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{{Short description|Oasis in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia}}
{{Short description|Oasis in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2008}}
{{Infobox settlement
{{Infobox settlement
|name                  = Khaybar
|name                  = Khaybar
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|leader_name            =   
|established_title      = established
|established_title      = established
|established_date      = 6th century BC
|established_date      =7thcentury
|area_total_km2        =
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|area_metro_km2        =
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'''Khaybar'''<ref group="note">Other [[Arabic transliteration|standardized Arabic transliterations]]: {{transliteration|ar|DIN|Ḫaybar}} / {{transliteration|ar|Wehr|ḵaybar}}. Anglicized pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|aɪ|b|ər}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|aɪ|b|ɑr}}.</ref> ({{lang-ar|خَيْبَر}}, {{IPA-ar|ˈxajbar|IPA}}) is an [[oasis]] in [[Medina Province (Saudi Arabia)|Medina Province]], [[Saudi Arabia]], situated some {{convert|153|km|mi|abbr=}} north of the city of [[Medina]]. Prior to the rise of [[Islam]] in the 7th century, the area had been inhabited by [[Jewish tribes of Arabia|Arabian Jewish tribes]] until it fell to [[Muslims|Muslim]] armies under [[Muhammad]] during the [[Battle of Khaybar]] in 628 CE.
'''Khaybar'''{{Efn|Other [[Arabic transliteration|standardized Arabic transliterations]]: {{transliteration|ar|DIN|Ḫaybar}} / {{transliteration|ar|Wehr|ḵaybar}}. Anglicized pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|aɪ|b|ər}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|aɪ|b|ɑr}}.}} ({{IPA|ar|ˈxæjbɑr|lang}}, {{lang|ar|خَيْبَر}}) was an [[oasis]] in [[Medina Province (Saudi Arabia)|Medina Province]], [[Saudi Arabia]], situated some {{convert|153|km|mi|abbr=}} north of the city of [[Medina]]. Prior to the arrival of [[Islam]] in the 7th century, the area had been inhabited by [[Jewish tribes of Arabia|Arabian Jewish tribes]] until it was conquered by the [[Muslims]] under [[Prophet Muhammad]] during the [[Battle of Khaybar]] in 628 CE.
 
== History ==
[[File:Pre-Islamic_Bronze_Age_Khyber_Map.png|thumb|278x278px|'''Pre-Islamic Bronze Age Khayber Map''' Black markings are outer fortifications, pink markings are  inner fortifications, brown represents elevations (i.e. valleys, plateaus, mountains)]]
 
===Bronze Age===
{{Main|Al-Natah}}
The archaeological site of [[al-Natah]] in the oasis covered about 1.5 hectares with some 500 residents, protected by ramparts. The occupation dates from around 2400 to 1500 BCE, from the late Early [[Bronze Age]] to the early Late Bronze Age.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-10-30 |title=Bronze Age Town of Al-Natah Represents 'Slow Urbanism,' Archaeologists Say |url=https://www.sci.news/archaeology/bronze-age-town-al-natah-13389.html |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Sci.News: Breaking Science News}}</ref>
 
===Pre-Islamic===
[[Pre-Islamic Arabia|Before the advent of Islam]] in the 7th century [[Common Era|CE]], indigenous Arabs and [[Jews]] made up the population of Khaybar, but when Jewish settlement in northern Arabia began is unknown.{{Efn|In a research conducted by [[David Samuel Margoliouth]] and published in the ''[[Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society]]'' in the last century, he points out the fact that the Jews of Khaybar and Yathrib (in Saudi Arabia), as early as the 6th century CE when Jews still lived there before they were evicted to places in [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and to the city of Al-[[Kufa]]h in Iraq, they did not differentiate between the non-accentuated "thau" ('''ת''') and the accentuated "tau" ('''תּ''')  although both letters have distinct phonetic sounds by those scrupulous in the use of proper [[Hebrew grammar]] (See: Margoliouth, D.S.: "A poem attributed to Al-Samau'al." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Published by the Society, 22, Albemarle St. London W. London, 1906. p. 364).}} In 567, Khaybar was invaded and purged of its Jewish inhabitants by the [[Ghassanid]] Arab [[Christian]] king [[Al-Harith ibn Jabalah]]. He later freed the captives upon his return to the [[Levant]]. A brief account of the campaign is given by [[Ibn Qutaybah]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.islamport.com/b/5/adab/%df%ca%c8%20%c7%e1%c3%cf%c8/%c7%e1%e3%da%c7%d1%dd/%c7%e1%e3%da%c7%d1%dd%20005.html |title=Ibn Qutaybah: al-Ma'arif |access-date=2009-07-20 |archive-date=2012-09-09 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909212342/http://www.islamport.com/b/5/adab/%DF%CA%C8%20%C7%E1%C3%CF%C8/%C7%E1%E3%DA%C7%D1%DD/%C7%E1%E3%DA%C7%D1%DD%20005.html }}</ref> which may also be mentioned in the sixth-century [[Harran inscription]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/harran|title=Harran Inscription: A Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscription From 568 CE|website=islamic-awareness.org|date = 29 January 2008|access-date=8 February 2026}}</ref><ref>[[Irfan Shahid|Shahid, Irfan]]: ''Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century'', p. 322</ref> ''Khaybar Oasis'' was completely surrounded by a massive wall in pre-Islamic times, similar to other large walled oases in northwestern Arabia and dates back to the Bronze Age, between ''2250 and 1950 BCE'' it would have been needed for protection against surrounding nomadic groups of populations from the desert, potentially carrying out raids on oasis settlements.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Charloux |first=Guillaume |last2=Shabo |first2=Shadi |last3=Chung-To |first3=Guillaume |last4=Depreux |first4=Bruno |last5=Guermont |first5=François |last6=Guadagnini |first6=Kévin |last7=Terrasse |first7=Thomas |last8=Bussy |first8=Mylène |last9=Alshilali |first9=Saifi |last10=Albukaai |first10=Diaa |last11=Crassard |first11=Rémy |last12=AlMushawh |first12=Munirah |date=2024-02-01 |title=The ramparts of Khaybar. Multiproxy investigation for reconstructing a Bronze Age walled oasis in Northwest Arabia |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X23005308 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |volume=53 |article-number=104355 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104355 |issn=2352-409X}}</ref>
 
