The Mecca (Makkah) old map shows evolutions of Mecca (Makkah) city. This historical map of Mecca (Makkah) will allow you to travel in the past and in the history of Mecca (Makkah) in Saudi Arabia. The Mecca (Makkah) ancient map is downloadable in PDF, printable and free.

The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus who flourished between 60 BCE and 30 BCE writes about the isolated region of Arabia in his work Bibliotheca historica describing a holy shrine that Muslims see as referring to the Kaaba at Mecca (Makkah) "And a temple has been set-up there , which is very holy and exceedingly revered by all Arabians ". The Ptolemymay have called the city "Macoraba", though this identification is controversial. Some time in the 5th century CE, the Kaaba was a place of worship for the deities of Arabia pagan tribes as you can see in Mecca (Makkah) historical map. Mecca (Makkah) most important pagan deity was Hubal , which had been placed there by the ruling Quraysh tribe and remained until the 7th century CE. In the 5th century, the Quraysh took control of Mecca (Makkah), and became skilled merchants and traders. In the 6th century they joined the lucrative spice trade as well, since the historical battles in other parts of the world were causing trade routes to divert from the dangerous sea routes to the more secure overland routes.

The Byzantine Empire had previously controlled the Red Sea , but piracy had been on the increase. 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, as well as being disrupted by theLakhmids , the Ghassanids , and the Roman – Persian Wars as its shown in Mecca (Makkah) historical map. Mecca (Makkah) prominence as a trading center also surpassed the cities of Petra and Palmyra. The Sassanids however did not always pose a threat to Mecca as in 575 CE they actually protected the Arabian city from invasion of the Kingdom of Axum, led by its Christian leader Abraha. The historical tribes of the southern Arabia, asked the Persian king Khosrau Ifor aid, in response to which he came south to Arabia with both foot-soldiers and a fleet of ships into Mecca. The Persian intervention prevented Christianity from spreading easterward into Arabia, and Mecca and the Islamic prophet Muhammad who was at the time a six year boy in the Quraysh tribe "would not grow up under the cross."

By the middle of the 6th century, there were three major historical settlements in northern Arabia , all along the south-western coast that borders the Red Sea, in a habitable region between the sea and the great desert to the east as its mentioned in Mecca (Makkah) historical map. This area, known as the Hejaz, featured three settlements grown around oases , where water was available. In the center of the Hijaz was Yathrib, later renamed Medina , from "Madinatun Nabi", or "City of the Prophet." 250 mi (400 km) south of Yathrib was the mountain city Ta'if , north-west of which lay Mecca (Makkah). Although the area around Mecca (Makkah) was completely barren, it was the wealthiest of the three settlements with abundant water via the renowned Zamzam Welland a position at the crossroads of major caravan routes. The harsh conditions and terrain of the Arabian peninsula meant a near-constant state of conflict between the local tribes , but once a year they would declare a truce and converge upon Mecca in an annual pilgrimage.

The Mecca (Makkah) vintage map give a unique insight into the history and evolution of Mecca (Makkah) city. This vintage map of Mecca (Makkah) with its antique style will allow you to travel in the past of Mecca (Makkah) in Saudi Arabia. The Mecca (Makkah) vintage map is downloadable in PDF, printable and free.

Up to the 7th century, the journey of the annual pilgrimage was intended for religious reasons by the pagan Arabs to pay homage to their shrine, and to drink from the vintage Zamzam Well. 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. Camel caravans, said to have first been used by Muhammad great-grandfather, were a major part of Mecca (Makkah) bustling economy. Alliances were struck between the merchants in Mecca (Makkah) and the local nomadic tribes, who would bring goods - leather, livestock, and metals mined in the local mountains - to Mecca (Makkah) to be loaded on the caravans and carried to cities in Syria and Iraq as you can see in Mecca (Makkah) vintage map. 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 on 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.

The Meccans signed treaties with both the Byzantines and the Bedouins , and negotiated safe passages for caravans, giving them water and pasture rights. Mecca (Makkah) became the vintage center of a loose confederation of client tribes, which included those of the Banu Tamim. Other regional powers such as the Abyssinian, Ghassan, and Lakhm were in decline leaving Meccan trade to be the primary binding force in Arabia in the late 6th century as its shown in Mecca (Makkah) vintage map. Mecca (Makkah) was never capital of any of the Islamic states but Muslim rulers did contribute to its upkeep. During the reigns of Umar (634-44 CE) and Uthman ibn Affan (644–56) concerns of flooding caused the caliphs to bring in Christian engineers to build dams in the low-lying quarters and construct dykes and embankments to protect the area round the Kaaba.

In 930, Mecca (Makkah) was attacked and sacked by Qarmatians, a millenarian Ismaili Muslim sect led by Abū-Tāhir Al-Jannābī and centered in eastern Arabia. The Black Death pandemic hit Mecca (Makkah) in 1349. In 1517, the Sharif, Barakat bin Muhammed, acknowledged the supremacy of the Ottoman Caliph but retained a great degree of local autonomy. In 1803 the vintage city was captured by the First Saudi State, which held Mecca (Makkah) until 1813. This was a massive blow to the prestige of the (Turkish) Ottoman Empire, which had exercised sovereignty over the holy city since 1517. The Ottomans assigned the task of bringing Mecca (Makkah) back under Ottoman control to their powerful Khedive (viceroy) of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha. Muhammad Ali Pasha successfully returned Mecca (Makkah) to Ottoman control in 1813. In 1818, followers of the Salafi juristic school were again defeated, but some of the Al Saud clan survived and founded the Second Saudi State that lasted until 1891 and lead on to the present country of Saudi Arabia as its mentioned in Mecca (Makkah) vintage map.