Tihamah

Tihamah

تِهَامَةُ
Tihāmah
Tihamah تِهَامَةُ Tihāmah
	An approximate map of the Tihamah region (in green)
Region	Arabian Peninsula
Countries	Saudi Arabia; Yemen
Cities	Jeddah,Yanbu,Al Qunfudhah,Jizan,Midi,Al Hudaydah,Khaukha,andMocha

TihamahorTihama(Arabic:تِهَامَةُTihāmah) is theRed Sea coastal plainof theArabian Peninsulafrom theGulf of Aqabato theBab el Mandeb.^[1]

Etymology

Tihāmat is theProto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'.Tiamat(orTehom,in masculine form) was the ancientMesopotamiangod of the sea and of chaos. The word appears in theHebrew Bibleastəhōm(Genesis1:2), meaning "primordial ocean, abyss".^[2]

History

Era of Muhammad

During the era of the Islamic prophetMuhammad,many military expeditions took place here including theBattle of Hamra al-Asadand caravan raids. Beginning in January 623CE,some of the Muslims resorted to the tradition of raiding the Meccan caravans that traveled along the eastern coast of theRed SeafromMeccato theSyrian region.^[3]

While at Ḥamra' al-Asad (حَمْرَاء ٱلْأَسَد), Muhammad made an agreement withMabad al-Khuzaahat Tihamah, in which Mabad pledged not to conceal anything from him. Mabad was then sent to Mecca to dissuadeAbu Sufyan ibn Harbfrom fighting.^[4]^: 341In Mecca, Mabad met with Abu Sufyan and exaggerated that Muhammad had gathered a great force to fight Abu Sufyan. Abu Sufyan and his companions were planning a massive and decisive attack onMedinato finish off the Muslims once and for all. Hearing Mabad's talk of the great military strength of Muhammad, Abu Sufyan retreated from his plan of an immediate attack on the Muslims. In this fashion Muhammad successfully managed to prevent the massive onslaught the Meccans were planning.^[5]^[4]^: 342

Geography

The region is sometimes subdivided into two parts,Tihāmat Al-Ḥijaz(تِهَامَة ٱلْحِجَاز;northern part) andTihāmatʿAsīr(تِهَامَة عَسِيْر;southern part).^[1]The Yemeni part (Arabic:تِهَامَة ٱلْيَمَن,romanized:Tihāmat Al-Yaman) is an extension ofTihamat ʿAsir.^[6]The plain is constricted and attains its greatest widths, 60 to 80 km (37 to 50 miles), south ofMedinaand Mecca.^[1]The cities ofYanbu,JeddahandAl Qunfudhahare located in the Hijazi part of the Tihamah. TheAsiri-Yemenipart of the Tihami plain includes the cities ofJizanandAl Hudaydah.The temperatures in Tihamah are probably some of the hottest on earth.Tihamahin Arabic means severe heat and lack of wind.^[7]

Flora

Date palmtrees on the Yemeni coast of the Red Sea near Khaukha

Jeddahin theSaudipart of the Tihamah

The extensive sandy coastal plain (the Tihamah) is a hot and inhospitable area parallel to the Red Sea, and most of it, north ofZabid(Yemen), is devoid of trees. However, in a few places there is dense shrub composed almost exclusively ofVachellia flavaand it may be assumed that this was originally the dominant natural vegetation of the Tihamah.Salvadora persicaoccurs in thickets, and there are odd trees ofBalanites aegyptiacaand colonies of wild doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica), as well as planteddate palms(Phoenix dactylifera).^[8]

Archaeology

Over sixteenmegalithic menhirswere discovered by Edward Keall, director of theRoyal Ontario Museum's Canadian Archaeological Mission near the village ofAl-Mutaynah(ٱلْمُتَيْنَة) in the Tihami area. The stones were made ofgraniteand weighted up to 20 tonnes (20,000 kg). Three of the upright stones measured around 8 feet (2.4 m) tall with one fallen being over 20 metres (66 ft) in length.Coppertools suggested to date to the same era as the construction of the stones were dated to around 2400 to 1800 BCE. An even more archaiclithic industrywas found along with potterysherdsthat were dated between 1200 and 800 BCE.^[9]

