Najrān

Najran is an oasis in southern Arabia, where cultivated ground and settlements follow a broad valley at the edge of the desert. Its position on the caravan routes connected southern Arabia with the interior and the north. Inscriptions and ruins recall an ancient centre associated with the Banu al-Harith ibn Kab and the kingdoms of South Arabia.

Najran became a major centre of Christianity before Islam. In the sixth century the Himyarite ruler Dhu Nuwas attacked its Christian community; the deaths of the people remembered as the martyrs of Najran became known far beyond Arabia. Islamic tradition also preserves accounts of a delegation from Najran visiting Muhammad and reaching an agreement with him.

In the eighteenth century Najran had its own powerful leadership under Hasan ibn Hibat Allah al-Makrami. In 1764 he led a force north to confront the rising Saudi state and defeated its army at al-Hair. The fighting arose amid conflict between the Saudis and the Ajman, who had sought Najran’s help. A settlement followed, including the release of Ajman prisoners and the payment of substantial sums of money, and the Najrani force withdrew to its home in the south. The episode showed how a power based in the southern oasis could intervene in the struggles of central Arabia.