Humayma Explained

Humayma
Native Name:	Arabic: الحميمة
Map Type:	Jordan
Map Size:	250
Location:	Jordan
Region:	Aqaba Governorate
Coordinates:	29.95°N 35.3469°W

Humayma (Arabic: الحميمة|al-Humayma) also spelled Humeima and Humaima, is the modern name of ancient Hawara.^{[1] [2] [3]} Hawara was a trading post in southern Jordan that was founded by the Nabataean king Aretas III in the early first century BC.^[1] It is located 45 km to the south of the Nabataean capital Petra and 55 km to the north of the Red Sea port town of Aqaba.^[4]

History

Humeima was occupied from about 90 BC until the Early Islamic period,^[5] and has Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic remains, including a Roman bath and fort, five Byzantine churches, and a qasr or fortified palace from the Umayyad Period.^{[1] [3]}

Nabataean and Roman periods

The settlement was founded by Aretas III as a stop on the trade route from Petra to Gulf of Aqaba.^[6] During the Greco-Roman era, it was called "Auara" (Αὔαρα), derived from "Hawara", which means "white" in Aramaic.^[7]

Abbasid period

The town was the home of the Abbasid, or Banu Abbas family, around AD 700, who eventually overthrew the Umayyad dynasty and took over the title of caliph, and as such it was the birthplace of the first three Abbasid caliphs: As-Saffah (r. 750–754), Al-Mansur (r. 754–775) and Al-Mahdi (r. 775–785). The family residence of the Abbasids which was a large qasr had a roughly square plan, approximately 61 by 50 m, with a recessed entrance facing east, and a large central court, arguably one of the so-called desert castles, of which very little remains today.^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}

Climate

As rainfall is only 80 mm^[12] annually, an extensive water storage and irrigation works lies in the ruins.^{[2] [13]}

Notable residents

Chronologically:

• Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (died c. 716 in Humayma), an early Muslim jurist and narrator of hadith
• Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah (c. 680 - c. 744), the progenitor of the Abbasid dynasty, born in Humayma
• Sallamah Umm Abdallah, ancestor of Abbasid dynasty, mother of caliph al-Mansur and grandmother of Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi.
• Al-Mansur (714–775), the second Abbasid Caliph (r. 754–775), born at Humeima
• As-Saffah (721/722–754), the first Abbasid Caliph (r. 750–754), born at Humeima
• Al-Mahdi (744/45–785), the third Abbasid Caliph (r. 775–785), born at Humeima
• Ja'far ibn Abdallah al-Mansur, an Abbasid prince and father of Zubaidah (766 – 831)

See also

• Desert castles

Sources

• Book: Kuhnen . Hans-Peter . Ritter-Burkert . Johanna . Pfahl . Stefan Franz . Wüstengrenze des Imperium Romanum – Die Schicksalsgrenze Roms im Orient von Augustus bis Heraclius . Nünnerich-Asmus Verlag & Media GmbH . Mainz . de . 2018 . 978-3-96176-010-7 .

External links

• Photos of Humayma at the American Center of Research

Notes and References

1. Web site: . The history and goals of the Humayma Excavation ProjectT . University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada . 29 July 2019.
2. http://nabataea.net/humeima.html Humeima
3. Ghazi Bisheh, 2018. 2018."Humayma" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers.
4. Oleson, J. P., "Humaima" in: The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Archaeology in the Near East, E. M. Meyers (ed), Oxford, 1997, Vol. 3, pp.121–2.
5. http://www.mygola.com/humaima-p123536 Humaima Attraction in Aqaba Humayma
6. Ghazi Bisheh, 2018. "Humayma" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers.
7. Web site: Auara, Humayma . Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
8. Web site: Humeima Desert Castles in Jordan . jordan-travel.com .
9. Web site: Bisheh . Ghazi . Humayma . Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers (MWNF) . 2021 . 8 March 2021.
10. https://nabataea.net/explore/cities_and_sites/humeima/ Humeima
11. https://nabataea.net/explore/cities_and_sites/humeima-abbas-house/ Humeima Abbas House
12. Web site: JMD English Site.
13. http://www.jordanbeauty.com/trek%20from%20petra%20to%20wadi%20rum.html Trekking from Petra to Wadi Rum