Editing Mecca (section)

===Early history (up to 6th century CE)===

The early history of Mecca is still largely shrouded by a lack of clear sources. The city lies in the hinterland of the middle part of western Arabia of which there are sparse textual or archaeological sources available.<ref name="Literary" /> This lack of knowledge is in contrast to both the northern and southern areas of western Arabia, specifically the Syro-Palestinian frontier and Yemen, where historians have various sources available such as physical remains of shrines, inscriptions, observations by Greco-Roman authors, and information collected by church historians. The area of [[Hejaz]] that surrounds Mecca was characterized by its remote, rocky, and inhospitable nature, supporting only meagre settled populations in scattered oases and occasional stretches of fertile land. The Red Sea coast offered no easily accessible ports and the oasis dwellers and bedouins in the region were illiterate.<ref name="Literary" />

Academic research suggests that at the time of Muhammad the population of Mecca was around 550.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=M. Robinson|year=2022|title=The Population Size of Muḥammad's Mecca and the Creation of the Quraysh|journal=Der Islam|volume=1|issue=99|pages=10–37|doi=10.1515/islam-2022-0002|s2cid=247974816 |doi-access=free|hdl=10023/25835|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Muslims scholars using traditional sources may place the number as high as 10,000.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Al-Ateeqi |first=Binimad |title=Makkah at the Time of Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH) |year=2020 |isbn=978-1710858853 |publication-date=March 17, 2020 |pages=146–149 |publisher=Independently Published |language=EN}}</ref>
The first clear reference to Mecca in non-Islamic literature appears in 741, long after the death of Muhammad, in the Byzantine-Arab Chronicle, though here the author places the region in Mesopotamia rather than the Hejaz.<ref name="ReferenceA">Holland, Tom; In the Shadow of the Sword; Little, Brown; 2012; p. 471</ref>

Possible earlier mentions are not unambiguous. The Greek historian [[Diodorus Siculus]] writes about Arabia in the 1st century BCE in his work ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'', describing a holy shrine: "And a temple has been set up there, which is very holy and exceedingly revered by all Arabians".<ref>Translated by C.H. Oldfather, ''Diodorus Of Sicily, Volume II'', William Heinemann Ltd., London & Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1935, p. 217.</ref> Claims have been made this could be a reference to the [[Ka'bah]] in Mecca.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gibbon |first1=Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.533456 |title=The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire |year=1862 |series=Book 5 |pages=223–224}}</ref> However, the geographic location Diodorus describes is located in northwest Arabia, around the area of [[Leuke Kome]], within the former [[Nabataean Kingdom]] and the Roman province of [[Arabia Petraea]].<ref>Jan Retsö, The Arabs in Antiquity (2003), 295–300</ref><ref>Photius, Diodorus and Strabo (English): Stanley M. Burnstein (tr.), Agatharchides of Cnidus: On the Eritraean Sea (1989), 132–173, esp. 152–3 (§92).)</ref>

Ptolemy lists the names of 50 cities in Arabia, one going by the name of Macoraba. There has been speculation since 1646 that this could be a reference to Mecca. Historically, there has been a general consensus in scholarship that Macoraba mentioned by [[Ptolemy]] in the 2nd century CE is indeed Mecca, but more recently, this has been questioned.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Crone, Patricia|title=Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1987|isbn=978-1-59333-102-3|pages=134–135}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author=Morris, Ian D.|year=2018|title=Mecca and Macoraba|url=https://islamichistorycommons.org/mem/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2018/11/UW-26-Morris.pdf|journal=Al-ʿUṣūr Al-Wusṭā|volume=26|pages=1–60|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117022342/https://islamichistorycommons.org/mem/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2018/11/UW-26-Morris.pdf|archive-date=17 November 2018|access-date=16 November 2018}}</ref> Bowersock favors the identity of the former, with his theory being that "Macoraba" is the word "''Makkah"'' followed by the aggrandizing [[Aramaic]] adjective ''rabb'' (great). The Roman historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] also enumerated many cities of Western Arabia, most of which can be identified. According to Bowersock, he did mention Mecca as "Geapolis" or "Hierapolis", the latter one meaning "holy city" potentially referring to the sanctuary of the [[Kaaba]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowersock|first1=G. W.|title=The crucible of Islam|date=2017|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-05776-0|location=Cambridge (Mass.)|pages=53–55}}</ref> [[Patricia Crone]], from the [[Revisionist school of Islamic studies]] on the other hand, writes that "the plain truth is that the name Macoraba has nothing to do with that of Mecca [...] if Ptolemy mentions Mecca at all, he calls it Moka, a town in [[Arabia Petraea]]".<ref>Crane, P. ''Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam'', 1987, p.136</ref>

