Dhurma

Dhruma or Darma () is a small town located by road northwest of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the center of the small Dhurma Governorate of Riyadh Province, and had a population of 10,267 people according to the 2004 census. It lies in the wide Al-Batin valley, which it shares with its larger twin, Muzahmiyya.

==History== The town appears in the 7th century poetry of Jarir as "Qarma" or "Garma", and is also mentioned by the same name in Yaqut's encyclopedia. It is unknown, however, when exactly the name evolved into "Dhurma". The village was important in pre-20th century Nejd as a western gateway to the region of Wadi Hanifa, which includes Riyadh and Diriyah, and often bore the brunt of the military campaigns directed at the region. Its traditional rulers were distant cousins of the Al Saud family, and Dhurma joined the First Saudi State at the end of the 18th century. A large invasion of Saudi-ruled territory by the Yam tribe of Najran, some 1000 km to the south, was repelled by the people of Dhurma in 1775 after an intense battle fought in a nearby forest of palm trees.