===7th century===
{{Main|Jewish community of Khaybar}}
As late as the 7th century, Khaybar was still inhabited by Jews, who pioneered the cultivation of the oasis.<ref>Yāqut, ''Šihāb al-Dīn ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ḥamawī al-Rūmī al-Baġdādī'' (ed. Ferdinand Wüstenfeld), Mu'jam al-Buldān, vol. IV, Leipzig 1866, p. 542 (reprint: Ṭaharān 1965, ''Maktabat al-Asadi''); Hayyim Zeev Hirschberg, ''Israel Ba-'Arav'', Tel Aviv 1946, p. 343 (Hebrew).</ref>
 
=== Military campaigns of Muhammad ===
{{Campaignbox Campaigns of Muhammad}}
{{Main|List of expeditions of Muhammad|Battle of Khaybar}}
 
==== Expedition of Fadak ====
In 627, Muhammad ordered the [[Expedition of Fadak]] to confront the [[Banu Sa'd|Bani Sa'd]] bin Bakr tribe because Muhammad received intelligence they were planning to help the Jews of Khaybar.<ref>Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 211. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110623155725/http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch4s13.html online])</ref> In this expedition one person was captured by Muslims, and the rest of the tribe fled.<ref name="Sa'd 1967 110">{{cite book|last=Sa'd|first=Ibn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vnXAAAAMAAJ|title=Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir, By Ibn Sa'd, Volume 2|year=1967|publisher=Pakistan Historical Society|asin=B0007JAWMK|page=110|quote=SARIYYAH OF 'ALI IBN ABl TALIB AGAINST BANU SA'D IBN BAKR AT FADAK}}</ref>
 
==== Battle of Khaybar ====
The [[Battle of Khaybar]] took place in May/June 628.<ref name="Oxford University Press">{{cite book|author=Watt, W. Montgomery|author-link=Montgomery Watt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GfAGAQAAIAAJ |title=Muhammad at Medina|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1956|isbn=978-0-19-577307-1|page=2|quote=Muhammad had thus a straightforward reason for attacking Khaybar. The moment he chose for the attack May /June 628 (i/y) shortly after his return from the expedition of al-Hudaybiyah was one when it was also convenient for him to have booty to distribute to his followers whose expectations had recently been disappointed.}} ([https://archive.org/details/muhammadatmedina029655mbp free online])</ref> The Jewish [[Banu Nadir|Banū Naḍīr of Medina]], who claimed to be descendants of [[Aaron]] the priest, owned lands in Khaybar and had castles, fortresses and weapons there. After Muhammad expelled them from Medina in 625, their leaders moved to their estates in Khaybar to prepare for war against Muhammad and to recruit the aid of other non-Muslim Arab tribes. Muhammad first sent disguised guests to the homes of the leaders of Banū Naḍīr, who killed their hosts. Muhammad's victory over the Jews of Khaybar in the subsequent battle was also aided by the distance of the settlements and their castles from one another, the absence of co-ordination between the fighting forces, the death of the leader [[Sallam ibn Mishkam|Sallām ibn Mishkam]] and a Jew who showed the Muslims the secret entrances to one of the fortresses. The castles of Khaybar had tunnels and passages, which in wartime enabled the besieged to reach water sources outside the castles.<ref name="I. Ben-Ze'ev, 1946">I. Ben-Ze'ev, ''Ha-Yehudim ba-Arav'' (19572), index; H.Z. Hirschberg, ''Yisrael ba-Arav'' (1946), index; I. Ben Zvi, in: ''Keneset'', 5 (1940), 281–302; J. Braslavsky, ''Le-Ḥeker Arẓenu'' (1954), 3–52 (English summaries: 3–4, English section); S.D. Goitein, in: KS, 9 (1932/33), 507–21; Caetani, in: ''Annali dell' Islam'', 2 (1905), 8–41; R. Leszynsky, ''Juden in Arabien zur Zeit Mohammeds'' (1910)</ref> Between 16 and 18 Muslims and 93 Jews were killed in the battle.<ref name="Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar p. 238">Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 238. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110829110530/http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch6s2.html online])</ref>
 
