Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/272

 The Arabic authors call the northwestern part of Arabia Felix the Ḥeǧâz and place the border of the Ḥeǧâz where the boundary of the former was situated, coinciding with the physiographical frontier.

Abu Ḥuḏajfa says (Jâḳût, Muʻǧam [Wüstenfeld], Vol. 3, p. 86) that Abu ʻObejda with the Moslem army reached Sarṛ, or the modern Soraṛ, and from there marched into Syria. It is obvious, therefore, that the frontier of Syria lay to the north of Ṣoṛar at the former position of the northern frontier of Arabia Felix and where the Ḥeǧâz is divided from Syria by the steep slope of the aš-Šera’ mountain range.

Ibn al-Faḳîḥ, Buldân (De Goeje), p. 92, records that Ajla is situated on the southern border of Syria.

According to Ibn Ḥawḳal, Masâlik (De Goeje), p. 19, and to Abu-l-Feda’, Taḳwîm (Reinaud and De Slane), p. 80, the southern border of Syria is formed by a straight line leading from the Red Sea near the harbor of Ajla along the edge of the administrative area of Tebûk—thus along the southern foot of the aš-Šera’ mountain range—to the east.

Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 259, states that the pass of Šitâr is situated in the aš-Šera’ mountain range between the regions of al-Belḳa’ and al-Medîna.—As this pass is in the southwestern part of aš-Šera’ near the frontiers of the administrative districts of al-Belḳa’ (Syria) and al-Medîna (Ḥeǧâz), according to Jâḳût also the aš-Šera’ mountain range must form the border between the Ḥeǧâz and Syria.

Al-Idrîsi, Nuzha, III, 5, writes that Tebûk is four days’ march distant from the Syrian frontier—which would place the northern frontier of the Ḥeǧâz on the southern foot of the aš-Šera’ mountain range. This can be reached from Tebûk in four marches, each of forty-five kilometers.

Abu Zejd al-Anṣâri (Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 825) locates Tebûk between al-Ḥeǧr, four marches away, and the frontier of Syria—thus about midway between al-Ḥeǧr and the frontier.

Muḥammad ibn Mûsa al-Ḥâzemi says (Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 4, p. 451) that Madjan is located between the valley of al-Ḳura’ and Syria and is thus within the territory of the Ḥeǧâz.

With different political administrations the political ontiers of the Ḥeǧâz were shifted, but the old physiographical frontiers did not change. This is clearly shown by al-Muḳaddasi; for in one passage (Aḥsan [De Goeje], p. 155) he refers to Madjan as being in the Syrian administrative district of aš-Šera’, but in another (ibid., p. 178) he states that Madjan is situated in the Ḥeǧâz near its northern frontier. The incorporation of a number of places in Syria is of just as little importance as regards the actual northern frontiers of the Ḥeǧâz as their incorporation in Egypt, as is the case in Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 748, with al-ʻWejned, and in al-Maḳrîzi’s Mawâʻiẓ (Wiet) Vol. 1, p. 311, with Bada’, Šaṛab, and other places.

Al-Aṣmaʻi (Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 2, p. 205) assigns the volcanic territory Ḥarra Lajla, as well as the settlements of Šaṛab and Bada’, to the Ḥeǧâz. Ibrâhîm al-Ḥarbi (ibid.) conjectures that Tebûk and even part of Palestine form a part of the Ḥeǧâz. This conjecture of Ibrâhîm, however, is entirely isolated. It was probably due to the circumstance of the northern part of the Ḥeǧâz having belonged to the political administration of southern Palestine. Unwilling to admit that the sacred Ḥeǧâz was dependent on Palestine, Ibrâhîm al-Ḥarbi included with the Ḥeǧâz southern