Ancient village in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Manfuha in Riyadh City
Another view in Manfuha
Manfuha
(
Arabic
:
??????
) is an ancient village and a historic neighborhood in southern
Riyadh
,
Saudi Arabia
, located north of
al-Masani
and south of
Skirina
in the sub-municipality of
al-Bat?ha
. Established on the edge of the narrow, fertile valley known as
Wadi Hanifa
, Manfuha was until the mid-20th century considered a twin village to the
walled town of Riyadh
, the current Saudi capital.
[
citation needed
]
Etymology
[
edit
]
Manfuhah derives from the
Arabic
word of
nafaha
(
Arabic
:
???
,
romanized
:
nafa?a
), which loosely translates to blowing wind or being fragrant. It was reportedly attributed to its climatic nature.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
According to
Yaqut
's 13th-century geographical encyclopedia
Mu'jam Al-Buldan
, Manfuha was built a few centuries before
Islam
at the same time as Hajr (now Riyadh)
[2]
by members of the
Banu Hanifa
tribe and their cousins from the tribe of
Bakr
. Manfuha was home to the famous Arab poet
Al-A'sha
, who died at around the same time as the
Muslim
prophet
Muhammad
, but little is heard of Manfuha after that time. At the turn of the 20th century, its population was made up largely of members of
Banu Hanifa
and
Bakr
(who by now had come to identify themselves with the related tribe of
'Anizzah
), as well as members of
Tamim
and
Subay'
. Like all
Nejdi
towns, its population also included a large percentage of non-tribally-affiliated tradesmen (
sonnaa'
), as well as many slaves and freedmen working as agricultural labourers. Like Riyadh, the town was surrounded by gardens and palm groves.
[
citation needed
]
In the late 18th century, Manfuha fell under the rule of the energetic ruler of Riyadh,
Deham ibn Dawwas
, who at the time was vigorously resisting the expansion of the new
Wahhabist
state established by the
Al Saud
clan of neighbouring
Diriyah
(see
First Saudi State
). Both towns eventually succumbed to the
Saudis
, however, who ruled over Manfuha until their state was destroyed by an
Ottoman
-
Egyptian
invasion in 1818. From then on, the town's fortunes largely followed those of its neighbour, Riyadh, returning to Saudi rule under
Turki ibn Abdallah
in 1824, then falling under the rule of the
Al Rashid
clan of
Ha'il
in the 1890s, before reverting to Saudi rule less than ten years later under the founder of
Saudi Arabia
,
Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud
.
[
citation needed
]
As the neighbouring Saudi capital expanded exponentially in the 20th century, fueled by the country's oil wealth, the walls of both Manfuha and Riyadh were torn down, and Manfuha was quickly swallowed in whole by the growing metropolis. Today, Manfuha is among the poorer districts of Riyadh as most of its original inhabitants have left to newer districts of the capital. Some of the town's old mud-brick buildings remain, as well as an ancient observation tower. A wide avenue cuts through the centre of Manfuha, named Al-A'sha Street, after its most famous son.
[
citation needed
]
Manfuha is now a neighbourhood in southern Riyadh.
[3]
References
[
edit
]
24°35′46″N
46°43′38″E
/
24.59611°N 46.72722°E
/
24.59611; 46.72722