==== Aftermath ====
Captives of war and slaves from other countries were brought to Khaybar, and the people of Hejaz became more accustomed to agriculture. Jews continued to live in the oasis for several years until they were finally expelled by Caliph [[Umar]], who decided to expel the Jews of Khaybar in 642.<ref name="I. Ben-Ze'ev, 1946" />
 
===Expulsion of Jews===
During the reign of Caliph [[Umar]] (634–644), the Jewish community of Khaybar was transported alongside the Christian community of [[Najran]] to the newly conquered regions of Syria and [[Iraq]]. Umar also forbade [[Kafir|non-Muslims]] to reside in the [[Hejaz]] for longer than three days.<ref>[[Giorgio Levi Della Vida]] and [[Michael Bonner]], ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', and Madelung, ''The Succession to Prophet Muhammad'', p. 74</ref> Since then, the Jews of Khaybar travelled around many areas throughout the [[early Muslim conquests|Islamic Empire]] as artisans and merchants and they are still referred to in documents from the Middle Ages.<ref name="LS20102">{{Citation |last=Lowin |first=Shari |title=Khaybar |date=2010-10-01 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/*-COM_0012910 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |pages=148–150 |access-date=2023-06-22 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_com_0012910|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
 
=== Benjamin of Tudela ===
{{Main|Benjamin of Tudela}}
[[Benjamin of Tudela]] was a Jew from [[Tudela, Navarre|Tudela]], in the [[Kingdom of Navarre]], who travelled to Persia and Arabia in the 12th century. He visited and described Khaybar and neighboring [[Tayma]] sometime around 1170 and mentioned those places as Jewish habitations.<ref>{{cite book |author=Benjamin of Tudela |author-link=Benjamin of Tudela |title=The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela |editor-first=Marcus Nathan |editor-last=Adler |publisher=Oxford University Press |publication-place=London |year=1907 |pages=47–49 |url=https://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/urn/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:1-173334}}</ref>
 
== Khaybar in culture and politics ==
=== Folklore ===
Khaybar is referred to in various traditions outside the Hejaz. The [[Makhamra family]], a [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] extended family who lives in the city of [[Yatta, Hebron|Yatta]], in the southern [[Hebron Hills]], claims ancestry from the Jews of Khaybar. Over the years, there have been reports of locals in Yatta and its vicinity continuing to observe various Jewish rituals. In the late 19th century, peasants from [[Meithalun]], present-day northern [[West Bank]], associated a nearby ruin locally known as [[Khirbet Kheibar]] with an unnamed Jewish king and his daughter who, according to their tradition, resided in the area. Some scholars have suggested tying those two traditions to the expulsion of Jews from Khaybar and their settlement in the region.<ref name="LS20102"/>
 
=== Contemporary anti-Israel use ===
{{see also|Kheibar Shekan|Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud|Battle of Khaybar#Modern usage in the Arab–Israeli conflict}}
 
The tale of the Jews of Khaybar being vanquished and driven out has been revived in recent decades by the Palestinian Islamic [[Palestinian political violence|militant]] group [[Hamas]], who have used it as a political slogan against [[Israel]].<ref name="LS20102" /> The slogan has also been used by some at pro-Palestine protests and other anti-Israel events, as well as online.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2022 |title=Death threat to Jews sung openly at rallies across the UK |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/news/death-threat-to-jews-sung-openly-at-rallies-across-the-uk-6OsCLjtY9Pwd1D7byF0Kpl |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=The Jewish Chronicle}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 November 2023 |title=Antisemitism online directly increases real-world violence, study finds |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-773895 |access-date=4 February 2026 |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|author= Boden, Brooke Sarah}}</ref>
 
==Economy==
Historically, Khaybar is known for growing [[dates (fruit)|dates]]. The dates raised in the region were generally exported to [[Medina]].<ref name=Prothero83>{{cite book|last=Prothero|first=G. W.|title=Arabia|year=1920|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |location=London |page=83 |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11767/view/1/83/}}</ref>