[[Procopius]]' 6th century statement that the [[Ma'add]] tribe possessed the coast of western Arabia between the [[Ghassanids]] and the [[Himyarite Kingdom|Himyarites]] of the south supports the Arabic sources tradition that associates [[Quraysh]] as a branch of the Ma'add and Muhammad as a direct descendant of Ma'add ibn Adnan.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shahid |first1=Irfan |title=Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, volume 1, part 1 |date=1995 |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks |isbn=978-0-88402-284-8 |page=163}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Procopius |title=History |pages=I.xix.14}}</ref>

Historian [[Patricia Crone]] has cast doubt on the claim that Mecca was a major historical trading outpost.<ref name="ReferenceB">Crone, Patricia; ''Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam''; 1987; p.7</ref><ref>Holland, Tom (2012). ''In the Shadow of the Sword''; Little, Brown; p. 303</ref> However, other scholars such as Glen W. Bowersock disagree and assert that Mecca was a major trading outpost.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Abdullah Alwi Haji Hassan|title=Sales and Contracts in Early Islamic Commercial Law|year=1994|isbn=978-969-408-136-6|pages=3 ff|publisher=Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bowersock|first=Glen. W.|title=Bowersock, G. W. (2017). The crucible of Islam. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press. pp. 50 ff.|year=2017}}</ref> Crone later on disregarded some of her theories.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crone |first1=Patricia |title=Quraysh and the Roman Army: Making Sense of the Meccan Leather Trade. |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |date=2007 |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=63–88 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X0700002X |jstor=40378894 |s2cid=154910558 }}</ref> She argues that Meccan trade relied on skins, hides, manufactured leather goods, clarified butter, Hijazi woollens, and camels. She suggests that most of these goods were destined for the Roman army, which is known to have required colossal quantities of leather and hides for its equipment.

Mecca is mentioned in the following early Quranic manuscripts:
* Codex Is. 1615 I, folio 47v, [[Radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to 591–643.
* Codex Ṣanʿāʾ DAM 01–29.1, folio 29a, radiocarbon dated between 633 and 665.
* Codex Arabe 331, folio 40 v, radiocarbon dated between 652 and 765.

The earliest Muslim inscriptions are from the Mecca-[[Ta'if]] area.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoyland |first1=Robert |title=Seeing Islam as others saw it |date=1997 |publisher=Darwin Press |isbn=0-87850-125-8 |page=565}}</ref>

'''Islamic narrative'''

{{multiple image
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| image1            = Makkah mentioned in Quranic manuscript Codex Arabe 331dated to 652-765 CE with 95.4% probability.png
| caption1          = Mecca mentioned in Quranic manuscript Codex Arabe 331 ([[Q48:24]])
| image2            = OldmapofMecca.jpg
| caption2          = A 1787 [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Turkish map of [[Al-Haram Mosque]], and related religious sites, such as Jabal al-Nour
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In the Islamic view, the beginnings of Mecca are attributed to the [[Biblical people in Islam|Biblical figures]], [[Adam]], [[Abraham]], [[Hagar]] and [[Ishmael]]. It was Adam himself who built the first God's house in Mecca according to a heavenly prototype but this building was destroyed in the [[Genesis flood narrative|Noahic Flood]].<ref name="Literary" /> The civilization of Mecca is believed to have started after [[Abraham in Islam|Ibrāhīm]] (Abraham) left his son Ismāʿīl (Ishmael) and wife [[Hagar in Islam|Hājar]] (Hagar) in the valley at [[Allah]]'s command.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} Some people from the Yemeni tribe of [[Jurhum]] settled with them, and Isma'il reportedly married two women, one after divorcing the first, on Ibrahim's advice. At least one man of the Jurhum helped Ismāʿīl and his father to construct or according to Islamic narratives, reconstruct, the ''[[Kaaba|Ka'bah]]'' ('Cube'),<ref>{{qref|2|127|b=y}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref>{{qref|22|25-37|b=y}}</ref> which would have social, religious, political and historical implications for the site and region.<ref name="Glasse1991">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Glassé|first=Cyril|title=Kaaba|encyclopedia=The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam|publisher=[[HarperSanFrancisco]]|year=1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dlPuAAAAMAAJ|isbn=0-0606-3126-0}}</ref><ref name="Lings1983">{{cite book |last=Lings |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Lings |title=Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources |publisher=Islamic Texts Society |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-946621-33-0|title-link=Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources }}</ref>

