Karaz
City of Karaz كرز | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Anthem: N/A | |
| Status | Active |
| Capital | Ehado |
| Official languages | Arabic |
| Religion | Islam |
| Government | Federal Constitutional Monarchy |
• Emir | Taimour Abdelsamad |
| Establishment | |
• De jure independence from Rovia | 12 August 2024 |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 5 |
| Currency | Saudi Riyal (SAR) |
Karaz, officially known as the State of Karaz, is a self-proclaimed state that is in free association with the State of Rovia. It borders Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
History
Pre-Islam
Traces of early activity in the area are testified by some Thamudic inscriptions that were excavated in Wadi Briman (وادي بريمان), east of the city, and Wadi Boweb (وادي بويب), northwest of the city. The oldest Mashrabiya found in Jeddah dates back to the pre-Islamic era. Some believe that Jeddah had been inhabited before Alexander the Great, who had a naval expedition to the Red Sea, by fishermen in the Red Sea, who considered it a center from which they sailed out into the sea as well as a place for relaxation and well-being. Excavations in the old city have been interpreted as that Jeddah was founded as a fishing hamlet by the Yemeni Quda'a tribe (Arabic: بني قضاعة), who left central Yemen to settle in Makkah after the collapse of Marib Dam in Yemen in 115 BC.
Middle Ages
Jeddah first achieved prominence around A.D. 647, when the third Muslim Caliph, Uthman Ibn Affan, turned it into a port making it the port of Makkah instead of Al Shoaib port southwest of Mecca. The Umayyads inherited the entire Rashidun Caliphate including Hejaz and ruled from 661 to 750. In 702, Jeddah was briefly occupied by pirates from the Kingdom of Axum. However, Jeddah remained a key civilian harbor, serving fishermen and pilgrims traveling by sea for the Hajj. It is also believed that the Sharifdom of Mecca, an honorary Viceroy to the holy land, was first appointed in this period of the Islamic Caliphate. In essence, Jeddah was established as the main city of the historic Hijaz province and a historic port for pilgrims arriving by sea to perform their Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. In 750 in the Abbasid Revolution, the Abbasids successfully took control of almost the whole Umayyad Empire, excluding Morocco (Maghrib) and Spain (Al-Andalus). From 876, Jeddah and the surrounding area became the object of wars between the Abbasids and the Tulunids of Egypt, who at one point gained control of Egypt, Syria, Jordan , and the Hejaz. The power struggle between the Tulunid Governors and the Abbasids over Hejaz lasted for nearly twenty-five years until the Tulunids finally withdrew from Arabia in 900 AD.
In 930 AD, the main Hejazi cities of Medina, Mecca, and Taif were heavily sacked by the Qarmatians. It is probable, though not historically confirmed, that Jeddah itself was attacked by Qarmatians. Soon after, in early 935, the Ikhshidids, the new rulers of Egypt, appeared to have taken control of the Hejaz region. There are no historical records that detail the Ikhshidid rule of Hejaz. At this point, Jeddah was probably still unfortified and without walls. In 969 AD, the Fatimids from the Matghreb took control in Egypt from the Ikhshidids and expanded their empire to the surrounding regions, including The Hijaz and Jeddah. The Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and its Song Dynasty, which eventually determined the economic course of Tihamah during the High Middle Ages.
After Saladin's conquest of Jerusalem in 1171, he proclaimed himself sultan of Egypt, after dissolving the Fatimid Caliphate upon the death of al-Adid, thus establishing the Ayyubid dynasty. Ayyubid conquests in Hejaz included Jeddah, which became part of the Ayyubid Sultanate in 1177 during the leadership of Sharif Ibn Abul-Hashim Al-Thalab (1094–1201). During their relatively short-lived tenure, the Ayyubids ushered in an era of economic prosperity in the lands they ruled and the facilities and patronage provided by the Ayyubids led to a resurgence in intellectual activity in the Islamic world. This period was also marked by an Ayyubid process of vigorously strengthening Sunni Muslim dominance in the region by constructing numerous madrasas (Islamic schools) in their major cities. Jeddah attracted Muslim sailors and merchants from Sindh, Southeast Asia and East Africa, and other distant regions.
In 1254, following events in Cairo and the dissolution of the Ayyubid Empire, Hejaz became a part of the Mamluk Sultanate.
