The holy city of Mecca is the main city of Muslims around the world. People who do not profess Islam cannot enter it. Mecca has a rich and colorful history. It is an annual pilgrimage center.
Muslim takeover of Mecca
Islam appeared on the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century. The Prophet Muhammad, who was the head of the new community, united his supporters under his leadership. At first it was a small community, around which were the most diverse pagans of the east. Desert nomads worshiped idols (Christianity, whose centers were Byzantium and Western Europe, did not reach these places).
The tribes are divided. With those who remained pagans, the Muslims concluded a temporary peace treaty. The Arabian Peninsula was divided. The infidels had no right to enter the territory of the Muslims. However, the agreement was violated, after which the prophet Muhammad led his troops to Mecca. This happened in 630. The city did not resist.
Relics of the City
Here was the Kaaba, which became the main shrine of Muslims. This building in the form of a cube was created in pagan times. It is believed that it was erected by angels for people to worship God.
The shrine was erected on a marble base. Each of its corners corresponds to one of the cardinal directions. Muslims, no matter where they live, always pray towards Mecca. The Kaaba is made of marble and its surface is always covered with black silk.
Part of the Caliphate
The holy city was located within a variety of states, the latest of which is Saudi Arabia. Mecca has never been an official capital, which does not detract from its importance.
After it was captured by Muslims in the 7th century, a huge Caliphate grew up around the Arabian Peninsula. He united the Arabs, who Islamized northern Africa and Spain in the west, and the Persians in the east.
The capital of the caliphs was first in Damascus, and then in Baghdad. Nevertheless, Mecca remained an important center of Islam. Believers come here every year to perform the Hajj. Another holy city of Muslims was Medina, which is located near Mecca. It was there that Muhammad settled.
Mecca has always been in the heart of the Arab world, so it was rarely touched by political upheavals and border wars. However, she also became the target of attacks. For example, in the 10th century it was plundered by the Karmatians, a paramilitary sect. They appeared in Bahrain and did not recognize the then dynasty of caliphs - the Fatimids. The attack on Mecca in 930 came as a complete surprise to numerous pilgrims. The attackers stole the Black Stone, which was built into the Kaaba (this is one of the relics of Muslims). ExceptIn addition, the Qarmatians staged a real massacre in the city. The artifact was returned to Mecca only twenty years later (a huge ransom was paid).
In the late Middle Ages, here, as well as on the entire Silk Road and in Europe, the plague raged. Those who died in Mecca were only a small part of the victims of the black death epidemic.
Under Turkish rule
By the 16th century, the Arabs had lost almost all the territories conquered during the Caliphate. The leading position among the Muslims passed to the Turks, who in 1453 captured Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Of course, these Sunnis also wanted to control the Muslim holy city.
In 1517, Mecca finally submitted to the Turks and became part of the Ottoman Empire, which stretched from the Balkans to the borders with Persia. Pilgrims in Mecca for several centuries forgot about the contradictions and conflicts with their neighbors. However, the Arab national movement began to make itself felt after the Ottoman Empire was increasingly immersed in crisis. In the 19th century, the city was occupied by the emirs for several years.
Arabs take back the city
The final blow to Turkish rule in Mecca came during the First World War. The Ottoman Empire supported the Kaiser's Germany. The Entente inflicted several serious defeats on it, after which the country fell apart. An important role in this process was played by the British citizen Thomas Lawrence. He managed to persuade the Arabian governor Hussein bin Ali to rebel against the Ottomanstates. This happened in 1916. The Arab rebels were victorious, although the deaths in Mecca numbered in the thousands. This is how the state of Hijaz appeared, the capital of which was the holy city.
The entire Arabian Peninsula again began to be ruled by the Arabs, who for several decades tried to build a stable state here. It was built around the Saudi dynasty. They managed to unite the disparate principalities. This is how Saudi Arabia was born in 1932. Mecca became one of its largest cities. The capital was moved to Riyadh. The city of Mecca and Medina became peaceful again. Here, as in the old days, pilgrims began to come.
Hajj to Mecca
Saudi Arabia (Mecca is the city of this country) every year receives guests from all over the world. Every Muslim should at least once in his life go to Mecca for the Hajj - a pilgrimage to holy places, including the Kaaba. Saudi Arabia is following all this very closely. Mecca on the days of the Hajj is guarded with special care.
Unfortunately, even this is not enough to avoid tragedies. So, quite recently, in 2015, there was a stampede that claimed the lives of 2,000 people. Disasters like this happen because of too many people. Thousands of pilgrims go on the Hajj, and they often simply do not have enough organized places. A stampede in Mecca is not a rare event. Similar cases have happened before. During the last of these, there were especially many deaths from northern Africa, which, by tradition, remains predominantly Muslim. The stampede in Mecca in 2015 shocked the whole world.
