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الدر9ية (ad-Dir'iyah)

الدر9ية (ad-Dir'iyah)1 is a small city in العربية السعودية (al-Arabiyah as-Su'udiyah)2 located in the Wadi3 Hanifa, northwest of ar-Riyad. It has a population of about 40 thousand.4 The city rose to prominence as its emirs conquered much of the Saudi Peninsula; after conquering مكة (Makkah)5 and المدينة (al-Madīnah),6 the Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye (Ottoman Empire) responded by destroying the city and its trees. The city was refounded in the late 20th century. Some of the old buildings have been restored and their site, the Turaif District, was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

YearPopulationPolitical entity
1800 CE30,0007Emirate of ad-Dir'iyah (First Saudi State)
2000 CE24,0004العربية السعودية (al-Arabiyah as-Su'udiyah or Saudi Arabia)

External references

ruins of old ad-Dir'iyah

Historical Maps

map showing part of the Emirate of ad-Dir'iyah (First Saudi State), 1800 CE

map showing part of al-Arabiyah as-Su'udiyah (Saudi Arabia), 2000 CE

Footnotes

1. Also called Dir'iyah or, in English, Deraiya.
2. Saudi Arabia in English.
3. A wadi is a gully that is usually dry.
4. world-gazetteer.com, accessed 1/19/2013.
5. Mecca in English.
6. Medina in English.
7. Tertius Chandler, Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth, 2nd ed. (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1987), "Tables of World's Largest Cities". Ad-Dir'iyah was the largest city in central Saudi Arabia in 1800 CE.