As the second holiest city in Islam, the city of Medina is of great importance to Muslims around the world. Home to Prophet Muhammad after his Hijrah from Mecca, the city became the power base where the early Muslim community developed.
There's so much history in the city that one just has to know. Here are 9 things you probably didn't know about the "radiant city."
1. Medina is home to the three oldest mosques including the Quba Mosque, al-Masjid an-Nabawi and Masjid al-Qiblatayn
2. The first mosque built during Muhammad's time is Quba Mosque, which was destroyed by lightning around 850 CE
3. By the fourth century, three prominent Jewish tribes inhabited the city, with some remaining until the seventh century AD.
4. Before the advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib and was renamed Medina in honor of Muhammad's prophethood and death there
The name Medina is known in long form as Madinat Rasul Allah (The City of the Prophet of Allah), however the name was shortened to Al Madina (The City).
5. The city became the southern terminus of the Ottomans' Hijaz Railway upon its completion in 1908
6. During World War I, Medina witnessed one of the longest sieges in history
Medina was a city of the Turkish Ottoman Empire with local rule in the hands of the Hashemite clan – Emirs of Mecca otherwise known as sharifs. Fakhri Pasha was the Ottoman governor of Medina and Ali bin Hussein was the leader of the Hashemite clan who revolted against the Caliph in Constantinople. The city was besieged by Hussein's forces from 1916 to 1919, lasting 2 years and 7 months.
7. Medina is situated in the most fertile part of all the Hejaz territory
8. In 1256, Medina was threatened by lava flow from the last eruption of Harrat Rahat, the biggest lava field in Saudi Arabia
9. As of 1920, 139 varieties of dates were being grown in the area
