Historic City of A'thar

A'thar City or the Historic City of A'thar is a historical city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located within the present-day boundaries of Jazan Province, southwest of Saudi Arabia. It emerged during the pre-Islamic era and continued until the second half of the fourth century AH.

A'thar was an independent Mukhlaf (region) ruled by the Makhzum Qurashi tribes and their allies. In later periods of its history, it merged with the territory of the Hakm tribe to form the Mikhlaf Sulaymani southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, making it the oldest capital of the Mikhlaf Sulaymani in the history of medieval Islam, which traces back to Sulayman Bin Taraf al-Hakami.

A'thar City was a fundamental contributor to the historical-cultural movement in the southern part of Saudi Arabia, significantly enriching Arabic literature in both the pre-Islamic and Islamic eras. Its A'thar Market, held within the city, fostered a commercial and social dynamic closely tied to trade in the western Arabian Peninsula.

A'thar is considered a historical station on the coastal pilgrimage and trade route leading to the western Arabian Peninsula. During the Abbasid Caliphate, it housed one of the prominent mints, associated with the A'thari dinar—one of the most renowned dinars struck in the Arabian Peninsula in the tenth century. This dinar was used to calculate the amounts of tithes collected, and its currency had a significant impact on the region's economies.

A'thar City covers the northern part of the Mikhlaf al-Sulaymani map. It is a coastal city that begins north of Sabya Valley and extends to the borders of the historical Emirate of Hali Bin Yaqub to the north. This area is currently situated between Sabya Governorate in central Jazan Province and the southern borders of Aseer Province.

The earliest mention of A'thar City in travel accounts dates back to the eighteenth century. Arabic sources described it as a thriving market, a large city, and the capital of southern Arabia during the Islamic eras. Overlooking the coast, its architecture was made of wood, and it featured a congregational mosque located on the shore. A'thar also had a commercial port at the mouth of Bish Valley, which played a prominent role in shaping the province's economic power. The port served as a key hub for trade connections between southern Arabia and the Hejaz on one side and the ports of the East African coast on the other.

A'thar is one of the extinct archaeological settlements on the Red Sea coast in Sabya Governorate, located approximately forty km north of Jazan City. Its boundaries today are marked by an iron fence installed by the Ministry of Tourism around its estimated perimeter. The site contains remnants of an archaeological mound with unclear features, along with approximately thirty buried historic wells revealed by floodwaters. It also includes the remains of foundations for walls of residential units and structures that once stood in the area.