Ma'din Banī Sulaym

Ma'din Bani Sulaym, the mine of the Bani Sulaym, lies in the uplands southeast of Medina. Its gold-bearing rocks made it one of Arabia's most celebrated mining districts. The Iraqi pilgrimage road passed nearby, joining the settlement to a chain of wells and stations across the Hejaz. Ancient workings, ore waste and remains of buildings mark the long history of mining at the place later known as Mahd al-Dhahab, the cradle of gold.

The mine was worked by the Bani Sulaym in the early Islamic period and received particular attention under the Umayyads and Abbasids. Early historians record officials appointed to oversee it, and Kufic inscriptions found among the old mining waste belong to the Abbasid era. Gold and silver from the district contributed to the economy of the caliphate, while the nearby pilgrimage route brought travellers through the mining country on their way to Mecca.