Early history During the
Pre-Islamic era, the city at the site of modern Riyadh was called
Hajr (), and was reportedly founded by the tribe of
Banu Hanifa.
Hajr served as the capital of the province of
Al-Yamama, whose governors were responsible for most of central and eastern
Arabia during the
Umayyad Caliphate and
Abbasid Caliphate eras. Al-Yamama broke away from the
Abbasid in 866 and the area fell under the rule of the
Banu Ukhaidhir, who moved the capital from Hajr to nearby
Al-Kharj. The city then went into a long period of decline. In the 14th century, North African traveler
Ibn Battuta wrote of his visit to Hajr, describing it as "the main city of
Al-Yamama, and its name is
Hajr". Ibn Battuta goes on to describe it as a city of canals and trees with most of its inhabitants belonging to the
Banu Hanifa, and reports that he continued on with their leader to
Mecca to perform the
Hajj. Later on,
Hajr broke up into several separate settlements and estates. The most notable of these were
Migrin (or Muqrin) and
Mi'kal, though the name
Hajr continued to appear in local folk poetry. The earliest known reference to the area by the name
Riyadh comes from a 17th-century chronicler reporting on an event from the year 1590. In 1737,
Dahham ibn Dawwas, a refugee from neighboring
Manfuhah, took control of Riyadh. Ibn Dawwas built a
single wall to encircle the various oasis towns in the area, making them effectively a
single fortress city. The name "Riyadh", meaning "gardens" refers to these earlier oasis towns.
Economy The capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, was initially known for its availability of water and fertile land which made it ideal for farming dates and other crops, Wheat was also widely grown until the crops were infested with insects and mites. After Riyadh was designated as the capital in the mid-1900s, Riyadh became a manufacturing hub. Almost one-third of Saudi Arabia's factories are located in Riyadh, producing a range of products including machinery, equipment, metallurgical goods, chemicals, construction materials, food, textiles, furniture, and numerous publications.
First Saudi State In 1744,
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab formed an alliance with
Muhammad bin Saud, the ruler of the nearby town of
Diriyah. Ibn Saud then set out to conquer the surrounding region with the goal of bringing it under the rule of a single Islamic state. Ibn Dawwas of Riyadh led the most determined resistance, allied with forces from
Al-Kharj,
Al-Ahsa, and the
Banu Yam clan of
Najran. However, Ibn Dawwas fled and Riyadh capitulated to the Saudis in 1774, ending long years of wars, and leading to the declaration of the
First Saudi state, with Diriyah as its capital. The First Saudi State was ended by forces sent by
Muhammad Ali of Egypt, acting on behalf of the
Ottoman Empire. Ottoman forces razed the Saudi capital Diriyah in 1818. They had maintained a garrison at
Najd. This marked the decline of the House of Saud for a short time.
Turki bin Abdullah became the first ruler of the
Second Saudi state; the cousin of Saud bin Saud, he ruled for 19 years till 1834, leading to the consolidation of the area though they were notionally under the control of Muhammad Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt. In 1823, Turki ibn Abdallah chose Riyadh as the new capital. Following the assassination of Turki in 1834, his eldest son Faisal killed the assassin, took control of the capital, and refused to be controlled by the
Viceroy of Egypt. Najd was then invaded, and Faisal was taken captive and held in
Cairo. However, as
Egypt became independent of the Ottoman Empire, Faisal escaped after five years of incarceration, returned to Najd, and resumed his reign, ruling until 1865 and consolidating the reign of the House of Saud. Following the death of Faisal, there was rivalry among his sons, which was exploited by
Muhammad bin Rashid who took most of Najd, signed a treaty with the Ottomans, and also captured
Al-Ahsa in 1871. In 1889,
Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, the third son of Faisal again regained control over Najd and ruled till 1891, whereafter the control was regained by Muhammad bin Raschid. Internecine struggles between Turki's grandsons led to the fall of the Second Saudi State in 1891 at the hand of the rival
House of Rashid, which ruled from the northern city of
Ha'il. The
Al-Masmak Palace dates from that period. and succeeds Tariq bin Abdul Aziz Al-Faris. Riyadh is now the administrative and to a great extent the commercial hub of the Kingdom. According to the Saudi Real Estate Companion, most large companies in the country established either sole headquarters or a large office in the city. For this reason, there has been significant growth in high-rise developments in all areas of the city. Most notable among these is
King Abdullah Financial District which is fast becoming the key business hub in the city. Riyadh also has the largest all-female university in the world, the
Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University. According to the
Global Financial Centres Index, Riyadh ranked at 77 in 2016–2017. Though the rank moved up to 69 in 2018, diversification in the economy of the capital is required in order to avoid what the
World Bank called a "looming poverty crisis" brought on by lingering low oil prices and rich state benefits. Since 2017, Riyadh has been the target of missiles from Yemen. In March 2018, one person died as a result of a missile attack. The number of missiles which targeted Riyadh are a small portion of the dozens of missiles fired from Yemen at Saudi Arabia due to the
Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war. In April 2018, heavy gunfire was heard in Khozama; this led to rumors of a coup attempt. A restoration of heritage buildings of historical significance was launched in Riyadh by Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman on 13 September 2020. File:Lake at Wadi Hanifah (5218227168).jpg|Lake at the 120 km long
Wadi Hanifa valley that cuts through Riyadh File:King Abdullah Financial District 184701.jpg|King Abdullah Financial District File:Saudi-desert.gif|The
Nafud desert on the outskirts of Riyadh with the Jabal
Tuwaiq in the background
Urban development history Up to 1930s Historical Riyadh was enclosed by walls. At its center was a town square and a market (
souq), surrounded by residential quarters of mosques and adobe homes, each with an interior courtyard. Outside its walls were orchards of
date trees, hence the name 'Riyadh' or 'gardens'. During the 1930s, there was an initial outward expansion because new administrative buildings were needed for the country and because the population was growing. According to Dr. Saleh Al Hathloul, former deputy minister of town planning, this era coincided with the period of sedentarization as nomads settled in and around towns and cities such as Riyadh.
