By Will Dossett

Azougui

Azougui was the first capital of the Almoravid empire, which ruled from the southern fringes of the Sahel to Iberia in the 11th century. The area is one of the oldest and most important oasis sites in the region, with over 20,000 date palms, a complex system of canal irrigation, and an impressive fortress made of dry stone. As well as an important center of trade across the desert, Azougui was a natural refuge, safe behind high cliffs with few openings, and a religious center.

Aoudaghost (or Awdaghust) was an important terminus in the trans-Saharan trade between the 8th and 12th centuries CE. Medieval Arab writers describe it as a flourishing, wealthy and well-known city. Salt from the Sahara was traded for gold brought north from the Ghanaian empire in a thriving town well supplied with wheat, dates, cucumbers, and honey. A largely Berber town, Aoudaghost eventually fell under the sway of the Ghana empire, then was sacked by the Almoravids. The town’s population and importance dwindled, and as the climate dried it was abandoned by the 15th century. 

Aoudaghost

Kumbi Saleh

Kumbi Saleh was the capital of the Ghana empire, inhabited between the 4th and 13th centuries CE. The city, one of the largest in the Sahel, dominated many of its neighbors and the lucrative trade in gold, until it was eventually surpassed as a trading center by the Timbuktu. While the archaeological site is very large, its identification with Kumbi Saleh is disputed by some scholars. 

Sijilmassa was founded by Berbers in 757 CE and thrived for centuries as a northern hub of the trans-Saharan trade. The location in the Tafilalt basin distanced the inhabitants from the traditional centers of power in the Maghreb, ensuring both the city-state’s independence control of the gold coming out of West Africa. Eventually Sijilmassa fell under the sway of successive empires, the Almoravids, the Almohads, and the Marinids, losing its trade monopoly. Conflicts between imperial factions eventually broke Morocco into competing power centers, and Sijilmassa was destroyed in the late 14th century. 

Sijilmassa

Abalessa

Abalessa was once the main city in the Hoggar mountain area of what is now Algeria. It is home to the monumental tomb of Tin Hinan, the legendary ancestor of the Tuaregs. This powerful queen lived in the 4th century, and was buried in what are likely the remains of an old Roman fort, with jewelry that showcase the power and wealth of her domain. 

Garama was the capital of the Garamantes, a powerful proto-Berber nation that commanded the rich Saharan trade networks and clashed with the Romans. Watered by foggara, irrigation tunnels cut into the rock, the city may have held as many as 10,000 people at its height. The shallow water table at the foot of a cliff still supports several farming towns, including Germa, Garama’s modern descendant. The fate of the Garamantes is still debated by scholars, but Roman invasion and climate change are likely causes of their gradual downfall. Yet the culture did not disappear altogether. The ancient ruins were inhabited as recently as the 1930s, and the Garamantean script, which can still be seen on the ruins, is close enough to modern Tifinagh for local Berbers to decipher. 

Garama

Siwa

The Siwa Oasis has been inhabited for millennia and was a part of the ancient Egyptian kingdom. The oasis boasts impressive archaeological ruins including the Oracle of Ammon, which Alexander the Great famously consulted, some Roman remains, and several fortress villages. The inhabitants of Siwa are Berbers, the only Amazigh group native to Egypt, and speak a unique dialect known as Siwi.

Avdat – Avdat, originally named Obodas after a Nabatean king, was an important waystation on the incense route from the Mediterranean to Yemen. Settled beginning in the 4th century BCE, the Roman annexation of Petra forced the inhabitants to turn towards agriculture rather than trade, and they developed a system of cisterns to capture and use water. An earthquake closely followed by the Arab invasion in the 600s CE led to the abandonment of the town.  

Avdat

Petra

The “rose-red city half as old as time,” Petra is one of the most iconic and beautiful sites in the world. Founded in the second millennium BCE, Petra was the capital of the Nabateans for centuries, flourishing thanks to a complex system of water harvesting and a hold on the lucrative spice trade. Although well protected in a mountain valley, the city fell to the Romans in 106 CE and became an integral part of the Empire. By the Arab conquest, however, changing trade routes and an earthquake had brought about Petra’s decline. The ancient city is now the center of a thriving tourist trade.

Mada’in Saleh – Mada’in Saleh is the modern name for Hegra, the second most important Nabatean city after Petra. An important stop on the northern end of the incense route to Yemen, Hegra flourished in the first century CE. Many of the large rock-hewn tombs, similar to those at Petra, bear inscriptions in the Nabatean script giving their owners’ names and date of construction. The city gradually declined after the Roman conquest of the area in the early 100s CE. The name “Mada’in Saleh” means “place of Saleh,” an Islamic prophet who, according to the Quran, preached against idol worship in the city, fleeing before Allah destroyed it.

Mada’in Saleh

Palmyra

One of the most famous desert cities in the Middle East, the oasis city of Palmyra is well known for its ancient ruins and, unfortunately, their recent destruction by ISIL. Known as Tadmur before the Roman era, the city has for millennia linked the Mediterranean world with Mesopotamia, becoming a powerful city-state and then a critical part of the Roman Empire. After the Arab conquest, its importance declined. Today, the geometric layout of the ancient city is easily visible, dotted with imposing temples to Semitic deities. These pagan structures attracted the attention of the Islamic State, which destroyed several of these sites when they controlled the city in 2015-2016. 

Hatra

The city-state of Hatra was an important caravan stop, trading center, border fortress and cultural melting pot in Mesopotamia for centuries. Unusually for its location before the Islamic conquest, the city was ruled by Arabs. Although Hatra endured numerous battles and sieges during wars between the Roman and Parthian Empires, it was eventually conquered and destroyed in the 3rd century CE. ISIL damaged and destroyed some of the ruins and artifacts during the time they controlled the city in 2014-2015.

Qaryat al-Faw – Qaryat al Faw was once a powerful center of trade, thriving between the 4th century BCE and the 4th century CE. Located on the western edge of the Rub al-Khali, the great sand desert of central Arabia, it was an important stopping point for caravans travelling to and from the Red Sea, Yemen, and the Persian Gulf. One of Saudi Arabia’s most important archeological sites, Qaryat al Faw preserves the remains of sophisticated water management systems and temples to a variety of gods worshipped before the rise of Islam. 

Qaryat al-Faw

Ma’rib

Ma’rib was the capital of the South Arabian state of Saba, likely the same as the biblical kingdom of Sheba. This kingdom’s fabulous wealth derived from its monopoly on the trade in frankincense. Ma’rib was also sustained by an enormous dam, one of the great engineering feats of the ancient world, whose irrigation waters made the area around the city a lush and productive oasis. As Saba declined, the great dam fell into disrepair and eventually collapsed, an event mentioned in the Quran. This devastated the area and prompted an enormous outmigration. The modern city of Ma’rib stands a few miles north of the ancient ruins, with a new dam.   

Ubar. Iram of the Pillars. For hundreds of years, these names have conjured the myth of the Atlantis of the Sands, a long-lost city destroyed by Allah to punish its disbelieving inhabitants. Mentioned in the Quran as a warning, scholars have long debated whether the city is real or mythical, as well as what the best name for it may be (Ubar is the most popularly known but may in fact be the name of the people or region; Iram of the Pillars is the name used in the Quran). Rediscovered in the 20th century, archaeologists believe Ubar may have been destroyed when the city collapsed into a cavern sometime in the 1st or 2nd century CE. While debate continues whether this site is the one attested in the Quran, it was certainly, in its time, a rich and important center of trade for frankincense and myrrh.  

Ubar