Najran

Najran ( ''''; ), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, with the population of the governorate of Najran being 592,300. Today, the population is primarily Ismaili with a Sunni minority.

Key facts

Settlement.official_name: Najran
Settlement.settlement_type: City
Settlement.image_skyline: قلعة رعوم.jpg
Settlement.image_caption: Raum Castle
Settlement.mapsize: 250px
Settlement.map_caption: Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Settlement.pushpin_map: Saudi Arabia
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_name: 25px Saudi Arabia
Settlement.subdivision_type1: Province
Settlement.subdivision_name1: Najran Province
Settlement.parts_style: para

~24 min read

Article

22 sections

Contents

Name
Geography
History
Early history
Christian period
Muhammad and early caliphs
Historical gap from the 7th to 17th centuries
Ismaili Shia rule
Incorporation into Saudi Arabia
Persecution of the Ismaili community
Architecture
Archaeology
Climate
Colleges and universities
Hospitals and medical care
Sports
See also
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
External links

Najran ( ''; ), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, with the population of the governorate of Najran being 592,300. Today, the population is primarily Ismaili with a Sunni minority.

The ancient city of Najran is now largely in ruins, the archaeological site Al-Okhdood, located south-east of the present-day city. In ancient times, this Najran was a major urban, agricultural, industrial (cloth, leather), and trade (incense) center, located in the midst of a fertile wadi (valley), called the Wadi Najran. Najran was also located at the intersection of two main caravan routes: one running from Hadhramaut, to the Hejaz, to the Eastern Mediterranean, and another running from the northeast through Al-Yamama and into Mesopotamia. Its pre-Islamic history is notable for its Christian community, including its central role in South Arabian Christianity and the massacre of this community by the king Dhu Nuwas.