1940s–1950s When commercial oil production began, there was a rapid rise in the rate of urbanization and the city transitioned from traditional to newer houses and buildings. This included the railway station and the (now-defunct)
first airport of Riyadh. Government departments were relocated from
Jeddah to Riyadh and new ministry buildings were built. To accommodate the government employees who had moved in from Jeddah, the government developed the Malaz housing block. This block's layout was influenced by the layouts of
Dammam and
Khobar, which in turn were influenced by the Aramco-built
Dhahran. Malaz, with its street grid and detached house type, was instrumental in shaping the master plans for Riyadh that followed, as per Dr. Saleh Al Hathloul.
1960s–1970s The Department of Municipal Affairs (later
Ministry of Municipalities and Housing) selected Doxiadis Associates (DA) in 1968 to prepare a masterplan for Riyadh. After preliminary studies, they submitted a plan that was approved in 1972. They proposed that Riyadh will expand in the north-south axis along a commercial spine with and most importantly, that it will be divided into neighborhoods of 2 × 2 km blocks, thus solidifying the grid pattern to be the defining feature of Riyadh's layout. It also maintains the style of housing that was prominent in Malaz, detached houses with setbacks, designed in what Dr. Saleh Al Hathloul identifies as an 'international Mediterranean' style i.e. crimson colors. However, DA's shortcomings lay in their inability to accurately predict the extent of Riyadh's future growth. At the start of the 70s, Riyadh did not go much beyond what is today the Khurais road. But nearing the 80s, Riyadh's expansion had already reached the Northern Ring Road in the north and had made considerable progress in the eastern part of the city. In 1974, the government founded the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh (later
Royal Commission for Riyadh City) which was headed by the then governor of
Riyadh Province,
King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, who oversaw Riyadh's development. With the economic growth and national development plans of the 70s, the national infrastructure consisting of electricity grids, telecommunications networks, water pipelines, and highways was laid down that made further urban growth possible. The old and new industrial cities of Riyadh were both founded in this period.
1980s–1990s The city grew at a much faster rate than Doxiadis Associates had projected and very soon, their plan became obsolete. DA predicted that Riyadh's urban area would be 304 km2 in 30 years when it reached 400 km2 just four years after the plan was authorized. One of the MEDSTAR strategies was balanced development by turning Riyadh into a polycentric city rather than having one single downtown. [Riyadh: The Metamorphosis of a City From Centerless to Polycentric Fernando Perez,] This has resulted in there being multiple hubs scattered around the city such Al-Olaya,
King Abdullah Financial District, Sahafa, Granada, Business Gate, Digital City, and Hittin. Riyadh's skyline arose along the King Fahd Road starting in the 2000s. Significant construction projects like the Riyadh metro and the
Princess Noura University, the world's largest women's university, were undertaken. Most malls and hypermarkets opened in this era and became a feature of city life. The municipality added wide sidewalks to a number of streets which became popular spots for walking, and parks were built in many neighborhoods. Major roads were redesigned, such as the King Fahd road, King Abdullah Road, Abu Bakr Al Siddiq road, and Oruba road, transforming the look of the city. In addition, the Royal Commission rehabilitated the
Wadi Hanifa wetlands. At the onset of the 2020s, Riyadh's expansion had gone further ahead of the King Salman Road in the north and had reached the Janadriyah road in the east.
2020–present Vision 2030 has stated its objective for Saudi cities to reach the list of top 100 cities of the world in quality of life and the city is working towards this goal through new development investments. Every year, the number of tourists visiting Saudi Arabia and Riyadh increases. In the large empty area where the old airport once was, the world's largest urban park,
King Salman Park is being constructed, with leisure, residential, office, hospitality, and retail spaces. The historical city of
Diriyah, now encompassed by Riyadh, has been restored and developed into a cultural and tourist destination. Many roads and streets, such as the Olaya street and the Imam Saud road, are being refurbished. Fewer malls are opening and
squares (or plazas) are taking over in popularity, the most popular having been the Riyadh Boulevard on the Prince Turki Al Awwal Road. A new downtown called 'New Murabba' at the intersection of the King Salman and King Khaled roads is planned. New fully residential suburbs, unlike regular neighborhoods that have storefront-lined main streets, are under construction in the far north and far east of the city. ==Geography==