The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, having found his way around the Cape and obtained pilots from the coast of Zanzibar in AD 1497, pushed his way across the Indian Ocean to the shores of Malabar and Calicut, attacked fleets that carried freight and Muslim pilgrims from India to the Red Sea, and struck terror into the surrounding potentates. The Sultanates of Gujarat and Yemen turned for help to Egypt. Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri accordingly fitted out a fleet of 50 vessels under the Governor of Jeddah, Emir Hussein the Kurd (also known as Mirocem). Jeddah was soon fortified with a wall, using forced labor, as a harbor of refuge from the Portuguese, allowing Arabia and the Red Sea to be protected. Together with the Ottoman fleet of Selman Reis, Hussein successfully defended Jeddah in 1517 from the Portuguese fleets of Lopo Soares de Albergaria, soon before the fall of the Mamluk regime to the Ottoman Empire
Modern Era
Ottoman Rule
he Ottomans rebuilt the weak walls of Jeddah in 1525, with the new stone wall including six watchtowers and six city gates. They were constructed to defend against the Portuguese attacks. Of the six gates, the Gate of Mecca was the eastern gate and the Gate of Al-Magharibah, facing the port, was the western gate. The Gate of Sharif faced south. The other gates were the Gate of Al-Bunt, Gate of Al-Sham (also called Gate of Al-Sharaf), and Gate of Medina, facing north. The Turks also built The Qishla of Jeddah, a small castle for the city soldiers. In the 19th century, these seven gates were minimized into four giant gates with four towers. These giant gates were the Gate of Sham to the north, the Gate of Mecca to the east, the Gate of Sharif to the south, and the Gate of Al-Magharibah on the seaside.
The Hejaz became an Ottoman Eyalet, while remaining fairly autonomous. During this time, Jeddah began growing and turning into an important city for maritime trade. The Portuguese attempted for a second time to attack Jeddah, but failed.
In Jeddah, parts of the city wall in still survive today in the old city. Even though the Portuguese were successfully repelled from the city, fleets in the Indian Ocean were at their mercy. The Portuguese soldiers' cemetery can still be found within the old city today and is referred to as the site of the Christian Graves. Ahmed Al-Jazzar, the Ottoman military man mainly known for his role in the Siege of Acre, spent the earlier part of his career at Jeddah.In 1750, he killed some seventy rioting nomads in retaliation for the killing of his commander, Abdullah Bey, earning him the nickname "Jezzar" (butcher).
Karaz used to be part of Rovia until 12 August 2024, when it became a sovereign state while having free association with Rovia.
Geography
Karaz is located in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal plain (called Tihamah)(تهامة الحجاز), which is in the lower Hijaz mountains. Karaz features an arid climate, with a tropical temperature range. Unlike other Rovian cities, Karaz retains its warm temperature in winter, which can range from 15 °C (59 °F) at dawn to 28 °C (82 °F) in the afternoon. Summer temperatures are extremely hot, often breaking the 40 °C (104 °F) mark in the afternoon. Summers are also quite steamy, with dew points often exceeding 27 °C (80 °F), particularly in September. Rainfall in Jeddah is generally sparse, and usually occurs in small amounts in November and December, however, heavy thunderstorms are common in the winter.
Climate
| Climate data for Karaz, State of Rovia (1985-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.0 (95) |
36.0 (96.8) |
40.2 (104.4) |
44.5 (112.1) |
48.2 (118.8) |
52.0 (125.6) |
47.0 (116.6) |
46.0 (114.8) |
48.0 (118.4) |
46.4 (115.5) |
40.0 (104) |
37.0 (98.6) |
52.0 (125.6) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.0 (84.2) |
29.5 (85.1) |
31.8 (89.2) |
34.9 (94.8) |
37.2 (99) |
38.3 (100.9) |
39.4 (102.9) |
38.8 (101.8) |
37.6 (99.7) |
36.7 (98.1) |
33.5 (92.3) |
30.7 (87.3) |
34.78 (94.61) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.5 (76.1) |
24.8 (76.6) |
26.1 (79) |
28.5 (83.3) |
30.2 (86.4) |
31.2 (88.2) |
32.7 (90.9) |
32.7 (90.9) |
31.5 (88.7) |
29.8 (85.6) |
27.4 (81.3) |
25.9 (78.6) |
28.78 (83.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 20.3 (68.5) |
20.1 (68.2) |
21.4 (70.5) |
22.1 (71.8) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.8 (76.6) |
26.6 (79.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
26.4 (79.5) |
24.1 (75.4) |
22.3 (72.1) |
21.0 (69.8) |
23.39 (74.11) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11.0 (51.8) |
9.8 (49.6) |
10.0 (50) |
12.0 (53.6) |
16.4 (61.5) |
20.0 (68) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.0 (71.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
15.6 (60.1) |
15.0 (59) |
11.4 (52.5) |
9.8 (49.6) |
| Average Rainfall mm (inches) | 9.9 (0.39) |
3.7 (0.146) |
2.9 (0.114) |
2.8 (0.11) |
0.2 (0.008) |
0.0 (0) |
0.3 (0.012) |
0.5 (0.02) |
0.1 (0.004) |
1.1 (0.043) |
26.4 (1.039) |
13.1 (0.516) |
61 (2.402) |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 57 | 56 | 58 | 53 | 59 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 63 | 60 |
| [citation needed] | |||||||||||||