Passage to Madina

The Mamluk sultans to whom Qa’itbay belonged were followed by the Ottomans who took control of the Arabian Peninsula, especially the Hijaz with its two holy cities of Makkah and al-Madinah. Their domain extended to Palestine, then a province of al-Sham (Syria) encompassing present-day Lebanon and Jordan. The Ottomans administered the Hijaz through their governors (the sharifs) from 1517 until the end of the Fist World War (1918), when the Ottoman Empire disintegrated and British puppets took control of the region effectively falling into the hands of the British.

Into the Amalekite town of Yathrib, Jews likely arrived sometime between the era of Moses and the Babylonian captivity. By the fourth century, Arab tribes began to encroach from Yemen, and there were three prominent Jewish tribes that inhabited the city into the 7th century AD: the Banu Qaynuqa, the Banu Qurayza, and Banu Nadir. Ibn Khordadbeh later reported that during the Persian Empire's domination in Hejaz, the Banu Qurayza served as tax collectors for the shah. 

In 1334H (1915CE) Shareef Hussain b. Ali declared war on the Turks. This followed the creation of “Al-Ittihad wa al-Taraqqi” society (Union and Progress) whose aim was to liberate the Arab lands.

The earliest history of Medina is obscure, though it is known that there were Jewish settlers there in pre-Christian times. But the main influx of Jews would seem to have taken place as the result of their expulsion from Palestine by the Roman emperor Hadrian about 135 ce. 

A significant event in the history of Madinah was the siege of the city for two years during the Arab Revolt (1337-1337 H/ 1917-1918).

In the beginning of 20th century, during World War I, Medina witnessed one of the longest sieges in history. Medina was a city of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

The Turks built the Hijaz Railway line that extended from Damascus to Madinah. Completed (at a huge cost) in the year 1326 H (1908 CE),

Medina is 210 miles (340 km) north of Mecca and about 120 miles (190 km) from the Red Sea coast. It is situated in the most fertile part of all the Hejaz territory, the streams of the vicinity tending to converge in this locality. An immense plain extends to the south; in every direction the view is bounded by hills and mountains.

A significant event in the history of Madinah was the volcano that erupted in the year 654H (1258CE) in Harra al-Sharqiyyah.

The Illuminated City, the City of Light, or the Shining City; also known as Madinatu al-Nabi meaning the Prophet’s city. Originally it was a conglomeration of several dozens of settlements, covering a vast area called Yethrib. It has several other names, but Taybah is well-known.