويل إلى WebP بجودة 85 وتصغير تناسبي عند الحاجة ضمن 2400 × 2400 دون تكبير؛ قد يقتطع العرض داخل البطاقات أو رأس المقال أطراف الصورة، دون تنقيح محتواها. · License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Stories of place

The Third Saudi State

The Third Saudi State began with Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud's recovery of Riyadh in 1902. Regional unification led to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proclaimed in 1932 and continuing thereafter.

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