==Climate==
==Climate==
Line 61: Line 106:
|single line = Y
|single line = Y


|Jan high C = 21.6
|Jan high C = 21.6
|Feb high C = 24.6
|Feb high C = 24.6
|Mar high C = 27.8
|Mar high C = 27.8
Line 73: Line 118:
|Nov high C = 27.6
|Nov high C = 27.6
|Dec high C = 22.8
|Dec high C = 22.8
|Feb low C = 7.6
|Feb low C = 7.6
|Jan low C = 9.1
|Jan low C = 9.1
|Mar low C = 12.2
|Mar low C = 12.2
|Apr low C = 16.0
|Apr low C = 16.0
Line 87: Line 131:
|Dec low C = 9.0
|Dec low C = 9.0


|Jan precipitation mm = 9
|Jan precipitation mm = 9
|Feb precipitation mm = 3
|Feb precipitation mm = 3
|Mar precipitation mm = 14
|Mar precipitation mm = 14
Line 103: Line 147:
|source = [https://en.climate-data.org/location/47208/ Climate-data.org]
|source = [https://en.climate-data.org/location/47208/ Climate-data.org]
|date=06 March 2018}}
|date=06 March 2018}}
== History ==
===Pre-Islamic===
[[Pre-Islamic Arabia|Before the advent of Islam]] in the 7th century [[Common Era|CE]], indigenous Arabs and Jews made up the population of Khaybar, but when Jewish settlement in northern Arabia began is unknown.<ref group="note">In a research conducted by [[David Samuel Margoliouth]] and published in the ''[[Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society]]'' in the last century, he points out the fact that the Jews of Khaybar and Yathrib (in Saudi Arabia), as early as the 6th century CE when Jews still lived there before they were evicted to places in [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and to the city of Al-[[Kufa]]h in Iraq, they did not differentiate between the non-accentuated "thau" ('''ת''') and the accentuated "tau" ('''תּ''')  although both letters have distinct phonetic sounds by those scrupulous in the use of proper [[Hebrew grammar]] (See: Margoliouth, D.S.: "A poem attributed to Al-Samau’al." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Published by the Society, 22, Albemarle St. London W. London, 1906. p. 364).</ref> In 567, Khaybar was invaded and purged of its Jewish inhabitants by the [[Ghassanid]] Arab Christian king [[Al-Harith ibn Jabalah]]. He later freed the captives upon his return to the [[Levant]]. A brief account of the campaign is given by [[Ibn Qutaybah]],<ref>[http://www.islamport.com/b/5/adab/%df%ca%c8%20%c7%e1%c3%cf%c8/%c7%e1%e3%da%c7%d1%dd/%c7%e1%e3%da%c7%d1%dd%20005.html Ibn Qutaybah: al-Ma'arif]</ref> and confirmed by the [[Harran, as-Suwayda|Harran Inscription]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/harran|title=Harran Inscription: A Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscription From 568 CE|website=islamic-awareness.org|access-date=2020-03-20}}</ref> See Irfan Shahid's ''Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century'' for full details.<ref>[[Irfan Shahid]]: ''Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century'', p. 322</ref>
===7th century===
{{Main|Jewish community of Khaybar}}
As late as the 7th century, Khaybar was still inhabited by Jews, who pioneered the cultivation of the oasis<ref>Yāqut, ''Šihāb al-Dīn ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Ḥamawī al-Rūmī al-Baġdādī'' (ed. Ferdinand Wüstenfeld), Mu’jam al-Buldān, vol. IV, Leipzig 1866, p. 542 (reprint: Ṭaharān 1965, ''Maktabat al-Asadi''); Hayyim Zeev Hirschberg, ''Israel Ba-‘Arav'', Tel Aviv 1946, p. 343 (Hebrew).</ref> and made their living by growing date palm trees, commerce and craftsmanship and accumulating considerable wealth.{{Citation needed|date= February 2022}}
The oasis was divided into three regions: al-Natat, al-Shikk and al-Katiba. They were probably separated by natural divisions such as the desert, [[Harrat Khaybar]] [[lava]] drifts and swamps. Each of the regions contained several fortresses or redoubts, containing homes, storehouses and stables. Each fortress was occupied by a separate family and surrounded by cultivated fields and palm-groves. To improve their defensive capabilities, the settlers raised the fortresses up hills or [[basalt]] rocks.{{Citation needed|date= February 2022}}
=== Military campaigns of Muhammad ===
{{Campaignbox Campaigns of Muhammad}}
{{Main|List of expeditions of Muhammad|Battle of Khaybar}}
==== Expedition of Fadak ====
In 627, Muhammad ordered the [[Expedition of Fadak]] to attack the Bani Sa‘d bin Bakr tribe because Muhammad received intelligence they were planning to help the Jews of Khaybar.<ref>Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 211. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110623155725/http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch4s13.html online])</ref> In this expedition one person was captured by Muslims, and the rest of the tribe fled.<ref name="Sa'd 1967 110">{{cite book|last=Sa'd|first=Ibn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vnXAAAAMAAJ|title=Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir, By Ibn Sa'd, Volume 2|year=1967|publisher=Pakistan Historical Society|asin=B0007JAWMK|page=110|quote=SARIYYAH OF 'ALI IBN ABl TALIB AGAINST BANU SA'D IBN BAKR AT FADAK}}</ref>
==== Battle of Khaybar ====
The [[Battle of Khaybar]] took place in May/June 628.<ref name="Oxford University Press">{{cite book|author=Watt, W. Montgomery|author-link=Montgomery Watt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GfAGAQAAIAAJ |title=Muhammad at Medina|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1956|isbn=978-0195773071|page=2|quote=Muhammad had thus a straightforward reason for attacking Khaybar. The moment he chose for the attack May /June 628 (i/y) shortly after his return from the expedition of al-Hudaybiyah was one when it was also convenient for him to have booty to distribute to his followers whose expectations had recently been disappointed.}} ([https://archive.org/details/muhammadatmedina029655mbp free online])</ref> The Jewish [[Banu Nadir|Banū *Naḍīr of *Medina]], who claimed to be descendants of [[Aaron]] the priest, owned lands in Khaybar and had castles, fortresses and weapons there. After Muhammad expelled them from Medina in 625, their leaders moved to their estates in Khaybar to prepare for war against Muhammad and to recruit the aid of Arab tribes. Muhammad first sent disguised guests to the homes of the leaders of Banū Naḍīr, who killed their hosts. Muhammad's victory over the Jews of Khaybar in the subsequent battle was also aided by the distance of the settlements and their castles from one another, the absence of co-ordination between the fighting forces, the death of the leader Sallām ibn Mishkam.and a Jew who showed the Muslims the secret entrances to one of the fortresses. The castles of Khaybar had tunnels and passages, which in wartime enabled the besieged to reach water sources outside the castles.<ref name="I. Ben-Ze'ev, 1946">I. Ben-Ze'ev, ''Ha-Yehudim ba-Arav'' (19572), index; H.Z. Hirschberg, ''Yisrael ba-Arav'' (1946), index; I. Ben Zvi, in: ''Keneset'', 5 (1940), 281–302; J. Braslavsky, ''Le-Ḥeker Arẓenu'' (1954), 3–52 (English summaries: 3–4, English section); S.D. Goitein, in: KS, 9 (1932/33), 507–21; Caetani, in: ''Annali dell' Islam'', 2 (1905), 8–41; R. Leszynsky, ''Juden in Arabien zur Zeit Mohammeds'' (1910)</ref> Between 16 and 18 Muslims and 93 Jews were killed.<ref name="Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar p. 238">Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 238. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110829110530/http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch6s2.html online])</ref>
