Ad-Dilam

Ad-Dilam lies in the historical region of Najd, within Riyadh Province. Its surrounding country belongs to the open plateau of central Arabia, where settlements and routes are arranged around wells, seasonal water and broad spaces between them. The town's name belongs to a chain of agricultural oases and caravan stops that connected the Yamama country with the approaches to Riyadh.

By the late eighteenth century, Ad-Dilam was protected by a mud-brick wall erected during the rule of Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al Saud. The wall rose 3.5 metres and was built of coursed clay called uruq. It had several towers plus a central conical tower eight metres high, and three gates named al-Marabi' on its northern, southern and western sides. It enclosed the settlement and guarded stores, homes and water during raids, while its gates shaped everyday movement between the town and surrounding pasture.

In 1837 the wall withstood an attack during the conflicts over central Arabia. The settlement consequently became associated with the defense of a local center at the edge of the Saudi domain and the rival Emirate of Jabal Shammar. Its importance came from control of routes across the dry interior, where wells and cultivated land were scarce but indispensable to caravans, herders and armies.