Muslims see the mention of a pilgrimage at the [[Bakkah#Valley of the Bakha|Valley of the Bakha]] in the [[Old Testament]] chapter [[Psalm 84]]:3–6 as a reference to Mecca, similar to the Quran at Surah {{qref|3|96|}} In the ''[[Al Imran|'āl ʿimrān]]'', a commentary on the [[Samaritans|Samaritan]] [[midrash]]ic chronology of the Patriarchs, of unknown date but probably composed in the 10th century CE, it is claimed that Mecca was built by the sons of [[Nebaioth]], the eldest son of Ismāʿīl or [[Ishmael]].<ref>Crown, Alan David (2001) [https://books.google.com/books?id=e5iW24esf-sC&pg=PA27 ''Samaritan Scribes and Manuscripts'']. Mohr Siebeck. p. 27</ref><ref>Crone, Patricia and Cook, M.A. (1977) [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ta08AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA22 ''Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World,''] Cambridge University Press. p. 22.</ref><ref>Lazarus-Yafeh, Hava (1992). [https://books.google.com/books?id=mzQABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 ''Intertwined Worlds: Medieval Islam and Bible Criticism'']. Princeton University Press. pp.61–62</ref>

====Thamudic inscriptions====
Some [[Thamudic]] inscriptions which were discovered in southern [[Jordan]] contained names of some individuals such as ''ʿAbd Mekkat'' ({{lang|ar|{{Script|Arab|عَبْد مَكَّة}}}}, "Servant of Mecca").<ref>G. Lankester Harding & Enno Littman, Some Thamudic Inscriptions from the Hashimite Kingdom of the Jordan (Leiden, Netherlands – 1952), p. 19, Inscription No. 112A</ref>

Some related inscriptions contained personal names such as ''Makki'' ({{lang|ar|مَكِّي}}, "Makkan, of Makkah"), but Jawwad Ali from the [[University of Baghdad]] suggested that there's also a probability of a tribe named "Makkah".<ref>Jawwad Ali, The Detailed History of Arabs before Islam (1993), Vol. 4, p. 11</ref>

====Under the Quraish====
Sometime in the 5th century, the Ka'bah was a place of worship for the deities of [[Arabian mythology|Arabia's pagan tribes]]. Mecca's most important [[Paganism|pagan]] [[deity]] was [[Hubal]], which had been placed there by the ruling [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraish]] tribe.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Hawting, G.R.|year=1980|title=The Disappearance and Rediscovery of Zamzam and the 'Well of the Ka'ba'|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=43|issue=1|pages=44–54 (44)|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00110523|jstor=616125|s2cid=162654756}}</ref><ref>[[#iw|''Islamic World'']], p. 20</ref> and remained until the [[Conquest of Mecca]] by [[Muhammad]].{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} In the 5th century, the Quraish took control of Mecca, and became skilled merchants and traders. In the 6th century, they joined the lucrative [[spice trade]], since battles elsewhere were diverting [[trade route]]s from dangerous sea routes to more secure overland routes. The [[Byzantine Empire]] had previously controlled the [[Red Sea]], but [[piracy]] had been increasing.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} Another previous route that ran through the [[Persian Gulf]] via the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] rivers was also being threatened by exploitations from the [[Sassanid Empire]], and was being disrupted by the [[Lakhmids]], the [[Ghassanids]], and the [[Roman–Persian Wars]]. Mecca's prominence as a trading center also surpassed the cities of [[Petra]] and [[Palmyra]].<ref name="EIE">"Makka – The pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''</ref><ref name="lapidus-14">[[#Lapidus|Lapidus]], p. 14</ref> The Sassanids however did not always pose a threat to Mecca, as in 575 they protected it from a Yemeni invasion, led by its Christian leader [[Abraha]]. The tribes of southern Arabia asked the Persian king [[Khosrau I]] for aid, in response to which he came south to Arabia with foot-soldiers and a fleet of ships near Mecca.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bauer, S. Wise|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1u2oP2RihIgC&pg=PA243|title=The history of the medieval world: from the conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2010|isbn=978-0-393-05975-5|page=243}}</ref>