After the Muslim victory, Muhammad, concerned that Khaybar would remain desolate and would not continue supplying its agricultural produce to the Hejaz, signed an agreement with the Jews that allowed many of its inhabitants to remain on their lands but required payment of half of their crops to the conquerors.
==== Aftermath ====
Captives of war and slaves from other countries were brought to Khaybar, and the people of Hejaz became more accustomed to agriculture. Jews continued to live in the oasis for several years until they were finally expelled by Caliph [[Umar]], who decided to expel the Jews of Khaybar in 642 under the pretense that before his death, Muhammad had commanded that two religions could not exist simultaneously in the Hejaz.<ref name="I. Ben-Ze'ev, 1946" />
The imposition of tribute upon the conquered Jews of the Khaybar Fortress served as a precedent. Islamic law came to require exaction of tribute known as ''[[jizya]]'' from ''[[dhimmi]]s'': non-Muslims under Muslim rule.{{Citation needed|date= February 2022}}
For many centuries, the [[oasis]] at Khaybar was an important [[caravan (travellers)|caravan]] stopping place. The centre developed around a series of ancient dams built to hold run-loff water from the rain. Around the water catchments, [[date palm]]s grew. Khaybar became an important date-producing center.{{Citation needed|date= February 2022}}
===Expulsion of Jews===
During the reign of Caliph [[Umar]] (634–644), the Jewish community of Khaybar was transported alongside the Christian community of [[Najran]] to the newly-conquered regions of Syria and [[Iraq]]. Umar also forbade [[Kafir|non-Muslims]] to reside in the [[Hejaz]] for longer than three days.<ref>[[Giorgio Levi Della Vida]] and [[Michael Bonner]], ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', and Madelung, ''The Succession to Prophet Muhammad'', p. 74</ref> Since then, the Jews of Khaybar travelled around many areas throughout the [[early Muslim conquests|Islamic Empire]] as artisans and merchants and they are still referred to in documents from the Middle Ages.<ref name="LS2010">{{Citation |last=Lowin |first=Shari |title=Khaybar |date=2010-10-01 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/*-COM_0012910 |work=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |pages=148-150 |access-date=2023-06-22 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_com_0012910}}</ref>
=== Benjamin of Tudela ===
{{Main|Benjamin of Tudela}}
[[Benjamin of Tudela]] was a Jew from [[Tudela, Navarre|Tudela]], in the [[Kingdom of Navarre]], who travelled to Persia and Arabia in the 12th century. He visited and described Khaybar and neighboring [[Tayma]] sometime around 1170 and mentioned those places as Jewish habitations.<ref>''The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela'' (ed. Marcus Nathan Adler), Oxford University Press, London 1907, pp. 47-49.</ref>
== Khaybar in culture and politics ==
=== Folklore ===
Khaybar is referred to in various traditions outside the Hejaz. The [[Makhamra family]], a [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] extended family who lives in the city of [[Yatta, Hebron|Yatta]], in the southern [[Hebron Hills]], claims ancestry from the Jews of Khaybar. Over the years, there have been reports of locals in Yatta and its vicinity continuing to observe various Jewish rituals. In the late 19th century, peasants from [[Meithalun]], present-day northern [[West Bank]], associated a nearby ruin locally known as [[Khirbet Kheibar]] with an unnamed Jewish king and his daughter who, according to their tradition, resided in the area. Some scholars have suggested tying those two traditions to the expulsion of Jews from Khaybar and their settlement in the region.<ref name="LS20102">{{Citation |last=Lowin |first=Shari |title=Khaybar |date=2010-10-01 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/*-COM_0012910 |work=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |pages=148-150 |access-date=2023-06-22 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_com_0012910}}</ref>
=== Contemporary political use ===
The tale of the Jews of Khaybar being vanquished and driven out has been revived in recent decades by the Palestinian Islamic [[Palestinian political violence|militant]] group [[Hamas]], who have used it as a political slogan in its propaganda against [[Israel]].<ref name="LS20102" />
==Economy==
Historically, Khaybar is known for growing [[dates (fruit)|dates]]. The dates raised in the region were generally exported to [[Medina]].<ref name=Prothero83>{{cite book|last=Prothero|first=G. W.|title=Arabia|year=1920|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |location=London |page=83 |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11767/view/1/83/}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 157: Line 153:
* [[List of expeditions of Muhammad]]
* [[List of expeditions of Muhammad]]
* [[David Reubeni]]
* [[David Reubeni]]
== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Khaybar}}
{{Sister project links |wikt=no |c= |n=no |q=no |s=no |b=no |v=no |voy=yes}}
* Joseph Braslavi (Braslavski) and Leah Bornstein-Makovetsky (1972, 2006), [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0012_0_11088.html Khaybar], in ''[[Encyclopedia Judaica]]'', via [[Jewish Virtual Library]]
* Joseph Braslavi (Braslavski) and Leah Bornstein-Makovetsky (1972, 2006), [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0012_0_11088.html Khaybar], in ''[[Encyclopedia Judaica]]'', via [[Jewish Virtual Library]]


