Jeddah Travel Guide - History

In 647 that all changed. Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan turned the city into a sea port to receive Islamic pilgrims on their way to the already bustling holy city of Mecca for the annual Hajj during this year, a role the city still plays today.

As a result, Jeddah soon afterwards became the de facto capital of the Hejaz region which extended down the Red Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula to roughly the current-day border with Yemen. Jeddah had become the centre of the Muslim world very quickly.

This period lasted only until 1254 when again the reins of power in Jeddah changed hands as the Mamluks took control of the city and the region, a group that derived from slaves that had converted to Islam and become soldiers, eventually wielding enormous power in the region.

Their reign in Jeddah and western Arabia lasted 250 years. Towards the end of Mamluk control of Jeddah at the beginning of the 16th century, the first city walls were built but they didn’t keep the next wave of invaders out.

As well as six watchtowers and six city gates, the Turks built a small castle, the Qishla of Jeddah, as a military installation designed to protect the city.

In 1802, Jeddah was finally annexed as part of the First Saudi State as the Ottomans also lost the holy city of Mecca; but Saudi control only lasted 11 years before Jeddah was once again recaptured following the Battle of Jeddah in 1813.

In 1924, however, the city along with Mecca and Medina were captured by the armies of Abdul Aziz al Saud 8 years before Saudi Arabia was united.

The Saudi king immediately announced himself as the new King of Hejaz. Jeddah now played second fiddle to the Saudi capital Riyadh but its importance as the gateway to Mecca continued. Although now a second city, its position on the Red Sea meant that Jeddah became the premier business city of the country as oil was exported to the port and the city was becoming extremely wealthy.