Bareq (; also transliterated as ), is a governorate located in the Asir of Saudi Arabia in the north-west of the province, north of Abha. It occupies a distinct location midway between Tihamah and Asir, above sea level. With an estimated population of 75,351, it is well off economically; the city has grown rapidly and has many government services and public utilities available. It is one of Asir's winter resorts because of its natural environment and mild winter weather. Bareq has .
History
Bareq was founded in 220 AD. (citation?) Bareq is part of the territory which is historically known as the "yamen" as in ancient Arabs in
Hejaz referred to the south from their perspective as "yamen" which is today's southern Saudi Arabia, which dates back to the second millennium BC and was inhabited by a tribe called
Bariq belonging to the ancient tribe of
Al-Azd that has many clans linked to it.
[ Bahrain through the ages: the history،][ Excellence and precedence: medieval Islamic discourse on legitimate leadership،]
Known before the advent of Islam as
Diyār Bāriq, it was traversed by the ancient trade route from
South Arabia to
Mecca and the Levant, known as the winter and summer journeys.
[ إيلاف قريش رحلة الشتاء و الصيف،][ Encyclopaedic Ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia،] It also used to hold the
Suq Hubasha[ Meccan trade and the rise of Islam p123،] in the first eight days of the month of
Rajab (other sources say three days).
[ السلم عند العرب قبل الاسلام،] The market and convoys were protected by the Bareq country and this
souq was the market for
Azd. It was one of the greatest Arab
of all, and also the last of the
Jahiliyyah markets to be destroyed.
[ Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam Vol. 9 p33،] In the mid-seventh century AD, the Bareq tribe entered
Islam and played a pivotal and a major role in the Muslim conquests,
[ Constructing Al-Azd: Tribal Identity and Society in the Early Islamic Centuries،][ History of al-Tabari Vol. 12, P10،][Tabari, leiden, I,P2200,2218,2187,2196][The Early Islamic Conquests. P169,167,200,205,209,211.][ The Challenge to the Empires P201,200 ،][ Book The Challenge to the Empires page 220،] and many Bariqis settled in various countries after the Muslim conquest.
[ The Role of the Arab Tribes in the East During the Period of the Umayyads (40/660-132/749) P35,34 ،][ The Waning of the Umayyad Caliphate ،][ al-qabalīyah wa-atharuhā fī al-shiʻr al-Umawī،]
Modern
At the rise of the First Saudi State in the 18th century, the villages of Bareq were governed by local clans in a fashion similar to that of
Nejd, while the large tribal confederations maintained a high degree of autonomy. Bareq gave allegiance to First Saudi State in 1809 under the leadership of the Bareq chief Ahmed Ibn Zahir of the
Humaydah clan.
[ كتاب الدولة السعودية الأولى.][ كتاب جحيم الحكم السعودي ونيران الوهابية.] When the First Saudi State was destroyed by the
Egyptians in 1818, the Bariqis continued to fight the Egyptian forces in their region tenaciously. With the withdrawal of the Egyptians in 1840.
In 1872 the Turks took direct control of the region, making Bareq a sanjak of Turkish Yemen, remained in the Ottoman Empire for 42 years.[ العلاقات بين مصر والحجاز ونجد في القرن 19،][ كتاب دراسات في تاريخ العرب الحديث.] In the 1880s, the Idrissi dynasty of Sabya became the predominant political force, ruling the region under the supervision of Turkish advisors. In the early twentieth century, in 1910, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Idrisi, a descendant of Ahmad Ibn Idris, began to establish political control of Bareq. After negotiations with Italy, which had interests nearby in Somalia, the Idrisi forces of Muhammad came into conflict with Ottoman Empire forces in Ajama. The Idrisis were defeated in 1911 by Hashemite forces under Sharif Husayn, Sharif of Mecca,[ موجز تاريخ وأحوال عسير 1215 - 1341هـ،]
Turkish troops were withdrawn following the outbreak of war in 1914, and Turkish rule in Bareq became even more tenuous. In April 1915, British agents, hoping to garner support for the Allies, signed a treaty with the Idrisi emir guaranteeing the independence and security of Bareq upon the defeat of the Turks. Bariqi troops fought the Turks as allies of the British forces in January 1917;, in a subsequent agreement, the British government of India promised independence at the end of the war.
After the end of First World War, Muhammad ibn Ali became ruler of an internationally recognized sovereign state, until his death in 1920. The territories of the emirate reached from Bareq in the north to Hudaydah in the south. Muhammad's successors were however unable to resist the growing power of Abd Al-Aziz Ibn Saud, who began controlling South of Arabian Peninsula and its neighboring regions after Muhammad's death. Bareq accepted being part of Kingdom Saudi Arabia in 1924,[ السراج المنير في سيرة امراء عسير.] and from then on Bareq was controlled by the House of Sa'ud.
Geography
Bariq is at an elevation of above sea level, and approximately inland from the
Red Sea. It's lies km north-west of
Abha (Occupying a distinct location at the road junction at the middle between
Tihama and
Asir). The district of Bariq begins about north of "Muha'il", and covers an area of about from north to south and from east to west, and are bounded by
Tanomah to the east, Majaridah to the north, Muhail to the south, and
Al Qunfudhah to the west.
It is a fertile country and well watered and extensively cultivated,
maize,
millet,
barley, and
sesame being the principal crops.
[ Gazetteer of Arabia: A Geographical and Tribal History of the Arabian Peninsula: page 294،][ Asir Before World War I: A Handbook: page 51،]
Neighborhoods and villages
Ethnography
The inhabitants of Bareq are largely made up of the
Sunni Islam Saudi Arabians. There are also significant foreign populations, primarily from Asia, Turkey, and other Arab countries.
In Bareq & surrounding areas, a local dialect of Arabic is spoken, which is known as Bareqi Arabic (Arabic: لهجة بارقية, lahjat bariqia), spoken by some 60,000 people. It shares similarities with the Hejazi Arabic & Najdi Arabic dialects, as well as the Himyaritic language.
Agriculture
The region's crops, most of which are cultivated on small plains irrigated by the floods or on the silt of the stream beds. include
wheat,
coffee,
indigo,
ginger,
vegetables, and
sesame. It is one of the best agricultural districts in
Saudi Arabia. The region also supports
cattle,
sheep, and
goats.
[ Asir before World War I: a handbook P17,51.]
Education
The first school in Bareq was established in 1952. Today Bareq is home to more than 100 public educational institutes.
Climate
Bareq has an arid tropical climate with an average annual temperature of . January typically sees daytime highs of and lows of , while July has average daytime highs of and lows of . With an average annual temperature of .
Cuisine
Bareq is known for its cuisine and traditional meals such as jalamah, khmer,
haneeth,
lahoh,
murtabak, aerykh,
asida, muqalqal, and mandi.
Hospitals and medical care
-
Bareq Hospital
-
Alahli Hospital
-
Alsaqr dental
-
Alamer Hospital
Notable people
==Gallery==
See also