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[[Category:Jewish Saudi Arabian history]]
[[Category:Jewish Saudi Arabian history]]
[[Category:Oases of Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Oases of Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Populated places in Medina Province (Saudi Arabia)]]
[[Category:Populated places in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Date palm orchards]]

Latest revision as of 09:01, 29 March 2026


For other uses, see Khaybar (disambiguation).
Khaybar
خَيْبَر
Ancient ruins of Khaybar
Ancient ruins of Khaybar
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 501: Unable to find the specified location map definition: "Module:Location map/data/Saudi Arabia" does not exist.
Coordinates: 25°41′55″N 39°17′33″E / 25.69861°N 39.29250°E / 25.69861; 39.29250
Country Saudi Arabia
RegionAl Madinah Region
established7thcentury
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)

Khaybar[lower-alpha 1] (ar, خَيْبَر) was an oasis in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia, situated some 153 kilometres (95 mi) north of the city of Medina. Prior to the arrival of Islam in the 7th century, the area had been inhabited by Arabian Jewish tribes until it was conquered by the Muslims under Prophet Muhammad during the Battle of Khaybar in 628 CE.

History[edit | edit source]

Pre-Islamic Bronze Age Khayber Map Black markings are outer fortifications, pink markings are inner fortifications, brown represents elevations (i.e. valleys, plateaus, mountains)

Bronze Age[edit | edit source]

Main article: Al-Natah

The archaeological site of al-Natah in the oasis covered about 1.5 hectares with some 500 residents, protected by ramparts. The occupation dates from around 2400 to 1500 BCE, from the late Early Bronze Age to the early Late Bronze Age.[1]

Pre-Islamic[edit | edit source]

Before the advent of Islam in the 7th century CE, indigenous Arabs and Jews made up the population of Khaybar, but when Jewish settlement in northern Arabia began is unknown.[lower-alpha 2] In 567, Khaybar was invaded and purged of its Jewish inhabitants by the Ghassanid Arab Christian king Al-Harith ibn Jabalah. He later freed the captives upon his return to the Levant. A brief account of the campaign is given by Ibn Qutaybah,[2] which may also be mentioned in the sixth-century Harran inscription.[3][4] Khaybar Oasis was completely surrounded by a massive wall in pre-Islamic times, similar to other large walled oases in northwestern Arabia and dates back to the Bronze Age, between 2250 and 1950 BCE it would have been needed for protection against surrounding nomadic groups of populations from the desert, potentially carrying out raids on oasis settlements.[5]

