Roads of Arabia

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ROADS OF ARABIA
The National Museum exhibits a wide variety of collections on various themes related to
the environment, history and civilization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from prehistory to
the dawn of the modern world. Each of the main rooms is devoted to a specific theme.
Eight main galleries house the permanent collections and two other rooms are dedicated
to temporary exhibits. The collections are arranged in chronological order and the rooms’ interiors
were designed to evoke the historical period in question, enabling visitors to discover the
works in a series of different architectural settings.
The National Museum is organized in eight sections:
– “Man and the Universe”: This section explores four main themes, including the creation of
the universe and Earth, and the natural factors behind the formation of the Earth’s surface,
including a number of fossils and geological samples. The different natural environments that
characterize the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are illustrated. The fourth and final theme is devoted
to the oldest archaeological discoveries, artefacts of the ancient peoples who once roamed the
Arabian Peninsula.
– “Pre-Islamic Arabian Kingdoms”: This room is divided into three sections retracing the
period from the 6th millennium BC to the 2nd century AD. The displays portray the ancient
civilizations that successively inhabited the peninsula up to the last Arabian kingdoms.
– “Jahiliyya” (“age of ignorance”): Named after a term designating the Pre-Islamic era, this section
informs the public on the religious, social and political contexts that prevailed in Arabia at
the time. It also presents the best-known cities of the period.
– “The Prophet’s Mission”: This room is devoted to the city of Mecca, from the birth of the
prophet Muhammad to the revelations made to him by Archangel Gabriel in the cave of Hira
and his exile (“Hegira”) to the Yathrib oasis in Medina. The displays illustrate the importance
of this historical period, which gave rise to a new dating system, the Muslim calendar.
– “Islam and the Arabian Peninsula”: This section presents the main events that took place during
the prophet Muhammad’s lifetime, under the reigns of the earliest caliphs, and then under
the Umayyads, Abbassids, Mamluks and lastly the Ottomans. The room is a trove of precious
information on the knowledge of Islamic civilization in architecture, calligraphy and the theoretical
and natural sciences.
– “The First and Second Saudi States”: Their history is presented in a special room.
– “The Unification of the Kingdom”: This period begins with the conquest of Riyadh by King
Abdulaziz on the fifth day of the month of shawwal 1319 H. (January 15, 1902), marking the
founding of the modern Saudi State. The room is distinguished by its circular design, with a
display presenting the different regions of the kingdom in the order of their integration into the
state. A documentary film recounting the highlights of this formidable undertaking is projected
in the middle of the room.
– “The Hajj (pilgrimage) and the Two Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina”: This last section
traces the history of the Holy Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram) of Mecca and the Mosque of the
Prophet (al-Masjid al-Nabawi) in Medina, as well as the stages in their construction. The main
theme of this room is the architectural development of the two mosques since the founding of
the Saudi State and their expansion to accommodate ever-greater numbers of pilgrims. The
archaeological discoveries and objects related to prayer and meditation are on display here that
bring the ancient pilgrimage routes and their way stations back to life.
APPENDICIES
Map of the National Museum in Riyadh
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