tribes who wage war with the Beli. In former times the Beli suffered most from the Šammar, under Eben Rašîd, whom they defeated several times in al-Ǧaw. But ten years previously Eben Rašîd sent the chief Eben Refâde a valuable sword and ten camels. Eben Refâde received the sword and had the ten camels loaded with twenty bags of the best rice and sent them back to Eben Rašîd. Since that time there has been peace between the Šammar and the Beli. The Pilgrim Road forms the border between the two. When I asked the guide whether he knew of any ruins in the territory of the Beli, he said that to the south of the road leading from al-ʻla’ to al-Weǧh he had seen some ruined settlements. North of this road and in the valley of al-Ǧizel there are the ruins of at-Tefîhe, Balâṭa, and ʻAwêrež, the largest of which is Balâṭa. The ruins of Dajdân are situated on the northern edge of the gardens of al-ʻEla’, and the guide said that the inhabitants of this oasis call them al-Ḫrajba.[1]
- ↑ According to Gen., 10: 7, Dedan was related to Šeba’ (Sheba), for like the latter he was a descendant of Kûš (Kush) through Raʻama. Gen., 25: 3, makes Dedan also a descendant of Abraham by Keturah and calls him, as well as Šeba’, a son of Joḳšan.From both sources it may be inferred that Dedan maintained close relations with the descendants of Kûš residing in southwestern Arabia as well as with the descendants of Abraham by Ketura, who dwelt in the northwestern corner of Arabia proper. And such was actually the case, for the oasis of al-ʻEla’, which belonged to the Dedan, is situated in the northwestern corner of Arabia on the important transport route joining the northern country with the fertile southwestern part of the peninsula.That Dedan was in touch with the Sabaeans is proved by Ezek., 38: 13, where it is stated that Šeba’ and Dedan bought spoil from the conquerors. Dedan hence was engaged in trade relations and according to Ezek., 27: 20, sold coverings for saddles to the people of Tyre.In Is., 21: 13—15, the trade caravans of Dedan are threatened with the same destruction which overtook those of Edom. Isaiah therefore calls upon them to spend the night in the plain, in the wood, and the inhabitants of the land of Têma are to bring water and bread to the thirsty because they are fleeing from the sharpened sword, the stretched bow, and the onslaught of war. We may interpret this to mean that they are to hide in the thickets formed by the ṛaẓa’, sidr, sejâl, ṭalḥ, and the bushes growing in certain šeʻibân near the oasis of Tejma.A similar threat is repeated by Jer., 25: 23 f., also against the inhabitants of Têma and Bûz and all those with a shaven head, all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the Arabs dwelling in the wilderness.—Têma and Bûz are two oases to the northeast of the oasis of Dedan (al-ʻEla’) whose settlers likewise were actively engaged in trade. The inhabitants with a shaven head are the nomads hiring their camels for transport purposes to the settlers in the oases. The kings of Arabia are the chiefs of the separate oases: the kings of the Arabs dwelling in the wilderness are the chiefs of the Bedouins wandering with tents.Jer., 49: 8, threatens Edom and Têmân with destruction, and therefore the inhabitants of Dedan are told to flee and hide in deep basins.Edom, and the territory of Têmân in particular, were traversed by the most important trade route from Dedan northwards. The enemy threatening Edom and Têmân could also easily surprise and rob a Dedan trade caravan; for which reason the latter is told to flee and hide itself in the inaccessible basins.Ezek., 25: 13, likewise repeats that in Edom the people and the animals will be destroyed and that the land will be laid waste from Têmân to Dedan. Here Têmân forms the northern border of Edom, while Dedan borders on Edom to the south.The oasis of Dedan with the distant surroundings were subject to the kings of southwestern Arabia, who maintained there a political regent, known as kebîr. Many inscriptions preserved at Dedan are dated from the rule of this regent.It seems that Jâḳût was still acquainted with the ancient name of Dejdan, as it is always found in the Septuagint, for he recounts (Muʻǧam [Wüstenfeld], Vol. 2. p. 639), that ad-Dajdân was once a fair city on the road leading from al-Belḳa’ to the Ḥeǧâz but that in his time it was ruined.He also asserts (ibid., Vol. 4. p. 53), that according to old sources Ḳurḥ is the market place of the valley of al-Ḳura’. He records the report that the people of ʻÂd, subject to