7th century[edit | edit source]

Main article: Jewish community of Khaybar

As late as the 7th century, Khaybar was still inhabited by Jews, who pioneered the cultivation of the oasis.[6]

Military campaigns of Muhammad[edit | edit source]

Template:Campaignbox Campaigns of Muhammad

Main articles: List of expeditions of Muhammad and Battle of Khaybar

Expedition of Fadak[edit | edit source]

In 627, Muhammad ordered the Expedition of Fadak to confront the Bani Sa'd bin Bakr tribe because Muhammad received intelligence they were planning to help the Jews of Khaybar.[7] In this expedition one person was captured by Muslims, and the rest of the tribe fled.[8]

Battle of Khaybar[edit | edit source]

The Battle of Khaybar took place in May/June 628.[9] The Jewish Banū Naḍīr of Medina, who claimed to be descendants of Aaron the priest, owned lands in Khaybar and had castles, fortresses and weapons there. After Muhammad expelled them from Medina in 625, their leaders moved to their estates in Khaybar to prepare for war against Muhammad and to recruit the aid of other non-Muslim Arab tribes. Muhammad first sent disguised guests to the homes of the leaders of Banū Naḍīr, who killed their hosts. Muhammad's victory over the Jews of Khaybar in the subsequent battle was also aided by the distance of the settlements and their castles from one another, the absence of co-ordination between the fighting forces, the death of the leader Sallām ibn Mishkam and a Jew who showed the Muslims the secret entrances to one of the fortresses. The castles of Khaybar had tunnels and passages, which in wartime enabled the besieged to reach water sources outside the castles.[10] Between 16 and 18 Muslims and 93 Jews were killed in the battle.[11]

Aftermath[edit | edit source]

Captives of war and slaves from other countries were brought to Khaybar, and the people of Hejaz became more accustomed to agriculture. Jews continued to live in the oasis for several years until they were finally expelled by Caliph Umar, who decided to expel the Jews of Khaybar in 642.[10]

Expulsion of Jews[edit | edit source]

During the reign of Caliph Umar (634–644), the Jewish community of Khaybar was transported alongside the Christian community of Najran to the newly conquered regions of Syria and Iraq. Umar also forbade non-Muslims to reside in the Hejaz for longer than three days.[12] Since then, the Jews of Khaybar travelled around many areas throughout the Islamic Empire as artisans and merchants and they are still referred to in documents from the Middle Ages.[13]

Benjamin of Tudela[edit | edit source]

Main article: Benjamin of Tudela

Benjamin of Tudela was a Jew from Tudela, in the Kingdom of Navarre, who travelled to Persia and Arabia in the 12th century. He visited and described Khaybar and neighboring Tayma sometime around 1170 and mentioned those places as Jewish habitations.[14]

Khaybar in culture and politics[edit | edit source]

Folklore[edit | edit source]

Khaybar is referred to in various traditions outside the Hejaz. The Makhamra family, a Palestinian extended family who lives in the city of Yatta, in the southern Hebron Hills, claims ancestry from the Jews of Khaybar. Over the years, there have been reports of locals in Yatta and its vicinity continuing to observe various Jewish rituals. In the late 19th century, peasants from Meithalun, present-day northern West Bank, associated a nearby ruin locally known as Khirbet Kheibar with an unnamed Jewish king and his daughter who, according to their tradition, resided in the area. Some scholars have suggested tying those two traditions to the expulsion of Jews from Khaybar and their settlement in the region.[13]

Contemporary anti-Israel use[edit | edit source]

See also: Kheibar Shekan, Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud, and Battle of Khaybar § Modern usage in the Arab–Israeli conflict

The tale of the Jews of Khaybar being vanquished and driven out has been revived in recent decades by the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas, who have used it as a political slogan against Israel.[13] The slogan has also been used by some at pro-Palestine protests and other anti-Israel events, as well as online.[15][16]

Economy[edit | edit source]

Historically, Khaybar is known for growing dates. The dates raised in the region were generally exported to Medina.[17]

Climate[edit | edit source]

