Dhruma (Arabic: ضرما or ضرمى) is a small town located some 40 km to the west of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the center of the small Dhruma Governorate, and has a population of approximately 15,000 people. It lies in the wide Al-Batin valley, which it shares with its larger twin, Muzahmiyya. The town appears in the 7th century poetry of Jarir as "Qarma" or "Garma", and is also mentioned by the same name in Yaqut's encyclopedia. It is unknown, however, when exactly the name evolved into "Dhruma". The village was important in pre-20th century Nejd as a western gateway to the region of Wadi Hanifa, which includes Riyadh and Diriyah, and often bore the brunt of the military campaigns directed at the region. Its traditional rulers were distant cousins of the Al Saud family, and Dhruma joined the First Saudi State at the end of the 18th century. A large invasion of Saudi-ruled territory by the Yam tribe of Najran, some 1000 km to the south, was repelled by the people of Dhruma in 1775 after an intense battle fought in a nearby forest of palm trees. Later, the Egyptian-Ottoman forces of Ibrahim Pasha placed the town under siege on their way to the Saudi capital of Diriyah (see Saudi-Ottoman War). Dhruma offered remarkably stout resistance to the invading army, and even rejected Ibrahim's offer of a truce in exchange for allowing him to proceed to Diriyah. The town, however, surrendered in early 1818 and Ibrahim's retribution was especially harsh, allowing his troops to pillage the village with impunity. The town revived somewhat after those events, and was reported by Philby to have had a population of nearly 6,000 in 1917. Its fortunes have fallen dramatically in recent decades, however, due to the fact that it was bypassed by the modern Riyadh-Mecca highway, and most of its original inhabitants have moved to neighoring Riyadh. Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Riyadh (Arabic: ‎ ar-Riyāḍ) is the capital of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located in Ar Riyad Province in the Najd region. ... Yaqut (Yaqut ibn-Abdullah al-Hamawi) (1179 - 1229) was an Arab biographer and geographer. ... Najd (Nejd) is a region in central Saudi Arabia and the location of the nations capital, Riyadh. ... Wadi Hanifa (Arabic: ) is a wadi or valley in the Nejd region in central Saudi Arabia. ... Diriyah (also Ad-Diriyah or Ad-Dariyah) is a town in Saudi Arabia located outside of Riyadh in Ar Riyad Province. ... The House of Saud ( translit: ) is the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ... The First Saudi State was established in the year 1744 (1157 H.) when the Wahhabi leader Sheikh Mohammed ibn Abd al Wahhab settled in Diriyah and Prince Mohammed Ibn Saud agreed to support and espouse his cause, with a view to cleansing the Islamic faith from distortions. ... Banu Yam (Arabic: ) are a large tribe native to Najran Province in Saudi Arabia, and are the principle tribe of that area. ... Najran is a province of Saudi Arabia, located in the south of the country along the border with Yemen. ... Look up Ottoman, ottoman in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha (Arabic: إبراهيم باشا) ‎ (1789 – November 10, 1848), a 19th century general of Egypt. ... Harry St. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ...

References

• Yaqut Al-Hamawi, Mu'jam Al-Buldan
• Ibn Ghannam, Rawdhat Al-Afkar wal Afham (a history of Nejd)
• Philby, St. John B., The Heart of Arabia: A Record of Travel & Exploration, Vol. 1, p. 126, G.P. Putnam's Sons, NY and London, 1923.

Yaqut (Yaqut ibn-Abdullah al-Hamawi) (1179 - 1229) was an Arab biographer and geographer. ... Kitab mujam al-buldan is a book by Islamic scholar Yaqut al-Hamawi. ... Najd (Nejd) is a region in central Saudi Arabia and the location of the nations capital, Riyadh. ...

External Links

• List of governorates on official site of Riyadh Province [1]

Coordinates: 24°36′N, 46°08′E Ar Riyad IPA: (Arabic الرياض) is a province of Saudi Arabia, located in the centre of the country. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...