Saudi Arabia, Mecca and their history

The sacred city of Mecca is the main city of Muslims around the world. People who do not profess Islam can not get into it. Mecca has a rich and colorful history. This is the annual pilgrimage center.

The capture of Mecca by Muslims

Islam appeared on the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century. The Prophet Muhammad, who was the head of the new community, united his supporters under his leadership. At first it was a small community, around which were the most diverse pagans of the east. Nomads of the desert worshiped idols (Christianity did not reach these places, the centers of which were Byzantium and Western Europe).

Tribes divided. With those who remained pagans, the Muslims concluded a temporary peace treaty. The Arabian peninsula was divided. The infidels had no right to appear on the territory of Muslims. However, the treaty was broken, after which the Prophet Muhammad led his troops to Mecca. This happened in 630. The city did not resist.

Relics of the city

Here was the Kaaba, which became the main shrine of Muslims. This building in the form of a cube was created in pagan times. It is believed that it was built by angels so that people worshiped God.

The shrine is erected on a marble base. Each angle corresponds to one side of the world. Muslims, no matter where they live, always pray in the direction of Mecca. The Kaaba is made of marble, its surface is always curtained with black silk.

Part of the Caliphate

The holy city was located within a variety of states, the last of which is Saudi Arabia. Mecca has never been the official capital, which did not detract from its importance.

After it was captured by Muslims in the 7th century, a huge Caliphate grew up around the Arabian Peninsula. He united the Arabs, who Islamized the north of Africa and Spain in the west, and also the Persians in the east.

The capital of the Caliphs was first in Damascus, and later in Baghdad. Nevertheless, Mecca remained an important center of Islam. Every year, believers came here to perform Hajj. Another holy city of Muslims was Medina, which is located near Mecca. It was there that Muhammad settled.

Mecca has always been in the heart of the Arab world, so it was rarely touched by political upheavals and border wars. Nevertheless, she was also targeted. For example, in the 10th century, it was ransacked by karma, a militarized sect. They appeared in Bahrain and did not recognize the then dynasty of caliphs - the Fatimids. The attack on Mecca in 930 was a complete surprise for many pilgrims. The attackers kidnapped the Black Stone, which was built into the Kaaba (this is one of the relics of Muslims). In addition, the karmas staged a real massacre in the city. The artifact was returned to Mecca only in twenty years (a huge ransom was paid).

In the late Middle Ages here, as well as throughout the Silk Road and in Europe, the plague raged. The victims in Mecca were only a small part of the victims of the black death epidemic.

Under Turkish dominion

By the 16th century, the Arabs had lost almost all the territories conquered during the Caliphate. The leading position among Muslims passed to the Turks, who in 1453 seized Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Of course, these Sunnis wanted to control the holy city of Muslims.

In 1517, Mecca finally submitted to the Turks and became part of the Ottoman Empire, which stretched from the Balkans to the borders with Persia. Pilgrims in Mecca for several centuries forgot about the contradictions and conflicts with their neighbors. However, the Arab national movement began to make itself felt after the Ottoman Empire was more and more absorbed in the crisis. In the XIX century, the city was occupied for several years by the emirs.

Arabs regain their city

The final blow to the Turkish rule in Mecca was inflicted during the First World War. The Ottoman Empire supported Kaiser Germany. The Entente inflicted on her several serious defeats, after which the country disintegrated. An important role in this process was played by British citizen Thomas Lawrence. He managed to persuade the Arab governor Hussein bin Ali to rebel against the Ottoman state. This happened in 1916. Arab rebels won, although the dead in Mecca were counted in the thousands. So the state of Hijaz appeared, the capital of which became the holy city.

The entire Arabian peninsula again began to be ruled by the Arabs, who for several decades tried to build a stable state here. It was built around the dynasty of the Saudis. They managed to unite the disparate principalities. So in 1932 there was Saudi Arabia. Mecca has become one of its largest cities. The capital was moved to Riyadh. The city of Mecca and Medina once again became peaceful. Here, as in former times, pilgrims began to come.

Hajj to Mecca

Saudi Arabia (Mecca is the city of this country) receives guests from all corners of the world every year. Every Muslim should go to Mecca for Hajj at least once in his life - a pilgrimage to holy places, including the Kaaba. Saudi Arabia is closely following all this. Mecca in the days of Hajj is guarded with special care.

Unfortunately, even this is not enough to avoid tragedies. So, very recently, in 2015, there was a crush, which killed 2,000 people. Such catastrophes are due to too much congestion. Hajj sent thousands of pilgrims, and they often just do not have enough organized places. Crush in Mecca - an event not rare. Similar cases arose earlier. At the last of them there were especially many dead from northern Africa, which by tradition remains predominantly Muslim. The crush in Mecca in 2015 shocked the whole world.