Riyadh | |
---|---|
State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
Riyadh (Arabic: الرياض, romanized: ar-Riyāḍ, lit. 'The Gardens' [ar.riˈjaːdˤ] Najdi pronunciation: [er.rɪˈjɑːðˤ]) is the capital of Saudi Arabia and the largest city on the Arabian Peninsula. Located in the center of the an-Nafud desert, on the eastern part of the Najd plateau, the city sits at an average of 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level, and receives more than 16 million tourists each year, making it the 2nd most visited city in the Arab world. Riyadh had a population of 7.6 million people in 2019, making it the most populous city in Saudi Arabia, 2nd most populous in the Arab world (after Cairo), and 38th most populous in Asia.The first mentioning of the city by the name Riyadh was in 1590, by an early Arab chronicler. In 1737, Deham Ibn Dawwas, who was from the neighboring Manfuha, settled in and took control of the city. Deham built a wall around the city, and the best known source of the name Riyadh is from this period, thought to be referring to the earlier oasis towns that predated the wall built by Ibn Dawwas. In 1744, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab formed an alliance with the Emir of Dir'iyah, Muhammad bin Saud, and in 1774, they took Riyadh from Deham. However their state, now known as the First Saudi State, came to a collapse in 1818. Turki ibn Abdullah founded the Second Saudi State in the early 19th century and made Riyadh his capital in 1825. However, his reign over the city was disrupted by a joint Ottoman–Rashidi alliance. Finally, in the early 20th century, 'Abdulaziz ibn Saud, known in the west simply as Ibn Saud, retrieved his ancestral kingdom of Najd in 1902 and consolidated his rule by 1926 with the final Saudi conquest of Hejaz. After this he named his kingdom Saudi Arabia in September 1932 with Riyadh as the capital.Riyadh is the political and administrative centre of Saudi Arabia.
Ashdod | |
---|---|
State | South District |
Country | Israel |
Capital | |
Population | 251837 |
Ashdod (Hebrew: אַשְׁדּוֹד; Arabic: أشدود) is the sixth-largest city and the largest port in Israel accounting for 60% of the country's imported goods. Ashdod is located in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast where it is situated between Tel Aviv to the north 32 kilometres (20 miles) away, and Ashkelon to the south 20 km (12 mi) away. Jerusalem is 53 km (33 mi) to the east. The city is also an important regional industrial center.
Modern Ashdod covers the territory of two ancient twin towns, one inland and one on the coast, which were for most of their history two separate entities, connected by close ties with each other. This article deals with these historic towns, including other ancient nearby sites, and modern Ashdod.
The first documented urban settlement at Ashdod dates to the Canaanite culture of the 17th century BCE. Ashdod is mentioned 13 times in the Bible.