By the middle of the 6th century, there were three major settlements in northern [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], all along the south-western coast that borders the Red Sea, in a habitable region between the sea and the Hejaz mountains to the east. Although the area around Mecca was completely barren, it was the wealthiest of the three settlements with abundant water from the renowned [[Zamzam Well]] and a position at the crossroads of major [[Camel train|caravan]] routes.<ref name="world-13" />

The harsh conditions and terrain of the Arabian peninsula meant a near-constant state of conflict between the [[Tribes of Arabia|local tribes]], but once a year they would declare a truce and converge upon Mecca in an annual pilgrimage. Up to the 7th century, this journey was intended for religious reasons by the pagan Arabs to pay homage to their shrine, and to drink [[Zamzam Well|Zamzam]]. However, it was also the time each year that disputes would be arbitrated, debts would be resolved, and trading would occur at Meccan fairs. These annual events gave the tribes a sense of common identity and made Mecca an important focus for the peninsula.<ref name="lapidus-16">[[#Lapidus|Lapidus]], pp. 16–17</ref>

====Year of the Elephant (570)====
The "[[Year of the Elephant]]" is the name in [[Islam]]ic history for the year approximately equating to 570–572, when, according to Islamic sources such as [[Ibn Ishaq]], [[Abraha]] descended upon Mecca, riding an elephant, with a large army after building a [[Church (building)|cathedral]] at [[Sanaa|San'aa]], named ''al-Qullays'' in honor of the [[Negus]] of [[Axum]]. It gained widespread fame, even gaining attention from the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref name="Hajjah" /> Abraha attempted to divert the pilgrimage of the Arabs from the Ka'bah to al-Qullays, effectively converting them to Christianity. According to Islamic tradition, this was the year of [[Muhammad]]'s birth.<ref name="Hajjah">{{cite book |last=Hajjah Adil |first=Amina |title=Prophet Muhammad |url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadmessenge0000adil |year=2002 |publisher=[[Islamic Supreme Council of America|ISCA]] |isbn=1-930409-11-7 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Abraha allegedly sent a messenger named Muhammad ibn Khuza'i to Mecca and [[Tihamah]] with a message that al-Qullays was both much better than other houses of worship and purer, having not been defiled by the housing of idols.<ref name="Hajjah" /> When Muhammad ibn Khuza'i got as far as the land of [[Banu Kinanah|Kinana]], the people of the lowland, knowing what he had come for, sent a man of [[Banu Hudhayl|Hudhayl]] called ʿUrwa bin Hayyad al-Milasi, who shot him with an arrow, killing him. His brother Qays who was with him, fled to Abraha and told him the news, which increased his rage and fury and he swore to raid the Kinana tribe and destroy the Ka'bah. Ibn Ishaq further states that one of the men of the [[Quraysh]] tribe was angered by this, and going to Sana'a, entering the church at night and defiling it; widely assumed to have done so by [[defecation|defecating]] in it.<ref name="DACB">[http://www.dacb.org/stories/ethiopia/_abraha.html "Abraha."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113213718/http://www.dacb.org/stories/ethiopia/_abraha.html|date=13 January 2016}} ''Dictionary of African Christian Biographies''. 2007. (last accessed 11 April 2007)</ref><ref name="Muller">Müller, Walter W. (1987) [http://www.yemenweb.com/info/_disc/0000002c.htm "Outline of the History of Ancient Southern Arabia"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010075912/http://www.yemenweb.com/info/_disc/0000002c.htm|date=10 October 2014}}, in Werner Daum (ed.), ''Yemen: 3000 Years of Art and Civilisation in Arabia Felix''.</ref>