Climate data for Khaybar
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 21.6
(70.9) 		24.6
(76.3) 		27.8
(82.0) 		32.6
(90.7) 		36.2
(97.2) 		38.9
(102.0) 		39.3
(102.7) 		39.3
(102.7) 		38.3
(100.9) 		34.2
(93.6) 		27.6
(81.7) 		22.8
(73.0) 		31.9
(89.5)
Average low °C (°F) 9.1
(48.4) 		7.6
(45.7) 		12.2
(54.0) 		16.0
(60.8) 		20.7
(69.3) 		24.0
(75.2) 		24.7
(76.5) 		24.8
(76.6) 		22.6
(72.7) 		18.4
(65.1) 		13.0
(55.4) 		9.0
(48.2) 		16.8
(62.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 9
(0.4) 		3
(0.1) 		14
(0.6) 		12
(0.5) 		5
(0.2) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		1
(0.0) 		0
(0) 		4
(0.2) 		17
(0.7) 		8
(0.3) 		73
(2.9)
Source: Climate-data.org

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Other standardized Arabic transliterations: Ḫaybar / ḵaybar. Anglicized pronunciation: /ˈkaɪbər/, /ˈkaɪbɑːr/.
  2. ↑ In a research conducted by David Samuel Margoliouth and published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in the last century, he points out the fact that the Jews of Khaybar and Yathrib (in Saudi Arabia), as early as the 6th century CE when Jews still lived there before they were evicted to places in Syria and to the city of Al-Kufah in Iraq, they did not differentiate between the non-accentuated "thau" (ת) and the accentuated "tau" (תּ) although both letters have distinct phonetic sounds by those scrupulous in the use of proper Hebrew grammar (See: Margoliouth, D.S.: "A poem attributed to Al-Samau'al." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Published by the Society, 22, Albemarle St. London W. London, 1906. p. 364).

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Bronze Age Town of Al-Natah Represents 'Slow Urbanism,' Archaeologists Say". Sci.News: Breaking Science News. 2024-10-30. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  2. ↑ "Ibn Qutaybah: al-Ma'arif". Retrieved 2009-07-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ↑ "Harran Inscription: A Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscription From 568 CE". islamic-awareness.org. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  4. ↑ Shahid, Irfan: Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century, p. 322
  5. ↑ Charloux, Guillaume; Shabo, Shadi; Chung-To, Guillaume; Depreux, Bruno; Guermont, François; Guadagnini, Kévin; Terrasse, Thomas; Bussy, Mylène; Alshilali, Saifi; Albukaai, Diaa; Crassard, Rémy; AlMushawh, Munirah (2024-02-01). "The ramparts of Khaybar. Multiproxy investigation for reconstructing a Bronze Age walled oasis in Northwest Arabia". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 53 104355. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104355. ISSN 2352-409X.
  6. ↑ Yāqut, Šihāb al-Dīn ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ḥamawī al-Rūmī al-Baġdādī (ed. Ferdinand Wüstenfeld), Mu'jam al-Buldān, vol. IV, Leipzig 1866, p. 542 (reprint: Ṭaharān 1965, Maktabat al-Asadi); Hayyim Zeev Hirschberg, Israel Ba-'Arav, Tel Aviv 1946, p. 343 (Hebrew).
  7. ↑ Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 211. (online)
  8. ↑ Sa'd, Ibn (1967). Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir, By Ibn Sa'd, Volume 2. Pakistan Historical Society. p. 110. ASIN B0007JAWMK. SARIYYAH OF 'ALI IBN ABl TALIB AGAINST BANU SA'D IBN BAKR AT FADAK
  9. ↑ Watt, W. Montgomery (1956). Muhammad at Medina. Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-19-577307-1. Muhammad had thus a straightforward reason for attacking Khaybar. The moment he chose for the attack May /June 628 (i/y) shortly after his return from the expedition of al-Hudaybiyah was one when it was also convenient for him to have booty to distribute to his followers whose expectations had recently been disappointed. (free online)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 I. Ben-Ze'ev, Ha-Yehudim ba-Arav (19572), index; H.Z. Hirschberg, Yisrael ba-Arav (1946), index; I. Ben Zvi, in: Keneset, 5 (1940), 281–302; J. Braslavsky, Le-Ḥeker Arẓenu (1954), 3–52 (English summaries: 3–4, English section); S.D. Goitein, in: KS, 9 (1932/33), 507–21; Caetani, in: Annali dell' Islam, 2 (1905), 8–41; R. Leszynsky, Juden in Arabien zur Zeit Mohammeds (1910)
  11. ↑ Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 238. (online)
  12. ↑ Giorgio Levi Della Vida and Michael Bonner, Encyclopaedia of Islam, and Madelung, The Succession to Prophet Muhammad, p. 74
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Lowin, Shari (2010-10-01), "Khaybar", Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Brill, pp. 148–150, doi:10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_com_0012910, retrieved 2023-06-22
  14. ↑ Benjamin of Tudela (1907). Adler, Marcus Nathan (ed.). The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 47–49.
  15. ↑ "Death threat to Jews sung openly at rallies across the UK". The Jewish Chronicle. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  16. ↑ Boden, Brooke Sarah (20 November 2023). "Antisemitism online directly increases real-world violence, study finds". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  17. ↑ Prothero, G. W. (1920). Arabia. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 83.

External links[edit | edit source]

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