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OVERLAND CARAVAN1,400 km Total NetworkActive: 750 CE – 1258 CE

Darb Zubaydah (The Kufa–Mecca Pilgrim Road)

The Abbasid pilgrim road from Iraq across the Arabian desert to Mecca, provided with wells, reservoirs and rest stations and named after Queen Zubaydah.

5.0
Type: overland-caravanMap centre: [42.52°, 27.12°]Line: YearMaps schematic line drawn between the documented stations.

Places Along the Darb Zubaydah (The Kufa–Mecca Pilgrim Road)

Fayd, on the Darb Zubaydah (The Kufa–Mecca Pilgrim Road)
FaydCC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kufa, on the Darb Zubaydah (The Kufa–Mecca Pilgrim Road)
KufaCC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Great Mosque of Kufa, on the Darb Zubaydah (The Kufa–Mecca Pilgrim Road)
Great Mosque of KufaCC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Commercial Genesis & Spatial Network

The road from Kufa to Mecca was already an old trade track when the Abbasid caliphs, who ruled from Iraq, made it the principal Hajj route. Stations were laid out at intervals of a day’s march, each with wells or a lined reservoir, and the way was cleared of stones and marked with milestones. Zubaydah bint Ja’far, wife of the caliph Harun al-Rashid, paid for many of the waterworks around the year 800, and the road took her name. Fayd, near the midpoint, grew into a walled town. After the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols in 1258 the road fell out of regular use.

Economic Impact & Cultural Diffusion

Moved tens of thousands of pilgrims each year and with them a large seasonal trade between Iraq and the Hijaz.

Caravanserais and Halting Places on This Route

6 caravanserais recorded within 40 km of the mapped line. A caravanserai is a roadside inn; a halting place is a named camping ground with no permanent building. How caravans travelled and how a caravanserai worked.

Khan al-Rubu', Iraq

Khan al-Rubu'

Caravanserai · Iraq · 32.4742° N, 44.1577° E

Khan al-Rubu’ (Arabic: خان الربع) also known as Khan al-Nukhaylah (Arabic: خان النخيلة), is a historical khan in Iraq located near the city of Karbala. It is around 16 km away from the Karbala city center, and situated at the road bound to the city of Najaf. The khan dates back to the Ottoman era, and it was used as a resting place for caravans traveling between the two cities. In February 2017, the Khan al-Rubu’ cultural festival was inaugurated which lasts for two years.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Photo via Wikimedia Commons

All Recorded Stopping Places

NameTypeCountryCoordinates
Khan al-Rubu'CaravanseraiIraq32.4742° N, 44.1577° E
Bir al-NisCaravanseraiIraq31.4450° N, 44.1700° E
Birkat al-HammamCaravanseraiIraq31.1358° N, 44.0582° E
Birkat al-TalhatCaravanseraiIraq30.9359° N, 43.9064° E
Birkat HamadCaravanseraiIraq31.2507° N, 44.0831° E
Khan JathanCaravanseraiIraq32.2167° N, 44.2667° E

Sources: Wikidata (caravanserais, CC0) and the OWTRAD project (halting places). All caravanserais and halting places

Logistics, Caravanserais & Overland Hazards

  • ▲Dozens of main stations and secondary halts, each built around a water source
  • ▲Circular and square masonry reservoirs collected flash-flood water from the wadis
  • ▲Fire beacons and stone markers guided caravans travelling at night
  • ▲Bedouin raids, and the Qarmatian attacks of the tenth century, repeatedly closed the road

Custodial Empires & Polities

Sovereign states that safeguarded, taxed, or maintained garrisons along this route:

Abbasid CaliphateBuyid EmirateSeljuk EmpireSharifate of Mecca

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