دُومَة ٱلْجَنْدَل | |
Location | Al Jawf Province, Saudi Arabia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 29°48′41″N 39°52′06″E / 29.81139°N 39.86833°E |
Type | Settlement |
Part of | Saudi Arabia |
Site notes | |
Condition | In ruins |
Public access | yes |
Dumat al-Jandal (Arabic: دُومَة ٱلْجَنْدَل, romanized: Dūmat al-Jandal, lit. 'Dumah of the Stone', pronounced [ˈduːmat alˈdʒandal]), also known as Al-Jawf or Al-Jouf (Arabic: ٱلْجَوْف, lit. 'depression'),[1][clarification needed] which refers to Wadi Sirhan, is an ancient city of ruins and the historical capital of the Al Jawf Province, today in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is located 37 km from Sakakah.
The city stood north of the Nafud desert and at one end of Wadi Sirhan, at a major intersection of ancient trade routes part what is known as the incense route, with one branch linking the various sources of valuable goods in India and southern Arabia with Babylon, and another linking the Persian Gulf through Wadi Sirhan with southern Syria.[2] It has a historical boundary wall[dubious – discuss] and stands within an oasis.[3][better source needed]
The ancient city of Duma was described as "the stronghold of the Arabians" on a Neo-Assyrian clay prism dating from the 7th century BC.[4]
Some scholars identify this site as territory of Dumah, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael mentioned in the Book of Genesis.[5]
Column 4: "Adumutu (is) the strong city of the Arabians, which Sennacherib, king of Assyria, the father, my begetter, had conquered"