218
THE NORTHERN ḤEǦÂZ
At 5.10 we saw in the east the two volcanoes of ʻAjr, which have in their midst the water Ǧebw ʻAjr; farther on were Ḥlewwât, Arṭa, Abhaḳ, the Amhâr group with four volcanoes, and to the west of them Umm ʻUrf. At 5.35 one of our draft camels knelt down and would not get up again, so that we had to camp. The camels grazed near by, while, with the guide’s assistance I drew a sketch map of the territory of ar-Rḥa’ and al-ʻAwêreẓ with which he was familiar[1] (temperature: 30° C).
- ↑ I identify the volcanic territory of ar-Rḥa’ and al-ʻAwêreẓ with Ḥarrat an-Nâr of the Arabic authors.Al-Hamdâni, Ṣifa (Müller), p. 180, says that al-Laṣâf and Ḥarrat an-Nâr belong to the Beni Murra.Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 2, p. 252, following various sources, writes that in Ḥarrat an-Nâr were encamped the Ǧuḏâm, Beli, Balḳejn, and ʻUḏra. Abu-l-Fatḥ Naṣr al-Iskandari mentions that Ḥarrat an-Nâr extends between the valley of al-Ḳura’ and Tejma and that it belonged to the territory of the Ṛaṭafân. At the time of Jâḳût the ʻAneze were already encamped in Ḥarrat an-Nâr, which is several days’ march long. Borax was obtained there.—Naṣr, who died in 1164 or 1165 A. D., locates Ḥarrat an-Nâr between the valley of al-Ḳura’ in the south and Tejma in the north. The center of the valley of al-Ḳura’ was only a very few kilometers to the south of al-ʻEla’, for this oasis, under the name of Ḳurḥ, formed its headquarters; the whole of the modern Ḥarrat al-ʻAwêreẓ and Ḥarrat ar-Rḥa’ belonged to the volcanic territory of an-Nâr. Naṣr probably derived his information about the tribes from older sources, for the Ṛaṭafân had already migrated from Ḥarrat an-Nâr to the southeast in the seventh and eighth centuries. Only their clans, the Beni Murra and the Beni Fezâra, were encamped in the northeastern part of Ḥarrat an-Nâr. In the southwestern part dwelt the Beli, in the southeastern the Beni ʻUḏra, in the northwestern the Ǧuḏâm, and to the northern parts the Balḳejn perhaps sometimes paid visits. At the time of Jâḳût that is at the beginning of the thirteenth century—the Beni ʻUḏra were driven by the ʻAneze from the southeastern part of Ḥarrat an-Nâr. In this Ḥarrat an-Nâr some volcanoes were still active in the eighth century, as is shown by the poet ʻAntar, who refers to the smoke arising from the volcanic crater which was visible from the region of Ḥesma’.Abu-l-Feda’, Muḫtaṣar (Adler), Vol. 4. p. 550, mentions that in 1256 or 1257 A.D. there was a volcanic eruption in the territory of al-Medîna and at night its flames were visible a great distance off.
the Prophet Hûd, were destroyed there.—This report is probably associated with the rock tombs near ancient Dajdân (Dedan; the modern al-Ḫrajba near the oasis of al-ʻEla’). The name Ḳurḥ superseded the old name ad-Dajdân, and even before Jâḳût’s time it had been replaced by the name of the neighboring settlement al-ʻEla’.
Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 709, states that al-ʻEla’ is a place belonging to the district of the valley of al-Ḳura’, situated between it and Syria. On his expedition to Tebûk the Prophet Mohammed stayed at al-ʻEla’, and a mosque was constructed on the spot where he prayed. Abu-l-Faḍâ’il, Marâṣid (Juynboll), Vol. 2, p. 273, defines the position of the settlement of al-ʻEla’ much more precisely, saying that it is situated in the district of the valley of al-Ḳura’ beyond the region of the Ṯamûd, on the way to al-Medîna, and accordingly to the south of al-Ḥeǧr.Ibn Baṭṭûṭa (died 1377 A. D.) relates (Tuḥfa [Defrémery and Sanguinetti], Vol. 1, pp. 260 f.) that it is less than half a day’s journey from al-Ḥeǧr to al-ʻEla’. At the time of his visit (at the end of 1326 A. D.) al-ʻEla’ was a large and beautiful settlement with palm gardens and well water. The inhabitants kept the peace. In the settlement dwelt Christian traders from Syria, from whom the pilgrims, who spent four days there, bought various wares. Nobody did any harm to these Christian traders.According to Ḥaǧǧi Ḫalfa, Ǧihân numa’ (Constantinople, 1145 A. H.), p. 522, the settlement of al-ʻEla’ is situated a half day’s journey south of the region of the Ṯamûd and therefore the same distance south of al-Ḥeǧr, among the mountains, and it has vineyards and flowing water. The stronghold there was restored by Sultan Suleiman. ʻÎsa Pasha, governor of Damascus, fortified this settlement in order to protect its inhabitants against the marauding Arabs, but he increased the tax on each date palm from one dirhem to forty, and refused to reduce it.Meḥmed Edîb, Menâzil (Constantinople, 1232 A. H.), p. 80, records that the flourishing settlement of al-ʻEla’ is situated nine hours from Medâjen Ṣâleḥ between two mountain ranges. This place also belongs to the region of the Ṯamûd. It is a settlement between mountains and possesses the advantages of flowing water, vineyards, and date palms. In it there is an abundance of sweetish oranges, and sweet and bitter lemons. Watermelons, cucumbers, and several other fruits also thrive there. Many acacias grow as far as Bijâr Ṛânem. During the rule of Sultan Suleiman Khan a fortress was built at al-ʻEla’, where the valley of Mušfeḳ is situated.