Abraha marched upon the Ka'bah with a large army, which included one or more [[war elephant]]s, intending to demolish it. When news of the advance of his army came, the Arab tribes of Quraysh, Kinanah, [[Banu Khuza'a|Khuza'a]] and Hudhayl united in the defense of the Ka'bah and the city. A man from the [[Himyarite Kingdom]] was sent by Abraha to advise them that Abraha only wished to demolish the Ka'bah and if they resisted, they would be crushed. [[Abdul Muttalib]] told the Meccans to seek refuge in the hills while he and some members of the Quraysh remained within the precincts of the Kaaba. Abraha sent a dispatch inviting Abdul-Muttalib to meet with Abraha and discuss matters. When Abdul-Muttalib left the meeting he was heard saying: "The Owner of this House is its Defender, and I am sure he will save it from the attack of the adversaries and will not dishonor the servants of His House."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-10-18|title=The Year of the Elephant|url=https://www.al-islam.org/life-muhammad-prophet-sayyid-saeed-akhtar-rizvi/year-elephant|access-date=2021-07-07|website=Al-Islam.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Significance Behind Prophet Mohammad's Birth in the Year of the Elephant|url=http://aliftaa.jo/ArticleEn.aspx?ArticleId=2462|access-date=2021-07-07|website=aliftaa.jo}}</ref>

Abraha eventually attacked Mecca. However, the lead elephant, known as Mahmud,<ref>{{cite web|author=ʿAbdu r-Rahmān ibn Nāsir as-Saʿdī|title=Tafsir of Surah al Fil – The Elephant (Surah 105)|date=23 December 2009 |url=http://islaam.net/main/display.php?id=1480&category=176|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220090653/http://islaam.net/main/display.php?id=1480&category=176|archive-date=20 December 2010|access-date=15 March 2013|translator=Abū Rumaysah |publisher=Islamic Network|quote=This elephant was called Mahmud and it was sent to Abrahah from [[Negus|Najashi]], the king of Abyssinia, particularly for this expedition.}}</ref> is said to have stopped at the boundary around Mecca and refused to enter. It has been theorized that an epidemic such as by [[smallpox]] could have caused such a failed invasion of Mecca.<ref>{{cite journal|author-link=John S. Marr|vauthors=Marr JS, Hubbard E, Cathey JT|date=2015|title=The Year of the Elephant|journal=WikiJournal of Medicine|volume=2|issue=1|doi=10.15347/wjm/2015.003|doi-access=free}}<br />In turn citing: {{cite web|author=Willan R.|date=1821|title=Miscellaneous works: comprising An inquiry into the antiquity of the small-pox, measles, and scarlet fever, now first published; Reports on the diseases in London, a new ed.; and detached papers on medical subjects, collected from various periodical publi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXEFAAAAQAAJ|publisher=Cadell|page=488}}</ref> The reference to the story in [[Quran]] is rather short. According to the 105th [[Sura]]h of the Quran, [[Al-Fil]], the next day, a dark cloud of small birds sent by Allah appeared. The birds carried small rocks in their beaks, and bombarded the Ethiopian forces, and smashed them to a state like that of eaten straw.<ref>{{qref|105|1-5|b=y}}</ref>

====Economy====
Camel caravans, said to have first been used by Muhammad's great-grandfather, were a major part of Mecca's bustling economy. Alliances were struck between the merchants in Mecca and the local nomadic tribes, who would bring goods – leather, livestock, and metals mined in the local mountains – to Mecca to be loaded on the caravans and carried to cities in [[Syria (region)|Shaam]] and [[Iraq]].<ref name="world">[[#iw|''Islamic World'']], pp. 17–18</ref> Historical accounts also provide some indication that goods from other continents may also have flowed through Mecca. Goods from Africa and the Far East passed through en route to Syria including spices, leather, medicine, cloth, and slaves; in return Mecca received money, weapons, cereals, and wine, which in turn were distributed throughout Arabia.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} The Meccans signed treaties with both the Byzantines and the [[Bedouin]]s, and negotiated safe passages for caravans, giving them water and pasture rights. Mecca became the center of a loose confederation of client tribes, which included those of the [[Banu Tamim]]. Other regional powers such as the [[Habesha people|Abyssinians]], Ghassanids, and Lakhmids were in decline leaving Meccan trade to be the primary binding force in Arabia in the late 6th century.<ref name="lapidus-16" />