References

^^a ^b ^c"Arabia".Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved20 March2013.The Red Sea coastal plain is constricted throughout its length, attaining its greatest widths, 40 to 50 miles, south of Medina and south of Mecca. The name Tihāmah, used for the whole plain, is sometimes subdivided into Tihāmat Al-Ḥijāz and Tihāmat ʿAsīr.
^Stefan Weninger, ed. (2011),Semitic languages: an international handbook,Berlin/Boston:Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
^Lapidus, Ira M. (2002).A History of Islamic Societies.Cambridge University Press.p. 27.ISBN 978-0-5217-7933-3.
^^a ^bAl-Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman(2002).The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet.Darussalam Publications.pp. 341–342.ISBN 978-9960-899-55-8.
^Habriel, Richard A. (2005).Muhammad, Islams first Great general.Blackwell.p. 124.ISBN 978-0-8061-3860-2.
^"Yemen".Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved20 March2013.Yemen may be divided into five major regions: a coastal plain running north-south known as the Tihāmah (an extension of the Tihāmat ʿAsīr), the western highlands, the central mountains (the Yemen Highlands), the eastern highlands, and finally the eastern and northeastern desert regions.
^Shawqi Abu Khalil (2004).Atlas on the prophet's Biography.Darussalam. p. 31.ISBN 9-9608-9771-0.Retrieved20 March2013.It is so called because of its severe heat and lack of wind, from the word At-Taham which refers to extreme heat and lack of wind.
^Hepper, F.N. (July 1978). "Were There Forests in the Yemen?".Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies.9(1979): 65–71.JSTOR 41223217.
^Harrington, Spencer P. M. (December 10, 1997),Yemeni Megaliths,Archaeology, theArchaeological Institute of America

External links

[Britannica1-1] "Arabia".Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved20 March2013.The Red Sea coastal plain is constricted throughout its length, attaining its greatest widths, 40 to 50 miles, south of Medina and south of Mecca. The name Tihāmah, used for the whole plain, is sometimes subdivided into Tihāmat Al-Ḥijāz and Tihāmat ʿAsīr.

[2] Stefan Weninger, ed. (2011),Semitic languages: an international handbook,Berlin/Boston:Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG

[3] Lapidus, Ira M. (2002).A History of Islamic Societies.Cambridge University Press.p. 27.ISBN 978-0-5217-7933-3.

[Al-Mubarakpuri_2002-4] Al-Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman(2002).The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet.Darussalam Publications.pp. 341–342.ISBN 978-9960-899-55-8.

[Habriel_2005_124-5] Habriel, Richard A. (2005).Muhammad, Islams first Great general.Blackwell.p. 124.ISBN 978-0-8061-3860-2.

[Britannica2-6] "Yemen".Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved20 March2013.Yemen may be divided into five major regions: a coastal plain running north-south known as the Tihāmah (an extension of the Tihāmat ʿAsīr), the western highlands, the central mountains (the Yemen Highlands), the eastern highlands, and finally the eastern and northeastern desert regions.

[Abu_Khalil2004-7] Shawqi Abu Khalil (2004).Atlas on the prophet's Biography.Darussalam. p. 31.ISBN 9-9608-9771-0.Retrieved20 March2013.It is so called because of its severe heat and lack of wind, from the word At-Taham which refers to extreme heat and lack of wind.

[8] Hepper, F.N. (July 1978). "Were There Forests in the Yemen?".Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies.9(1979): 65–71.JSTOR 41223217.

[9] Harrington, Spencer P. M. (December 10, 1997),Yemeni Megaliths,Archaeology, theArchaeological Institute of America

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