Ad-Dir'iyya

Diriyah lies along Wadi Hanifa in the heart of the Najd plateau. Its mud-brick buildings rise above gardens and palm groves in the valley, with the fortified district of At-Turaif occupying a commanding position on the western bank. The settlement grew from lands granted in the fifteenth century to Mani al-Muraydi and his followers, and became the home of the family that would establish the Saudi dynasty.

In the eighteenth century Diriyah acquired an influence far beyond its oasis. Muhammad ibn Saud gave refuge to the religious reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab after the latter left nearby Uyaynah. Their alliance joined the ambitions of the local rulers to a movement calling for a return to what its followers understood as the original teachings of Islam. From Diriyah their forces extended their authority and religious message across much of Arabia. At-Turaif became the political centre of the resulting state, its palaces and mosques built in the distinctive earthen architecture of Najd.

The expansion brought the state into conflict with the Ottoman Empire. An Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha besieged Diriyah in 1818; after months of resistance the town surrendered and At-Turaif was destroyed. Its ruined buildings remained a reminder of the power that had risen from the valley and the campaigns that had carried its influence across the peninsula.